Cubic capacity

摘要

Norwegian shipowner IM Skaugen (IMS) has reported a pre-tax profit for the first three quarters of this year of $16.8m, compared to a loss of $11.2m at the same point last year. That much is encouraging, although its major operating unit, the gas carrier outfit Norgas, has posted EBITDA for the first nine months of $9.9m, below the $20.5m recorded last year. Some of the variation compared to 2012 can be ascribed to financial items and the sale of vessels, but taking these out of the equation still leaves 2013 looking slightly down on last year. And yet despite this desultory performance -which IMS lays largely at the door of sanctions on Iran - the company is just as bullish about the market as those others that are currently being attracted to the sector and rushing to the shipyards to place new orders (see page 74).