Aegean Post 48.5% Gain in Q1 2012 Profits

"Strategic alliance" means they can extend their interests into mainland China.

International marine fuel logistics firm, Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (Aegean), have recorded a net income attributable to it's shareholders of $6 million for the first quarter of 2012 of, a year-on-year rise of 48.5%.

Revenues for Q1 rose 12.3% to $1.81 billion, up from $1.61 billion in the same period last year despite a drop in sales volumes to 2,461,230 metric tones (mt), down 9.7% from the 2,726,237 posted in Q1 2011.

In Aegean’s First Quarter 2012 Financial Results, it said the company was continuing to “focus on executing transactions with creditworthy counterparties.”

Expansions

Operating income rose by 37% for the first quarter from $9.8 million in Q1 2011 to $13.4 million this year, which they said was due to increased operating expenses relating to expansions within the logistics infrastructure.

CFO Spyros Gianniotis said that Aegean were using their liquidity of more than $940 million to “manage” marine fuel prices and reiterated that “creditworthy counterparties” could expect a “first-rate service.”

On April 9, 2012, Aegean also announced a “strategic alliance" with China Changjiang Bunker (Sinopec) Co. Ltd. (CCBC), a state-owned Bonded Bunker Oil Supply company and reportedly the largest inland river bunker supply firm in China.

According to figures published on CCBC's website, in 2011 they reported sales volumes in excess of 2.4 million metric tonnes and a net profit of $15.8 million.

Dimitris Melisanidis, Head of Corporate Development at Aegean, said the alliance offered strategic benefits by “extending our global reach to mainland China, enabling Aegean to establish an initial footprint in some of the world's largest ports.”

Company President E. Nikolas Tavlarios said their Q1 results showed “continued progress,” and steadily rising profits “during a challenging market environment.”

He went on to say that by “increasing global scale, we have enhanced Aegean’s potential to generate significant operating leverage and drive future earnings growth.”