In a conference call that followed the New York-listed operator’s first-quarter earnings report top brass urged listeners not to be “overly optimistic” about the future of the dry-bulk segment in the medium-term, a view that few of their peers seem to share.
The Athens-based operator of more than 40 bulkers believes the recent avalanche of newbuilding orders will prove problematic in the years ahead and was quick to point out that the pace of ship recycling has slowed when compared to levels seen 12 months ago.
Diana said it will continue to gradually acquire second-hand tonnage over the next 12 to 18 months, however, and didn’t rule out the possibility of placing a few more orders for vessels equipped with features designed to combat emissions and fuel consumption.
“Within this environment, we at Diana Shipping will continue to purchase [quality] second-hand tonnage while very selectively creating new orders for large bulkers,” said president Anastasios Margaronis in the opening segment of the quarterly conference call.
“We are confident that the market will eventually improve significantly and reward this consistent policy and investment strategy. It will also help us maintain the strength and integrity of our balance sheet.”
When pressed for a freight rate forecast chief executive Simeon Palios said he is “not very optimistic about the next 12 to 24 months” but admitted he would not be surprised to see levels spike from time to time, particularly in the spot market, due to seasonal factors.
While management identified a number of signs that demand for tonnage used to transport commodities like iron ore and coal will continue to rise going forward Palios was quick to point out that there are no guarantees tonne miles will follow suit.
“We have a small problem with translating this increased demand into increasing tonne-mile demand because there is a lot of uncertainty as to where most of the cargo will come [from and go],” he said during a question-and-answer session.
While an uptick in exports from Australia, India and Indonesia bodes well for Diana and its many of its compatriots Palios reminded participants that an increase in cargo shipments from South America to Europe and the Far East would be far more meaningful.
“We feel that we’re going to have too many ships in the market over the next 18 to 24 months to ship the volumes that we have described in our presentation,” he added in reference to research statistics cited during a call that Jonathan Chappell of Evercore Partners billed as a "must listen".
