Aegean Reports Another Quarter of Record Bunker Volumes, Which Rise Almost 45% Y-o-Y

This is the third consecutive quarter that the physical supplier has noted record volumes

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. [NYSE: ANW] (Aegean) Tuesday reported record sales volumes of 4,212,636 metric tonnes (mt) for the three months ended March 31, 2016, an increase of almost 45 percent on the 2,915,450 mt sold in the period last year.

This is the third consecutive quarter that the physical supplier has noted record volumes, following sales of 3,386,511 mt and 4,029,567 mt in the third and fourth quarter of 2015 respectively.

"In the first quarter, we recorded record sales volumes despite low commodity prices, including fuel oil at its lowest point since 2003, which impacted gross spread," said Aegean President E. Nikolas Tavlarios.

"Despite this economic headwind, our unique business model enabled Aegean to capitalize on growth opportunities across our global platform serving 33 markets with more than 60 ports."

Ship & Bunker's Global Average Bunker Price for key grade IFO380 is currently down some 37 percent year-on-year, and this decline understandably impacted revenues for the supplier, which fell to $753 million in 1Q 2016 from $1,015 million for the period in 2015.

Gross profit, however, was virtually identical at $80.9 million in 1Q 2016 compared to $80.6 million in 1Q 2015, while net income slipped slightly to $11.8 million, down from $12.2 million last year.

"We are proud to have achieved our 21st consecutive quarter of profitability," said Aegean's Chief Financial Officer Spyros Gianniotis.

"We continue to take decisive actions to maintain our strong financial position and significant liquidity in the current challenging environment."

Looking ahead, Tavlarios said the company is implementing a number of initiatives to drive efficiency and reduce costs.

"These initiatives include maximizing efficient use of our diversified platform, reducing expenses across the organization, and optimizing and investing resources in the most attractive markets," he said.

"As we move forward, we are confident that these decisive actions will ensure Aegean is positioned for future growth and value creation for shareholders."

Investors responded positively to the news; the New York listed supplier's shares were up some 3.5 percent in after hours trading.