Bermudian-headquartered Ardmore Shipping Corporation, which owns and operates product and chemical tankers, has reported a net loss of $7.9 million for the first quarter of 2022.

That compares to a net loss of $8.5 million in the first quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter was $63.4 million, an increase of $17.8 million from $45.6 million in the first quarter of 2021.

Anthony Gurnee, the company's chief executive officer, said: "In anticipation of an improving market based on strong underlying fundamentals and the global economic recovery, we had already transitioned the Ardmore fleet to full spot market exposure by February.

“Having done that, and given the extent of operating leverage in our business, we have been well positioned to capture the benefits of a strong market for our shareholders at the first opportunity.

“Over the past two months, the product and chemical tanker markets have been transformed by extreme dislocation in these trades. MR product tankers have been the most significant beneficiary, owing to their versatility and trading flexibility, with rates reaching record highs in recent weeks; in our own fleet, rates have varied widely but we have fixed as high as $95,600 per day, and the average of our last two weeks of MR voyages fixed now stands at $34,400 per day.

“While the initial strength began in the US Gulf, it has now spread to all regions and so the dislocations seem likely to persist beyond the immediate period of heightened tensions.

“In the midst of this very disrupted market driven by the Ukraine conflict, we intend to continue supporting our affected seafarers and their families in any way we can, and will continue running our business in the prudent, responsible, performance-focused manner that all our stakeholders have come to expect of us."