[Dow Jones] [B]First Ship Lease Trust is likely to fall after its manager said late Tuesday units of Indonesian shipper Berlian Laju Tanker defaulted on lease payments for three chemical tankers. [/B]
Berlian Laju, one of the world’s largest chemical-tanker operators, said in January it would cease debt payments after breaching a loan-facility covenant and suspended its shares. FSLT, which has a 25-vessel portfolio, didn’t provide the outstanding amount, but said the leases contributed 12.8% of FY11 revenue; FY11 revenue was US$110 million. It expects NTA/unit to decrease US$0.03 to US$0.50. FSLT said if it repossesses the vessels, other lease options are available, but at lower rates. The stock ended Tuesday flat at S$0.199; it is down 30.0% year-to-date after its Jan. 19 results release said it would cut 4Q11 DPU to US$0.0010 from 4Q10’s US$0.0095 to conserve cash. Its S$0.194 all-time low is unlikely to offer much support. The news is also likely to weigh peers Rickmers Maritime Trust (B1ZU.SG) and Pacific Shipping Trust (P48U.SG).
[I]- L[LEFT]eslie Shaffer, Dow Jones and Co[/LEFT][/I]