Rickmers Maritime moved further into the red in the second quarter in a depressed containership market as talks continue with lenders to refinance bank debt.
Singapore-quoted Rickmers recorded a net loss of $55.58m in the three months to the end of June, against a loss of $15.67m at the same stage in 2015.
Norton de Matos, CFO of Rickmers Trust Management, explained a $51.5m non-cash impairment impairment, reflecting mainly the impact of lower projected charter rates, was the main contributor to the loss.
Revenue fell by more than one third to $17.97m year-on-year.
“Charter rates are expected to remain depressed in the coming months until a better balance between trade growth and vessel supply is reached,” the company said in a statement.
In its second quarter presentation Rickmers Maritime said negotiations with lenders were ongoing to refinance bank debt to "ensure long-term solvency".
The owner has $281.4m in bank debt at the end of the first half of the year.
Its presentation showed $26.9m was to be repaid this year, with $197.6m falling due in 2017 and $49.7m maturing in 2018.
According to the company’s last annual report its lenders include HSH Nordbank, DBS Bank, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, ING Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, The Bank of Nova Scotia Asia and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
In a conference call following the results, management explained negotiations with senior lenders focused on an extension for large sum due in March 2017. "We expect our negotiations to only intensify in 3Q16," they explained.
While the company has temporary waivers for debt due in the second quarter of 2016, it is working towards a permanent deferral by way of a comprehensive restructuring of bank liabilities, according to a scrip of the call sent to TradeWinds.
