Ardmore Shipping (NYSE: ASC) reported Q4 EPS of $0.08, $0.03 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.11. Revenue for the quarter came in at $60.69 million versus the consensus estimate of $39.32 million.

Highlights and Recent Activity

• Reported net income of $1.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019, or $0.06 earnings per basic and diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $17.0 million, or $0.51 loss per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2018. Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2019 includes a write-off of $0.5 million of deferred finance fees related to refinancing. Net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2018 includes a write-off of $1.9 million of deferred finance fees related to sale and leaseback transactions and the held for sale loss on the Ardmore Seatrader of $6.4 million. The Company reported EBITDA (see Non-GAAP Measures section) of $17.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019, as compared to $1.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2018.
• Reported Adjusted earnings (see Non–GAAP Measures section) of $2.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019, or $0.08 Adjusted earnings per basic and diluted share, as compared to Adjusted loss of $8.8 million, or $0.26 Adjusted loss per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2018. The Company reported Adjusted EBITDA (see Non-GAAP Measures section) of $17.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019, as compared to $7.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2018.
• Reported net loss of $22.9 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, or $0.69 loss per basic and diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $42.9 million, or $1.31 loss per basic and diluted share, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018. Net loss for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019 includes a write-off of $0.5 million of deferred finance fees related to refinancing and the loss on the sales of the Ardmore Seamaster and Ardmore Seafarer of $13.2 million. Net loss for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 includes a write-off of $2.3 million of deferred finance fees due to sale and leaseback transactions and the held for sale loss on the Ardmore Seatrader of $6.4 million. The Company reported EBITDA (see Non-GAAP Measures section) of $40.1 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, as compared to $22.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018.
• Reported Adjusted loss (see Non–GAAP Measures section) of $9.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, or $0.28 Adjusted loss per basic and diluted share, as compared to Adjusted loss of $34.3 million, or $1.04 Adjusted loss per basic and diluted share, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018. The Company reported Adjusted EBITDA (see Non-GAAP Measures section) of $53.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, as compared to $29.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018.
• MR tankers earned an average TCE rate of $17,725 per day for the three months ended December 31, 2019, and $15,382 per day for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019. Chemical tankers earned an average TCE rate of $14,284 per day for the three months ended December 31, 2019, and $12,420 per day for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019.
• Completed a refinancing of 12 vessels on improved terms, extending maturities until the end of 2024 and resulting in a cash release, after prepayment of debt and fees, to the Company of $15.9 million.
• Declared a cash dividend of $0.05 per common share for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, based on the Company's policy of paying out 60% of earnings from continuing operations as defined in Ardmore\'s dividend policy. The dividend will be paid on February 28, 2020 to all shareholders of record on February 21, 2020.

Anthony Gurnee, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"The product tanker market has performed very well over the past few months with rates rising to levels not seen since 2015, as a consequence of IMO 2020 demand and winter market conditions, and underpinned by strong product tanker supply-demand fundamentals. Ardmore has returned to profitability in the fourth quarter, reporting Adjusted earnings of $2.5 million; the strong charter market has continued to drive rates up into the first quarter of 2020, with our performance now close to $20,000/day for our MR tankers and $19,600/day for chemical tankers with 55% and 65% fixed, respectively.

The coronavirus outbreak, of course, is a very troubling development, and as of last week is beginning to be felt in product tanker rates particularly in the Far East, but the extent and duration of the impact is not yet known. While the decline in China oil demand is reported to be significant, there are offsetting factors to consider for product tankers, including price arbitrage and volatility increasing oil trading activity, and lower bunker prices resulting in reduced voyage costs. On a human level, the situation is very worrying, and we are not alone in hoping that the virus can be contained and further illness minimized; on a business level, once the scare period is over, we expect to see a rebound in product tanker rates to levels merited by the very strong underlying fundamentals."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Ardmore Shipping (ASC) click here.