By L. Karageorgos
[email protected]
Navios Maritime Holdings expects a gradual recovery in bulk rates over the coming period, according to Angeliki Frangou, the head of the Navios group, who spoke this week during a presentation of the former's first quarter 2019 results.
In a teleconference with shipping analysts, Frangou cited figures showing impoorts of iron ore by China reduced by 1.7 percent this year, whereas coal importers were up by 1 percent and wheat by 1.3 percent.
Referring to the listed company, she reminded that the age of Navios' fleet fell by 20 percent, while shipping capacity remained roughly the same. Over the last 17 months, Navios Holdings purchased another eight vessels with an average age of 4.2 years, with an outlay of 176.3 million USD. At the same time, Navios sold off nine vessels with an average age of 14.1 years, contacts worth 133.4 million USD.
Specifically for Q1 2019, Navios Holdings total revenues reached 140.28 million USD, up from 116.88 million USD in the first quarter of 2018. Excluding Navios Containers, then revenues reached 108.4 million USD.
The company's losses fell in Q1 2019 to 5.3 million USD, reducing the "red ink" from the same quarter in 2018, when it posted 40.8 million USD. Excluding the container ship subsidiary, damages stood at 5.29 million USD for Q1 2019.
Revenue from bulkers dropped to 52.7 million USD, down from 64.7 million USD in the corresponding period of 2018, with company executives blaming a drop in daily rates - the average daily rate for the specific trimester dropped by 12.4 percent to 9,622 USD, while it stood at 10,983 USD per diem in Q1 2018.
