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Shipping company and terminal operator Odfjell reports that the average bunker price paid by its chemical tankers in the third quarter (Q3) was up compared to the previous three-month period.

On average, the Norwegian firm says its chemical tanker fleet paid $334 per tonne in Q3, which was $4, or 1.2 percent, higher sequentially.

Odfjell's net quarterly bunker cost of $383 per tonne (including the effect from bunker adjustment clauses) in Q3 represents an increase of $18, or 4.9 percent, year-on-year (YoY).

In a sequential comparison with Q2, the average price was up $6, or 1.6 percent.

For the first nine months of the year, the average bunker cost was also $383 per tonne - a YoY jump of $30, or 8.5 percent.

Odfjell posted Q3 net bunker costs of $37.8 million, including $34.1 million in bunker purchases - a YoY rise of $1.1 million, or 3.0 percent. In a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) comparison, the figure was up $0.5 million, or 1.3 percent.

On the issue of risk, Odfjell said bunker clauses in contracts of affreightment (COAs) cover around 64 percent of its marine fuel exposure and that 6 percent of its exposure in 2017 is hedged at $230 per tonne.

Key financial results

In its overall results, Odfjell posted a Q2 net loss of $10.5 million, compared with a net profit of $16.5 million in Q3 2016 and a net loss of $4.7 million in the previous quarter.

For the first nine months, the net loss was $13.7 million, having achieved a net profit of $56.5 million in the prior-year period.

Commenting on the company's performance, Kristian Morch, CEO of Odfjell SE, said: "3Q was a challenging quarter for our tanker and terminal divisions. Our balance sheet remains robust and our competitiveness continues to increase, so we are positioned to benefit once our markets recover. The sale of our Singapore terminal in line with our strategy will result in a significant gain. We expect 4Q 2017 to be in line with 3Q 2017."

Odfjell said: "We believe that chemical tanker markets will gradually improve through 2018 as tonne-mile demand is expected to surpass net fleet growth."

The company added: "We expect storage demand for oil minerals to remain challenging while we expect stable demand and results for chemical storage."