JOC Staff | Mar 04, 2013 11:13AM EST
Danaos reported a net loss of $116.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, dropping from a profit of $9.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Quarterly operating revenue was $151.8 million, an increase of 18.3 percent from $127.3 million in the same quarter in 2011. Daily vessel operating cost improved by 7.3 percent to $5,857 per day for the fourth quarter, compared with $6,318 per day for the fourth quarter of 2011.
The Greek company recorded an impairment loss of $129.6 million for 13 older vessels, which are currently either on layup or on short-term charters that expire this year.
For the full year of 2012, the container ship owner posted a net loss of $105.2 million, compared with a profit of $13.4 million for 2011. Annual operating revenue rose 25.8 percent from $468.1 million in 2011 to $589.0 million in 2012.
“Despite the challenging container market environment, in 2012 we managed to maintain the company’s profitability at 2011 levels,” said John Coustas, CEO, in a written statement.
“Main lane trade volumes in 2012 expanded by a mere 1 percent on average, while the Asia-Europe trade contracted by almost 3.5 percent, mainly due to the ongoing weakness in European consumer demand,” Coustas continued. “On the other hand, it was non-main lane trade volumes that to a certain extent ‘saved the day,’ expanding by around 6.5 percent, mainly on the back of strong intra-Asia and north-south trade growth.”