New York-listed Ardmore booked a loss of $400,000 in the three months to the end of March, an increase on the $40,692 red number at this stage 12 months ago.

Adjusted earnings per share hit the tape at $0.005, compared with the $0.03 per share Wall Street had charted.

Anthony Gurnee, chief executive of the owner, said in a statement the results reflected both an improvement in the market and fleet expansion.