Algoma Central posts 7.8% drop in revenues

The St. Catharines, Ontario-based shipping company saw Q1 revenues decline 7.8 percent year-over-year due to weak revenues in the Domestic Dry-Bulk segment and Product Tanker segment.    Canadian shipping company Algoma Central Corporation reported a net loss from continuing operations of $8 million Canadian (U.S. $6.2 million) for the first quarter of 2016, compared to a loss of C$23.8 million for the first quarter of 2015.
   Revenues for the quarter totaled C40.5 million, down 7.8 percent year-over-year due to weak revenues in its Domestic Dry-Bulk segment and Product Tanker segment.
   Algoma’s Domestic Dry-Bulk segment saw revenues for the quarter tumble 38.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2015 to C11.7 million, as the milder 2015-2016 winter drove down salt volumes.
   Revenues in the Product Tanker segment sank 54.3 percent year-over-year during the quarter to C$8.5 million, primarily due to diminished volumes on the East Coast.
   On a bright note, the Ocean Shipping segment’s revenues for the quarter jumped 220.2 percent compared to the first quarter last year. Algoma attributed the sharp increase primarily to more revenue days resulting from the addition of two vessels to the fleet in early January, along with the impact of a 2015 regulatory dry-docking on one of its vessels.