In a note that accompanied theNasdaq-listed operator’s third-quarter earnings report George Karageorgiou toldinvestors he doesn’t believe the stage is set for a full-blown recovery,however, even though there are signs that the darkest days of the downturn arebehind us.

“Although we don't anticipate thistranslating into a material increase in the charter rate environment in thenear term we believe 2014 will provide a significant opportunity for an alreadyrobust demand for dry bulk commodities to outpace overall supply growth,” headded.

The commentary came as Globus reported athird-quarter profit of $1.2m, or $0.12 per share, versus a loss of $0.8m in the same stretch of2012, as revenue rose to $7.6m from $7.4m year-on-year thanks in large part tonearly $1m worth of ballast bonuses it collected over the course of the period.

In addition, the Athens-based operatorof seven bulkers said ongoing efforts to control costs helped boost the bottomline and pointed out that it also benefited from a higher time charterequivalent rate average, which increased by 3.0% to $10,212 per day.

Going forward, Karageorgiou said hiscompany is well positioned to capitalise on a recovery in the dry-bulk marketif freight rates continue to gain traction in the months ahead as roughly 70%of its ships will be trading in the spot market or fixed on short time chartersin 2014.

At the end of the third-quarter, Globussaid its cash, bank balances and bank deposits stood at roughly $6.8m and notedoutstanding debt weighed in at approximately $94.9m, which likely includesloans backed by the likes of Credit Suisse and DVB Bank.

Compliance restored

Last month, in response to questionsfrom the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said itexpects that the minimum market value of its fleet will be above what is neededto maintain compliance with loan covenants through 31 December.

“The company’s management is in continuous contactwith its lending banks and believes that the company will be in a position tocure in a timely manner any event of non-compliance with loan covenants, shouldany arise,” it added.

When Globus filed its annual report earlier this yearit warned investors that it was not in compliance with some of its loan covenants,which triggered subsequent correspondences between management and securitiesregulators.

The SEC backed off when the company issued a responsein which it outlined negotiations with lenders that led to the revision of problematicloan-to-value ratios and a series of waivers that don’t expire until 31 March2014.

Industry observers note loan-to-value ratios are acommon component of loans in the shipping arena that became particularlytroublesome at the height of the downturn due to the steep decline in freightrates and asset values.

Asset values on the up

Today, RS Platou Markets noted the price of a capesize resale has climbed 35% since the start of this year and expect many other classes of bulkers across theage spectrum to see values increase by as much as 25% over the next 12 months.

According to Wednesday’s earnings release, Globuscurrently oversees two panamaxes, four supramaxes and one kamsarmax with an averageage of 6.8 years. All but one of the vessels, the 72,900-dwt Tiara Globe, werebuilt between 2005 and 2010.

Since the overall age of the company’s fleet wouldfall to approximately five years if the calculation excluded the ageing panamax,which hit the water in 1998 and is still trading spot, several brokers believe there is a strongpossibility it will be sold.

Today, the VesselsValue.com valuation platformbelieves the ship to be worth around $10.0m in the sale-and-purchase market,thinks it would fetch $5.5m if sold for scrap and claims it would cost roughly$29.3m to replace it with a resale of a slightly larger size.

As we reported, the ageing bulker contributed to amassive impairment loss the company booked back in April. At the time Globus acknowledged the ship "met the criteria to be classified as non-current asset held for sale".

The Tiara Globe made TradeWinds headlines earlier this year when it landed at the centre of an investigation aimed at determining the extent of a prominent Dutch commodity trader’s involvement in grain shipments to Iran even though such cargoes are not typically subject to Western sanctions.