EMEA News
Scorpio Bulkers Announces Large 2015 Loss, Agreement on Debt Structure
Scorpio Bulkers Inc. Monday announced a large financial loss for 2015, but also announced a deal that gives the company some relief on its debt structure.
The top line numbers follow on a tough year in the dry bulk market: For the year ended December 31, 2015, the company recorded a GAAP net loss of $510.8 million, or $23.86 per diluted share.
The company also announced an agreement has been reached to amend its credit facilities.
In February the company announced that in lieu of making future principal repayments of approximately $67.9 million the company would make advance principal repayment of $41.2 million.
Scorpio Bulkers also announced that minimum liquidity covenants would be reduced; the minimum liquidity covenant in its credit facilities will be reduced from the current level of the greater of $50 million or $850,000 per vessel, to a new level of the greater of $25 million or $700,000 per vessel.
The company also announced it had agreed in principle to delay scheduled vessel deliveries and terminated the time charter contracts for four vessels.
The company reached agreements with shipyards to delay the delivery of two Ultramax vessels and six Kamsarmax vessels; these vessels were previously expected to be delivered between March 2016 and September 2016 but are now expected to be delivered between September 2016 and April 2017.
As a result of that deal, $40.7 million that was previously expected to be paid to shipyards during 2016 is now expected to be paid in 2017.
The Company also reached an agreement with a shipyard in China to reduce the price to be paid on construction contracts for two Ultramax bulk carriers to be delivered in Q2 2016 by approximately $900,000.
The company also terminated charter-in contracts on four vessels for a one-time payment of $10 million, of which $8 million has been paid.
The amendments to existing agreements give the company some breathing room in a dry bulk market that is one of the worst on record.
In January 2016 Ship & Bunker reported that executives of Scorpio had predicted that if "this market persists" the company would go under.
