DryShips Down 16% After Q3 Loss

Shares of dry bulk carrier DryShips DRYS are under significant pressure on Thursday after the company reported a large loss in the fiscal third-quarter. At last check, the stock had shed 16 percent and was trading at $1.74. The company said that a recession in Europe and the exit of a number of shipping banks from the sector in order to meet BASEL III capital standards are weighing on its business. "The shipping market continues to be severely depressed. Both tanker and drybulk spot charter rates have been at historic low levels -- well below cash breakeven rate -- for some time. Unfortunately this is coming at a time when our lucrative legacy charters continue to expire on a staggered basis," Chairman and CEO George Economou said in a statement. For the third-quarter, the Athens-based company reported a loss of $51.27 million or $0.13 per share, compared to net income of $25.03 million or $0.07 per share, in the year ago period. On an adjusted basis, which is comparable to analysts' consensus, the company reported a loss of $33.3 million or $0.09 per share. This was worse than the Wall Street consensus EPS estimates which called for a loss of $0.02. Total revenues in the period were $343.64 million from $318.05 million last year. This beat analysts' consensus revenue estimates of $331.52 million. Year-to-date, DRYS is now down around 12.5 percent, and remains well off of its highs above $3.50. Over the last 5 years, the stock has lost more than 98 percent of its value as the shipping industry was hit extremely hard during the financial crisis. Currently, the company has a market cap of just $724 million.