Oslo-listed Western Bulk is predicting record earnings from an “exceptionally good start to the year.” The Norwegian supramax operator said net profit in the first six months should come in between $37m and $40m.The Christen Sveaas-backed company has benefited from strategic initiatives and an agile approach to market volatility, it added. The forecast is a “significant outperformance” of earlier expectations and should lead to the best profit in its 40-year history, Western Bulk said.

Since April, the supramax market has been hovering around $27,000 to $30,000 per day, with somewhat lower market volatility than the previous quarters, as expected, the company revealed. “However, the volatility in market rates between various geographic regions has stayed high and offered several trading opportunities,” Western Bulk said. The company explained that, historically, the market has been higher in the second half of the year, offering increased opportunities on the back of seasonality. This impact is expected to be limited this year due to lower economic growth and uncertainty related to Chinese demand, as well as increased protectionism, with countries like India imposing export restrictions to curb inflation, it believes.

Consequently, Western Bulk is anticipating “somewhat lower” results in the second six months, when compared to January to June. In March, the company said it was expecting a record first-quarter result in markets that had stayed volatile. Western Bulk predicted earnings of between $18m and $20m to 31 March. The operator explained it had used “continued high market volatility, both in respect of total market levels and relative levels between the Pacific and Atlantic basins” to boost profit.