Precious Shipping has blamed a bad bulker market and rising operating costs for causing a massive slump in profit during the first half of its 2023 financial year.

The Bangkok-based bulker owner reported THB 364.56m ($10.5m) net profit for the six-month period ending on 30 June, as compared to the THB 2.95bn for the corresponding period in 2022.

According to Precious, the net vessel operating income for its 38 bulk carriers during the first half of 2023 was about 50% lower than the first-half figure in 2022.