In the first quarter of 2011 JSC “Latvijas kuģniecība” (LSC) and its subsidiaries suffered losses in the amount of 3.15 million USD which is 70% less than in the same period of 2010 when the losses constituted 10.58 million USD.

Although there was a moderate recovery in the freight market the LSC Group did not benefit fully from this as charters for 17 of the Group’s 21 ships were concluded by previous management at lower rates. In fact, the improvement in financial performance was mainly achieved by careful management of maintenance and administrative costs and reduced financial expenses. The current management is making stringent efforts to protect shareholder value through positive cash flows and the return to profitability. All newly concluded chartering agreements fully correspond with the prevailing freight market rates.

During the quarter LSC continued negotiations regarding the restructuring of the LSC’s syndicated loans with the aim of aligning loan commitments with the LSC’s anticipated financial performance.

The price of Latvian Shipping Company shares on the NASDAQ OMX Rīga increased by 13% during the quarter, outperforming the benchmark index OMX Riga which increased by 6%. Latvian Shipping Company’s shares were among the most actively traded – 700 transactions involving 12.35 million shares worth 5.40 million LVL. This represents 85% of all share transactions in number of shares and 50% in value on the NASDAQ OMX Rīga official list during the reporting period. On March 31, 2011, capitalization of Latvian Shipping Company shares at NASDAQ OMX Rīga was at a level of 86 million LVL.

Additional information:
Elīna Dobulāne
Press secretary
AS „Latvijas kuģniecība”
Phone +371 25959447
E-mail: elina.dobulane@lscgroup.lv