Pyxis Tankers Says Q1 Slower Economic Activity Had A Negative Impact on Product Tanker Market

Pyxis Tankers Inc., an international shipping company, today announced unaudited results for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

For the three months ended March 31, 2025, our revenues, net, were $9.6 million. For the same period, our time charter equivalent (“TCE”) revenues were $8.4 million, a decrease of $1.8 million, or 17.4%, over the comparable period in 2024. Our net income attributable to common shareholders for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 was $0.8 million. For the first quarter of 2025, the net income per common share was $0.07 basic and diluted compared to the net income per common share of $0.33 basic and $0.30 diluted for the same period of 2024. Our Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $3.5 million, a decrease of $2.5 million over the comparable period in 2024. Please see “Non-GAAP Measures and Definitions” below.

On January 30, 2025, we fully utilized the remaining amount under our previously authorized $3.0 million common share repurchase program. During the quarter ended March 31, 2025, we repurchased 67,534 PXS common shares at an average price of $3.91 per share, excluding brokerage commissions, or $264 thousand in total. Since the summer of 2023, we have acquired a total of 730,683 common shares in the open market at an average cost of $4.03 per share, excluding commissions. As of the date of this press release, our common share repurchase program has expired, and 10,485,865 common shares are outstanding.

Our Chairman & CEO, Valentios Valentis, commented:

“Solid quarterly results despite challenging environment

We reported our first fiscal quarter, 2025 results with Revenues, net of $9.6 million, Adjusted EBITDA of $3.5 million and EPS of $0.07.

In sharp contrast to a robust Q1 of last year, the product tanker sector experienced lower charter rates due to slowing global economic activity as evidenced by softening global demand for transportation fuels. However, market conditions improved sequentially, supported by seasonal factors and underlying trade resilience. In the period ended March 31, 2025, our MR tankers generated an average TCE rate of $23,593 per day, which was up about 7% over Q4 2024 but 26% lower than Q1 of last year. Since the beginning of 2025, the product tanker environment has been in the process of normalizing with rates remaining above historical averages. As of May 20, 2025 our MRs were employed at an average estimated TCE of $21,600 per day, with 100% of our MR available days booked in the second quarter ending June 30, 2025. Our fleet of three modern eco-efficient MRs is currently employed under short-term time charters.

In the dry-bulk market, chartering conditions have remained subdued, weighed down by to soft demand for certain commodities and the continued deceleration of the Chinese economy. In the quarter ended March 31, 2025, our three mid-sized bulkers generated an average daily TCE rate of $13,013 which was a 12% improvement over the last quarter of 2024. As of May 20, 2025, our bulkers were employed at an average estimated TCE of $12,300 per day, with 62% of available days booked in the quarter ending June 30, 2025. We recently completed the second special surveys for our two Kamsarmaxes, which were re-delivered to us on time and on budget. All of our dry-bulk carriers are now employed under short-term time charters.

Positive outlook but greater uncertainty

For the remainder of 2025, we expect the chartering environment for both product tankers and the dry-bulk carriers to remain challenging. Global demand of seaborne cargoes for a broad range of refined petroleum products and dry-bulk commodities are expected to see modest growth for the year, accompanied by a normalization of ton-mile activity. The unpredictable trajectory of global tariffs is expected to adversely affect global economic activity with rising inflation and unemployment. Importantly, both sectors are expected to face limited direct exposure from tariffs. However, vessel supply is anticipated to increase in the second half of 2025 due to a pick-up in scheduled new build deliveries and minimal scrapping activity.

We believe there will be compelling opportunities in the near future to expand our fleet of mid-sized, modern eco-efficient vessels in both the product tanker and dry-bulk sectors. In the meantime, we expect to continue to utilize our operating cash flow to further enhance balance sheet liquidity, repay scheduled debt and maintain strong technical and commercial performance of our high-quality fleet.”

Results for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2025

Amounts relating to variations in period–on–period comparisons shown in this section are derived from the unaudited consolidated financials presented below.

For the three months ended March 31, 2025, we reported revenues, net of $9.6 million, or an 18.6% decrease from $11.8 million in the comparable 2024 period. Our net income attributable to common shareholders was $0.8 million, compared to a net income attributable to common shareholders of $3.4 million for the same period in 2024. Reported net income per common share was $0.07 basic and diluted, compared to net income per common share of $0.33 basic and $0.30 diluted, for the same period in 2024. The weighted average number of basic shares reduced to 10.4 million in the most recent period, mainly due to the common share buyback program. The average MR daily TCE rate during the first quarter of 2025 was $23,593 or 25.8% lower than the $31,790 MR daily TCE rate for the same period in 2024, due to increased unfixed days of 29 in the most recent period from nine days in 2024 and softer charter rates within the product tanker sector. The dry-bulk carriers had an average daily TCE rate of $13,013 for the first quarter of 2025 or 23.2% lower than the $16,950 daily TCE rate in the same period in 2024 due to poor charter rates in the dry bulk market. The revenue mix of the MRs for the first quarter of 2025 was 64% under short-term time charters and 36% from spot market employment, while the bulkers were only hired for short-term time charters. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $2.5 million to $3.5 million in the first quarter of 2025 from $6.0 million for the same period in 2024.
Source: Pyxis Tankers