Sri Lanka’s Mercantile Shipping Company said it has taken delivery of the second of a pair of new cargo ships it ordered built by a Dutch yard.

According to the company’s September quarter results just released to
the stock exchange, it made a loss of 18.8 million rupees in the period
compared with a profit of 9.5 million rupees the year before.

Mercantile Shipping’s group sales in the quarter rose 62 percent to 118.5 million rupees from a year ago.

The loss per share in the September 2009 quarter was 7.53 rupees
compared with earnings of 3.81 rupees in the same month the year
before.

Its two new multi-purpose vessels named Mercs Uva and Mercs Uhana are
chartered internationally as the firm has ceased operations in Sri
Lankan waters.

The vessels were ordered from Bodewes Ship Yard in the Netherlands by
Mercantile Emerald Shipping (Pvt) Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of
Mercantile Shipping Co.

Mercantile Shipping Company was for long the island’s biggest ship owner with a fleet of almost a dozen vessels at one time.

It deployed many of its vessels to supply the northern Jaffna peninsula
when it was cut off from the rest of the island as Tamil Tiger rebels
controlled the land route.

But the need for coastal shipping fell after government forces defeated the Tigers in May and re-opened the land route.

The firm’s older ships were sold for scrap as it plans to rebuild its fleet.

Source: Lanka Business Online

Search to find what you want

• Sri Lanka increase in merchant shipping fleet

    Sri Lanka’s Mercantile Shipping Companyhas revealed that it is to take delivery of its second newly built cargo ship in November, writes LBO. The first of a pair of new cargo ships built by a Dutch yard and named Mercs Uva was delivered last month and has already been charted

• Sri Lanka Dockyard September quarter earnings nearly doubled

    Sri Lankan ship builder Colombo Dockyard said net profit for the September 2009 quarter almost doubled from a year ago with earnings boosted by orders to build new vessels for overseas customers. The yard, which is majority owned by Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard, said in a stock exchange filing that September

• Essar Shipping net jumps on ports, oil fields biz

    Sea logistics firm Essar Shipping Ports & Logistics Ltd’s Oct-Dec net profit jumped 69 percent helped by strong growth in ports and oilfields businesses.

• Pipavav below the offer price in Mumbai Debut

    Pipavav Shipyard Ltd., an Indian shipbuilder, fell below its offer price on its trading debut in Mumbai today after an initial share sale. The shares fell 2.2 percent to 56.7 rupees in Mumbai after rising as much as 62.25 rupees. The company sold shares at 58 rupees apiece. The Mumbai-based

• Mercator Lines raises 2.5 billion rupees via bonds

    Mercator Lines has raised 2.5 billion rupees via bonds, the marine transport firm told the stock exchange on Wednesday. The company sold 500 million rupees of three-year bonds, another 500 million rupees of four-year bonds and 150 million rupees of five-year bonds, a company source told Reuters. The secured bonds carry a coupon

• NMDC to invest $ 5 billion to expand iron ore capacity

     NMDC Ltd., India’s largest iron-ore producer, said it plans to invest $5 billion in the next five years to expand capacity and enter the steelmaking business. The company plans to lift output 67 percent to 50 million metric tons in three years, Chairman Rana Som said today in an interview.

• Mercantile Shipping over by the new multi-purpose ship MS

    A strong flavour of Sri Lankan tradition was brought to the unique ceremony when the oil lamp was lit by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Germany, H.E. Tikiri Bandara Maduwegedara, the members of the Management of Mercantile Shipping and of the Ship Yard, together with the Master of the new vessel Capt.

• MISC unit inks deal with 2 Indian firms

    MISC Bhd’s unit MISC Agencies Sdn Bhd has signed a joint-venture deal with two India-based companies, Crescent Shipping Agency (India) Ltd and Sivaswamy Holdings Pvt Ltd. Called MISC Agencies India Pte Ltd, the joint-venture company will act as the sole and exclusive shipping agent for MISC in India. MISC told

• Sesa Goa profit in the third quarter Rises on Higher Iron-Ore Sales

    Sesa Goa Ltd., India’s biggest iron- ore exporter, said third-quarter group profit rose 76 percent on higher demand for the raw material from steelmakers in China. Net income rose to 8.3 billion rupees ($182 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31 from 4.71 billion rupees a year earlier, the

• Sesa Goa profit in the third quarter Rises on Higher Iron-Ore Sales

    Sesa Goa Ltd., India’s biggest iron- ore exporter, said third-quarter group profit rose 76 percent on higher demand for the raw material from steelmakers in China. Net income rose to 8.3 billion rupees ($182 million) in the three months ended Dec.

• Steel India wins seen on input costs, demand

    India steel futures may continue their winning streak in coming weeks on rising input costs and hopes of a demand revival from construction and automobiles sector, analysts said. The most-traded January steel long contract NSTF0 on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) was flat at 27,290 rupees per tonne

• Indian Oil to sell 3 billion rupees from oil bonds

    Indian Oil Corp will start selling at least 3 billion rupees of oil bonds on Tuesday, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday. Most of the issue will comprise the 8.20 percent oil bond maturing in 2024 and about 40 million rupees of the 7.75 percent 2021

• Sri Lanka IOC unit back in profit –

    The Sri Lanka unit of Indian Oil Corporation said it made a ‘nominal’ profit in the December quarter compared with a loss a year ago on higher petrol prices and other products like marine fuel and lubricants.

• Bharati Shipyard net drops, sales jump, outlook stable

    Bharati Shipyard saw quarterly net profit slip while sales jumped about half as lower government subsidy and higher interest costs pinched profitability, a top official told reporters on Monday. The shipbuilder posted a net profit of 326.85 million rupees in July-September compared with 331.6 million a year ago. Net sales

• GE Shipping July-September net seen falling

    Great Eastern Shipping Co Ltd is seen posting over 88 percent fall in July-September net profit as freight rates slumped during the quarter, putting pressure on margins. Analysts also expect revenue days to drop as the company sold several vessels in the year, while brokerage KR Choksey sees operating margin