After five years with the company,Hans Aasnæs will step down from his position as CEO once a successor is found. A search for a new CEO will be initiated, and an interim CEO will be appointed soon. "I am grateful for the contributions made by Hans throughout his period as CEO of Western Bulk. He has led the company through an important phase and has been instrumental in building the company's strong culture", states Bengt A. Rem, Chairman of Western Bulk. For the second half of 2023, Western Bulk generated a net loss after tax ofUSD -10.8 million from a Net TC ofUSD 2.3 million and Net TC Margin per ship day ofUSD 100 . For the full year the Group had a net loss after tax ofUSD -15.6 million from a Net TC ofUSD 9.3 million and Net TC Margin per ship day ofUSD 202 . The number of vessels increased somewhat to an average of 128 vessels in the second half of 2023 compared to 125 vessels in the first half, reaching an average of 126 vessels for 2023 in total. For most of the year, the company held a negative market view and was careful in taking on long exposure. Vessel owners required a premium to the forward freight market (FFA), while cargo was priced at a discount to the paper market (FFA). This limited business opportunities and led to difficulties in securing physical tonnage without taking an outright long exposure at what was considered as inflated levels against the paper market (FFA). At times this led to short positions with an overweight of cargo commitments covered by more expensive vessels as the market increased more than expected. The company has also made investments in new trading areas. In addition, the situation in thePanama -canal with restrictions and increased fees had a negative impact on the second half year results. The dry bulk market improved steadily throughout the second half of 2023. The Baltic Supramax Index 58'(BSI) averagedUSD 11,974 /day in H2 2023, 14% higher than theUSD 10,488 /day achieved in 1H 2023. The average spread betweenAtlantic and Pacific markets increased fromUSD 2,999 /day toUSD 6,925 /day in the second half of the year due to a much strongerAtlantic market. In relation to the release of the second half-year results, a digital investor presentation will be held by the company's CEO (Hans Aasnæs ) and CFO (Kenneth Thu ) on Friday 16th of February at11:00 CET . Contacts For more information, please contact:Hans Aasnæs , Chief Executive Officer Tel: +47 922 53957 E-mail: hans.aasnas@westernbulk.comKenneth Thu , Chief Financial Officer Tel: +47 988 74302 E-mail: kenneth.thu@westernbulk.com About Western Bulk Chartering:Western Bulk Chartering AS is a major dry bulk shipping operator. The company is owned by theKistefos Group (68,7 %), Sayonara AS (former Ojada AS) (8,3 %), and a group of about 1200 other shareholders.Western Bulk Chartering AS is registered on Euronext Growth Oslo. See www.westernbulk.com for more information.
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