Teekay’s profits keep rolling in

Teekay’s profits keep rolling in    Nassau, Bahamas-based tanker operator Teekay Shipping Corp. reported Wednesday a record second-quarter net income of $98.5 million, helped by the continuing boom in the tanker shipping market and by favorable currency gains.
   The latest net income compares with a net profit of $96.9 million in the second quarter of last year. Voyage revenue during the second quarter rose 3 percent to $477.6 million, from $462.3 million a year earlier.
   For the first six months of the year, Teekay reported net earnings of $287.6 million, up 91 percent on the $150.5 net income earned in the first half of last year. Voyage revenue in the first half of this year soared 38 percent to $1 billion.
   During the second quarter of 2004, tanker freight rates declined from the near record levels reached in the prior quarter, yet remained at “relatively high levels” when compared to historical averages due to continued favorable tanker market fundamentals, Teekay said.
   The shipping company, which completed the acquisition of Naviera F. Tapias S.A. April 30, said its second quarter results included an unrealized foreign currency translation loss of $5.2 million and the inclusion of the results from Naviera F. Tapias S.A. (renamed Teekay Shipping Spain S.A.) from May 1.
   Spot tanker rates during the second quarter remained strong as Teekay’s spot “Aframax” fleet averaged $27,567 per calendar-ship day, a slight increase from the average of $27,327 per day for the same period in 2003.
   Teekay cited changes in the tanker market since last year. “Unlike 2003 when the strength of spot tanker rates in the second quarter was amplified by the temporary disruption of oil supplies from Venezuela, which resulted in an increase in longer-haul West Africa and Middle East oil production, the strong market in 2004 has been primarily the result of fundamental oil demand growth,” the company said.