Scorpio Banks $50 Million Off Newbuild VLCC Resale

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG) says it is set to make $50 million in cash on the resale of it’s seven newbuild VLCC’s still under construction.

Scorpio ordered the VLCC’s back in December 2013 from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries for an aggregate price of approximately $652.5 million, marking the company’s short-lived entry into the VLCC market.

An announcement from Scorpio this week said it has now reached an agreement for the resale of these vessels, which will earn them a gain of approximately $50 million in cash. Scorpio says the transaction is subject to the execution of definitive agreements and certain closing conditions, but the deal is expected to close by the end March 2014.

Following this transaction, Scorpio Tankers still has 56 newbuild product tanker orders with HMD, SPP, HSHI and DSME, made up of 30 medium-range tankers, 14 Handymaxes and 12 long-range tankers with delivery slated to begin this quarter through Q2 2015. The companies orderbook is now valued at more than $1.6 billion, of which $148.2 million has been paid.

Scorpio Tankers current fleet consists of 21 owned tankers with an average age of 4.0 years (one LR2 tanker, four LR1 tankers, one Handymax tanker, 14 MR tankers, and one post-Panamax tanker) and time charters in 31 product tankers (ten LR2, five LR1, seven MR and nine Handymax tankers).