Titan in US$91m tanker sale
AlfredLiu
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Titan Petrochemicals Group (1192), which operates supertankers and fuel storage facilities, has agreed to sell a 14-year-old double-hulled very large crude carrier to Dubai-based Medoil for US$91 million (HK$709.8 million).
Titan said on Friday that the sale of the 299,993 deadweight-tonne tanker, Titan Virgo, will allow it to reduce its exposure to the volatile vessel market, where freight rates remain depressed.
"This disposal gives us a good opportunity to realize the value of the vessel and strengthen Titan's cashflow, helping us to execute our growth strategy to diversify and improve the quality of earnings going forward," Titan chief executive Barry Cheung Chun-yuen said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Proceeds from the sale are earmarked for general working capital. The sale will represent an unaudited gain of about US$9.4 million for the integrated oil logistics provider, which operates in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia.
This latest disposal was the second this year involving a large crude carrier. Earlier the group sold Titan Taurus, a single-hulled 254,991 dwt vessel, to Korea Line Corp for US$41 million. The group's transportation division now operates seven VLCCs and its fleet capacity, excluding the four vessels being used as floating storage facilities, will become about 2.13 million dwt.
Titan shares closed unchanged on Friday at 60 HK cents.