Yesterday, the New York-listed owner announcedplans to offload the 4,729-teu Spinel(ex: APL Spinel, built 1996) for close to $9.7m.
Today, Michael Webber of Wells FargoSecurities reminded clients that the company acquired the containership for approximately$30m in January of last year.
Assuming the vessel pocketed $13.6m overthe course of a charter with NOL Liner in which it was earning $24,750 per day,the researcher believes the hit will amount to $6.7m.
Since Diana parted ways with three ageingpanamaxes before it sold the Spinel and acquired a pair of post-panamaxcontainerships of around 6,500-teu a piece, Webber thinks the motivation behindthe latest transaction represents a broader shift towards larger tonnage.
While proceeds from the sale of theSpinel, 4,700-teu Maersk Malacca(built 1990), 4,206-teu Maersk Madrid(built 1989) and 4,714-teu Merlion(built 1990) havetopped $39m in total, the analyst believes disposals have resulted in anaggregate loss of around $40m.
“That said, it's worth noting Diana justacquired the Spinel about two years ago in an effort to plug their cash flowgap, and having mistimed the bottom of the containership cycle, have likelyerased a degree of shareholder value in the process,” he added in a weeklymarket commentary.
Diana is led by chief executiveSimeon Palios and based in Athens where it oversees nine containerships with anaggregate carrying capacity of approximately 41,000-teu. The stable, followingthe sale of the Spinel, will include two post-panamaxes and seven panamaxes.
