Thu 28 May 2015, 08:14 GMT

Aegean posts $7.1 million rise in Q1 net income


New operations in Fujairah and U.S. 'meaningfully contributed' to the bunker firm's Q1 results, says CEO.



Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. has announced that net income for the first quarter of 2015 rose by $7.1 million to $12.2 million, or $0.25 basic and diluted earnings per share, up from $5.1 million, or $0.11 basic and diluted earnings per share, during the corresponding period last year.

Net income attributable to Aegean shareholders - excluding a non-cash loss from the sale of non-core vessels and vessel impairment charge - was $8.7 million or $0.18 basic and diluted earnings per share.

Total revenues decreased by 40.1 percent to $1,015.1 million compared to $1,694.4 million last year. This was attributed to "the drop in the price of oil".

Sales of marine petroleum products between January and March decreased by 40.6 percent to $994.5 million, compared to $1,673.7 million in 2014.

Gross profit, which equals total revenue less directly attributable cost of revenue, decreased by 2.8 percent to $80.6 million compared to $82.9 million in the same period in 2014.

The volume of marine fuel sold increased by 7.8 percent to 2,915,450 metric tonnes compared to 2,705,823 metric tonnes during the prior-year period.

Operating income adjusted for the sale of non-core assets amounted to $20.1 million compared to $18.8 million in 2014.

Operating expenses decreased by $3.6 million, or 5.5 percent, to $60.5 million as adjusted for the sale of non-core assets for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to $64.1 million as adjusted for the sale of non-core assets and vessel impairment charge for the same period in 2014.

Net cash used in operating activities during the three-month period was $23.8 million.

Net cash used in investing activities was $2.8 million, mainly due to advances for vessels under construction.

Net cash used in financing activities was $5.2 million, deriving mainly from the repayment of long-term debt.

As of March 31, 2015, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $91.0 million and working capital of $263.1 million. Non-cash working capital, or working capital excluding cash and debt, was $480.1 million.

As of March 31, 2015, Aegean had $967.1 million in available liquidity, which includes unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $91.0 million and available undrawn amounts under the company's working capital facilities of $876.1 million, to finance working capital requirements.

Commenting on the results, E. Nikolas Tavlarios, President of Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, said: "During the first quarter, we continued to successfully execute our strategy and extended our track record of profitability through our expanded global operations. Our unique and dynamic business model supported strategic expansion opportunities at the end of 2014 and allowed the company to advance its position in the global fuel supply market during the start of 2015.

"Our increased global operations, including our Fujairah facility, U.S. West Coast operations and East Coast bunkering business, meaningfully contributed to our results during the quarter. In Fujairah, we expect the facility will further diversify our revenue and allow us to benefit from the growth of onshore storage demand. At an industry level, we are beginning to experience positive shifts in the shipping and tanker markets and believe Aegean Marine is poised to benefit from these improving trends."

Spyros Gianniotis, Aegean's Chief Financial Officer, stated: "The first quarter marked another profitable quarter despite persistent market headwinds. We remain focused on executing on our proven strategy, which has enabled us to overcome market fluctuations, strengthen our balance sheet and maintain our competitive advantage. Looking ahead, we are confident in our ability to capitalize on the anticipated market recovery and achieve even greater results, while continuing to return value to our shareholders."

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