Aegean Announces Improved Third Quarter Income

Gross profit in the period was up 3.8% to $74.4 million

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (Aegean) [NYSE:ANW] today announced its third quarter 2012 financials, saying it recorded an increased gross profit of $74.4 million, up 3.8% from $71.7 million in the same period in 2011, with both its revenues and the volume of bunkers sold remaining flat.

Net income was $8.0 million, compared to an adjusted 2011 Q3 net income of $5.3 million that excludes a non-cash loss of $8.6 million from the sale of a retired floating storage vessel.

The volume of bunkers sold for the three months ended September 30, 2012 was fractionally up at 2,716,388 metric tonnes (mt) compared to 2,715,439 mt in the same period last year, while sales from marine fuels dipped 0.8% to $1,810.5 million compared to $1,824.9 million for the same period in 2011.

Total revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2012, decreased 0.7% to $1,825.3 million compared to $1,838.3 million for the same period in 2011.

"During the third quarter, we commenced physical supply operations in Hong Kong, increasing Aegean's current global scale to 20 markets covering approximately 60 ports. We also announced plans to launch operations in Barcelona, Spain, further enhancing our ability to leverage Aegean's high-quality logistics infrastructure," commented Aegean President E. Nikolas Tavlarios.

The supplier also said it began to utilise an onshore storage facility in Morocco's Tanger Med during the third quarter, enabling it to ensure the availability of product for "credit quality customers," enhance its purchasing power for marine fuel, and generate third-party leasing income.

Chief Financial Officer Spyros Gianniotis said: "While we continue to operate in a difficult macro environment, we believe our integrated services and financial strength bode well for management to further enhance Aegean's long-term earnings potential as we continue to leverage our global marine fuel platform."