CEO Harry Vafias said it would take time for the effects of its fleet growth to be felt, as it posted profit of $4.7m to 30 June, or $0.12 per share, compared to $5.1m in the same three months of 2014.

Revenues were $31.9m, an increase of $1.6m, as the fleet grew.

Operating profit was $7.1m compared to $6.9m in 2013, but finance costs rose $0.6m to $2.6m.

CEO Harry Vafias said the usual seasonal factors had made the second and third quarters challenging.

“In addition we had a couple of vessels finishing long charters in ‘exotic’ locations and had to be repositioned to find new business,” he added.

“There is a healthy demand for modern vessels, while overall the market remains stable.”

The owner is waiting for the firmer winter market to fix more ships on period deals.

It had already issued guidance warning investors that profit would come in between $0.12 and $0.13 per share, compared with the $0.20 per share analysts had predicted, according to the Bloomberg consensus.

Looking ahead, Vafias added: “It will take a few quarters to see the effects of our fleet growth, but we have already made significant commitments to increase our fleet from 44 vessels to 61 vessels at a cost of nearly $400m, most of which will be delivered by Q3 2015.”

Talks are at an advanced stage with banks to fund the acquisitions and the company's debt-to-capital ratio has fallen below 30%.

The shipowner has raised $115m from three capital raises in the past year, one of which saw Michael Dell become a major shareholder.

It says there is now no more need to raise money and it hopes to announce an action plan soon, in which it will detail how the cash from the latest fundraising move will be used.