Eagle Bulk Shipping profit plummets

Eagle Bulk Shipping profit plummets on lower revenue, charge related to borrowing

• On 6:56 pm EST, Wednesday November 4, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) -- Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. said Wednesday that third-quarter profit plunged as the weak global economy continued to plague shippers.

The dry bulk shipper said it earned $512,000, or a penny per share, down 98 percent from $23.2 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company said that excluding a charge related to changing its credit facility, it would have earned $3.9 million, or 6 cents per share.

Revenue dropped 19 percent to $41.6 million from $51.6 million a year ago.

Analysts, who usually exclude items from their forecasts, expected Eagle to earn 3 cents per share on sales of $41.6 million.

The company said it expects to add seven ships by the end of March, five of which are chartered with minimum contracted revenues of $259 million.

The company amended its credit facility down to $1.2 billion from $1.35 billion and plans to use it to finance commitments for new ships. The company took a charge of $3.4 million related to the change.

Shares rose 8 cents to $4.78 in regular trading, then fell 18 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $4.60 in extended trading after the financial report.