TORM to Delist from Nasdaq

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday April 18, 2013

Troubled Danish shipping firm TORM A/S [NASDAQ:TRMD]  (TORM) says it has decided to delist from the Nasdaq stock exchange, citing the limited size of its American Depository Receipts (ADR) program, and the reporting costs and other expenses of remaining on the exchange.

The company said it changed the ratio of its ADRs to common shares from 1:1 to 1:10 in 2012 to ensure continued compliance with Nasdaq rules, but the ADR program represents only 0.5 percent of the company's total share capital since the company's restructuring in November.

The company's stock price on the Nasdaq has been below $2 a share since February.

TORM said in March that it lost $581 million in 2012, largely due to impairment charges and the effects of restructuring, but also partly because of the difficult shipping market.

The company said product tanker freight rates have been relatively strong during the first months of 2013 and it expects growing oil consumption and relocation of refinery capacity to increase demand, although the supply of vessels remains high.

"Freight rates are expected to be volatile, and the number of future newbuilding orders remains uncertain," the company said.

TORM said its bulk segment remains under pressure and that market has been weaker in the start of 2013 than in the same period of 2012.

For all of 2013, TORM said it expects a before-tax loss of $100 to $150 million, excluding vessel sales and impairment losses, but it said it has succeeded in stabilizing its situation.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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