Maritrans Part (NYSE:TUG)
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Maritrans Inc. (NYSE:TUG), a leading U.S. flag marine
petroleum transport company, today announced preliminary operating
data for the first quarter of 2006. This operating data may differ
from the Company's actual first quarter operating data and may not be
predictive of the Company's financial results, which are expected to
be announced on Monday, May 1, 2006.
OUT OF SERVICE TIME
The Company expects to report approximately 108 days of out of
service time for maintenance and capital projects during the first
quarter of 2006. This number includes 72 days that were forecasted in
February 2006 as well as an additional 36 days of unscheduled
maintenance primarily due to weather related barge repairs. The
Company also expects to report 80 days of out of service for idle time
in its spot fleet related to refinery maintenance turnarounds in the
Gulf of Mexico, the slow ramping up of production at a number of Gulf
refineries impacted by the 2005 hurricane season, and Gulf refineries
shut down for retooling to prepare for the new ultra low sulfur diesel
specifications. In the Delaware River refinery system, there were
three refineries undergoing scheduled maintenance for a portion of the
quarter and as a result the Company's lightering volumes delivered
were down less than 2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005 levels.
Based on the expected total out of service time, the Company's fleet
utilization for the first quarter of 2006 was approximately 79 percent
compared to 77.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005 and 81.8
percent in the first quarter of 2005. The Company also expects to
report a total of 43.6 million barrels carried and 1,307 available
days in the first quarter of 2006, compared to 41.7 million barrels
carried and 1,220 available days in the fourth quarter of 2005 and
45.2 million barrels carried and 1,189 available days in the first
quarter of 2005. A portion of the increase in available days in the
first quarter of 2006 is due to the addition of the M/V Seabrook
midway through the fourth quarter of 2005.
SPOT RATES
Rates in the U.S. Jones Act spot market in the first quarter of
2006 averaged 14 percent higher than the first quarter of 2005 and,
despite the reduced industry utilization, remained flat compared to
the fourth quarter of 2005. Approximately 35 percent of Maritrans'
fleet operated in the spot market during the first quarter of 2006.
Jonathan Whitworth, Chief Executive Officer of Maritrans,
commented, "The unusual combination of events during the quarter
caused scheduled refinery maintenance to be higher than expected. On a
clean products yield basis, we estimate that the refining capacity
decrease from the first quarter of 2005 to the first quarter of 2006
was equal to approximately 900,000 bbls./day of gasoline, diesel and
jet fuel production, which was even higher than industry projections.
PIRA Energy Group, an international energy consulting firm, reported
that the amount of U.S. refinery capacity offline during the first
quarter of 2006 was around 1.7 million bbls./day, which was above the
originally scheduled level of 1.1 million bbls./day. While we
anticipate that refinery maintenance will continue to be heavy through
the second quarter, we expect market fundamentals to remain favorable
in the second half of 2006 as a result of the expected demand for the
Company's transportation services and reduced supply of vessels.
Longer term, we also remain optimistic on the Jones Act vessel supply
and petroleum transportation demand fundamentals as well as Maritrans'
position in the U.S. Jones Act industry."
FIRST QUARTER 2006 EARNINGS RELEASE AND CONFERENCE CALL
The Company also announced that it will release its first quarter
2006 earnings on the afternoon of Monday, May 1, 2006. Maritrans'
management will host an investor conference call on Tuesday, May 2,
2006, at 9:00 a.m. eastern time to discuss the results. To access the
conference call, dial (800) 732-8470. Following the teleconference, a
replay of the call may be accessed by dialing (800) 633-8284 and
entering the reservation number 21289838. The replay will be available
from 11:00 a.m. eastern time on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 to 11:00 a.m.
eastern time on Tuesday, May 16, 2006. The conference call will also
be webcast live on Maritrans' website, www.maritrans.com, and a replay
will be available on the site immediately following the call through
Tuesday, May 16, 2006.
ABOUT MARITRANS
Maritrans Inc. is a U.S. based company with a 78-year commitment
to building and operating petroleum transport vessels for the U.S.
domestic trade. Maritrans employs a fleet of tug/barge units and
tankers. One of these vessels, our tanker Allegiance, was redeployed
in December 2005 to the transportation of non-petroleum cargo.
Approximately 69 percent of our oil carrying fleet capacity is
double-hulled. Our current oil carrying fleet capacity aggregates
approximately 3.6 million barrels. Maritrans is headquartered in
Tampa, Florida, and maintains an office in the Philadelphia area.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, including statements made with respect to present or
anticipated utilization, future revenues and customer relationships,
capital expenditures, future financings, and other statements
regarding matters that are not historical facts, and involve
predictions. These statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels
of activity, growth, performance, earnings per share or achievements
to be materially different from any future results, levels of
activity, growth, performance, earnings per share or achievements
expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some
cases you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such
as "may," "seem," "should," "believe," "future," "potential,"
"estimate," "offer," "opportunity," "quality," "growth," "expect,"
"intend," "plan," "focus," "through," "strategy," "provide," "meet,"
"allow," "represent," "commitment," "create," "implement," "result,"
"seek," "increase," "establish," "work," "perform," "make,"
"continue," "can," "will," "include," or the negative of such terms or
comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements inherently
involve certain risks and uncertainties, although they are based on
our current plans or assessments that are believed to be reasonable as
of the date of this prospectus supplement. The forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and
include the following: demand for, or level of consumption of, oil and
petroleum products; future spot market charter rates; ability to
attract and retain experienced, qualified and skilled crewmembers;
competition that could affect our market share and revenues; risks
inherent in marine transportation; the cost and availability of
insurance coverage; delays or cost overruns in the building of new
vessels, the double-hulling of our remaining single hulled vessels and
scheduled shipyard maintenance; decrease in demand for lightering
services; environmental and regulatory conditions; reliance on a
limited number of customers for revenue; the continuation of federal
law restricting United States point-to-point maritime shipping to US
vessels (the Jones Act); asbestos-related lawsuits; fluctuating fuel
prices; high fixed costs; capital expenditures required to operate and
maintain a vessel may increase due to government regulations; reliance
on unionized labor; federal laws covering our employees that may
subject us to job-related claims; and significant fluctuations of our
stock price. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. You should read this
news release completely and with the understanding that our actual
future results may be materially different from what we expect. These
forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions
only as of the date of this news release. Except for our ongoing
obligations to disclose material information under the federal
securities laws, we are not obligated to update these forward-looking
statements, even though our situation may change in the future. We
qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary
statements.