Pyxis Tankers reports Q2 EPS (19c) vs. 43c last year
Reports Q2 revenue $9.2M vs. $13.9M last year.Chairman & CEO, Valentios Valentis, commented," We reported results for the second fiscal quarter, 2025 with Revenues, net of $9.2 million, Adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 million and net loss per share of $0.19. In comparison to the comparable 2024 period, quarterly results were largely impacted by a $3.5 million decline in TCE revenues and a $2.9 million increase in general and administrative expenses, substantially reflecting the payment of a non-recurring long-term prior performance bonus. In sharp contrast to a robust first half of last year, the product tanker sector continued to experience lower charter rates during 2025, largely due to slowing global economic activity as evidenced by softer global demand for transportation fuels. Still, charter rates remain reasonably healthy in comparison to long-term historical averages. For the period ended June 30, 2025, our MR tankers generated an average TCE rate of $20,686 per day, which declined about $2,900 per day sequentially from the first quarter of 2025 and decreased by 37% from the second quarter of last year. As of August 7, 2025, our MRs were employed at an average estimated TCE of $21,600 per day, with 91% of our MR available days booked in the third quarter ending September 30, 2025. Given ongoing market uncertainties caused by unprecedented geo-political events and subdued macro-economic conditions, we continue to employ our fleet of three modern, eco-efficient MRs under short-term time charters. In the dry-bulk market, chartering conditions remained depressed during the first half of 2025, weighed down by soft demand for key commodities and the continued deceleration of China's economic growth. For the quarter ended June 30, 2025, our three mid-sized bulkers generated an average daily TCE rate of $12,840 which was a slight decline from the first quarter of 2025 but lower by over 42% compared to Q2 2024. As of August 7, 2025, our bulkers were employed at an improving average estimated TCE of $15,250 per day, with 66% of available days booked in the third quarter ending September 30, 2025. All of our dry-bulk carriers are currently employed under short-term time charters. Measured optimism with greater uncertainty For the remainder of 2025, we expect the chartering environment for both product tankers and the dry-bulk carriers to remain challenging. Global demand for seaborne cargoes including a broad range of refined petroleum products and dry-bulk commodities are expected to see modest growth for the year, accompanied by a normalization of ton-mile activity. While world-wide economic activity has shown resilience in the first half of 2025, the unpredictable path of tariffs is expected to adversely affect the global economy with slowing trade, rising inflation and unemployment. However, surprising positive developments may occur. Notably, last week's announcement of a $750 billion energy trade agreement by the 27 bloc of countries within the European Union to purchase U.S. energy products over the next three years represents a potential tailwind for tanker demand. In the short-term, improved refinery margins and the accelerated return of all of the voluntary OPEC+ crude oil production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day offer further encouragement for the tanker market. Historically, demand growth for many refined petroleum products and dry-bulk commodities has been reasonably correlated to global GDP growth. In July, the International Monetary Fund revised its annual global growth forecast to average ~ 3% through 2026. Vessel supply is anticipated to increase in the second half of 2025 due to a pick-up in scheduled new build deliveries and historically -low scrapping activity. According to Arrow Shipbrokering Group, the MR orderbook stood at 319 tankers, or 16.9% of the global fleet, while 320 MRs, or 17.2%, were already 20 years of age or more, creating a large pool of scrapping candidates and contributing to a more balanced long-term supply outlook. On the dry-bulk side, fleet growth for 2025 is expected to outpace sluggish demand growth, despite the normal seasonal uplift in trade of certain minor bulk commodities anticipated this Fall. However, potential scrapping and slow-steaming of a large number of older, less efficient bulkers could mitigate some of the pressure on chartering conditions. Overall fundamental cargo demand continues to be supported by the ton-mile effects stemming from the continued hostilities of the Russian-Ukrainian war and tensions in the Middle East, including the resurgence of deadly vessel attacks in the Red Sea. Meanwhile, a gradual shift towards more accommodative monetary policies by global central banks along with unpredictable prospect of peace in major conflict areas offer some optimism. But, heightened macroeconomic uncertainty exacerbated by tariffs and evolving trade restrictions underscore the importance of our maintaining a prudent and disciplined approach to operational and financial management. Looking ahead, we believe there will be compelling growth opportunities in the near future to expand our fleet of mid-sized, modern eco-efficient vessels in both the product tanker and dry-bulk sectors. Last week, we closed on the new bank commitment of up to $45 million, which combined with cash on hand, will enable us to promptly fund the potential acquisition of two vessels by January, 2027. In the meantime, we expect to continue to utilize our operating cash flow to further enhance balance sheet liquidity, repay scheduled debt and maintain strong technical and commercial performance of our high-quality fleet."
