Aegean Posts Record Volumes, as Revenues Slide 40% on Low Oil Prices

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network turned a profit in Q3, despite lower oil prices.

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. Thursday announced that it reported record sales volumes for Q3 2015, but crashing oil prices reduced revenues by 40.2 percent compared to the period in 2014.

The bunker supplier's sales volumes for the three months ended September 30, 2015 were reported to be 3,386,511 metric tonnes (mt), an increase of 14.5 percent over the same period in 2014, while its margin on marine fuel sales improved to $24.7 per metric tonne (pmt) compared to $21.6 pmt last year.

Revenues were $1.1 billion for the quarter, compared to $1.8 billion during the third quarter of 2014, but gross profit remained fairly flat at $84.4 million - a slight increase on the $82.6 million it saw during the period last year.

Net income, when adjusted for the closure of Aegean's Portland, U.K. business in August was $12.1 million, an improvement on the adjusted net income of $9.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014.

Overall, the bunker player described the result as "strong" and hinted at a desire for further growth, following a number of mostly OW Bunker related acquisitions late last year and in early 2015.

"Looking ahead, we remain focused on advancing our position in the fuel supply industry and enhancing our global footprint," said Spyros Gianniotis, Aegean's Chief Financial Officer.

E. Nikolas Tavlarios, Aegean's President, meanwhile commented, "Aegean Marine's market leadership position and strong financial performance provide a solid foundation for continued growth and diversification."

"During the quarter we expanded our customer offerings to include cargo sales, a new area of investment for Aegean Marine that is expected to provide us with an additional low cost revenue stream.

"Our Fujairah Oil Terminal continues to perform well, operating at excellent efficiency levels and is currently at about 86% capacity."

In September, Aegean renewed its $1 billion borrowing base with lenders including ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, and KBC.