Teksts
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The public stock company Latvijas kuģniecība (Latvian Shipping
Company –LASACO) has issued a consolidated and unaudited report
about 2009, showing that the strategy of modernising operations and
the fleet has allowed the company to reduce the average age of its
ships from 17.5 to 8.2 years at the end of last year. This
has allowed the concern to maintain stable positions among the
largest worldwide companies in the medium-sized tanker segment. In
terms of oil product transport, it is still among the leading
companies in that sector in Northern Europe. During the
reporting period and despite the distinctly tense situation in
shipping markets, the Latvian Shipping Company concern managed to
ensure positive results for the shipping operations – USD 9.3
million. Because of the modernisation of the fleet and the
financing of various investments, however, the concern finished the
reporting period with a loss of USD 20.2 million.
“During the course of 2009, the Latvian Shipping Company
continued a consistent programme of change at the company, seeking
to ensure that the company is a flexible participant in the global
logistics market, complete with effective governance, a modern
fleet, considered investments and targeted marketing. A
global economic crisis often is the best time for corporate
changes. As the economic situation recovers, there will be
new market opportunities for those players who have been able to
change,” says Latvian Shipping Company council chairman Māris
Gailis.
Intensive changes have allowed the Latvian Shipping Company to
reduce the average age of its ships from 17.5 years to 8.2 years
over the five years leading up to the end of the reporting
period. Six old ships were scrapped last year. Over the
next several years, these will be replaced with four new tankers
that are to be received in 2011 and 2012.
During the reporting period, the company reduced administrative
costs by 46% -- to USD 18.7 million last year, as opposed to USD
34.6 million in 2008. Operating costs for ships declined by
USD 43.3 million (USD 82.8 million in the reporting period and USD
126.1 million a year before). Financial costs in the shipping
segment declined by USD 6.7 million. The company’s overall
liabilities have declined by USD 56 million or 9% since the
beginning of 2009, and the liabilities at this time are equal to
51% of the concern’s assets.
“These are fundamentally important and successful steps toward
ensuring in the long term that as the economic crisis comes to an
end, the Latvian Shipping Company will be able to demonstrate a new
level of energy in winning ever more powerful positions in the
market for medium-sized tankers. As economic growth recovers,
we will have the newest fleet, the most effective governance
system, and a very promising structure of assets,” says Māris
Gailis.
The global recession inevitably led to a drop in shipping revenue –
down by 22% or USD 55.9 million during the reporting period in
comparison to 2008. Low shipping rates and a slowdown in the
global shipping business have had a fundamental influence on the
operating revenue of ships – down by USD 26 million (41%) in the
reporting period than in the previous year. Because of this,
the modernisation of the fleet, and the various investments that
were made, the Latvian Shipping Company ended the reporting period
with a loss of USD 20.2 million. The annual report has not
been audited yet, however, and work will continue to see whether
the assessed value of the company’s assets should be higher or
lower in comparison to the previous year’s indicators.
2009 was marked by a particular slowdown in the market for ships
charters, and rates in this area collapsed to the lowest level in
the last five years. Logically, this affected the operating
indicators of the Latvian Shipping Company fleet. Far-sighted
policies and effective reductions in ship maintenance and
administrative costs, however, allowed the concern to ensure
positive operations during the reporting period, with profits from
ship operations reaching a level of USD 9.3 million.
The value of the Latvian Shipping Company’s equity at the end of
the reporting period was 524.5 million, or 49% of all assets.
The total value of the company’s assets at the end of 2009 was USD
1.0767 billion. The Latvian Shipping Company’s 12-month ROE
indicator was 0% in 2009, and losses per share amounted to USD
0.10.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
At the end of 2009, the Latvian Shipping Company had a fleet of
28 tankers ( 2 of them chartered from other ship owners).
Older ships were sold off in order to increase the fleet’s
competitiveness in the international market for shipping. Two
gas tankers were also sold during the reporting period.
The modernisation of the fleet has ensured that the Latvian
Shipping Company has a modern and competitive tanker fleet with a
total deadweight of 1.15 million tonnes. The tankers were
mostly used during the reporting period to transport light and
heavy oil products in the Baltic, Northern European, Black Sea,
Mediterranean Sea, Transatlantic, Far East and Middle East
markets.
For more information:
Marita Ozoliņa-Tumanovska, PR Manager
Telephone +371-6702-0120, 2928-7169
marita.ozolina@lscgroup.lv
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