K-Sea Transportation Partners continues to sail the right course to profits. On January 31, 2008, the company released their second quarter 2008 results, which show an increased distribution to shareholders of 2.8%. This is the eleventh consecutive quarter that the company has increased its dividend payment.
K-Sea Transportation went public in January 2004. Headquartered in East Brunswick, New Jersey, they trade on the NYSE as part of the Shipping sector and have a market capitalization of $486.8M. They are the largest coastal tank barge operator, as measured by barrel-carrying capacity, in the United States.
They provide their services to oil companies, oil traders, and oil refiners. K-Sea transports refined petroleum products. They also provide distribution and logistics services to the domestic marine transportation market. K-Sea has a fleet of one tanker, 74 tank barges, and 58 tugboats.
They operate out of New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Seattle, and Honolulu. Their President and CEO, Timothy J. Casey, has a Master of Science in Transportation from the State University of New York’s Maritime College. He has controller and CFO experience, and is a board member for American Waterways Operators.
The company currently has nine new tank vessels and one integrated tug-barge under construction. This will add a capacity of 753,000 barrels to their operations. The company’s barrel carrying capacity went from 1.1 million barrels to 4.3 million barrels in the period from April 1999 to January 2008.
K-Sea Transportation Partners is poised for further growth in the future. The company maintains a fleet which is 74% double-hulled. This means they will not have to replace a major portion of their fleet when single-hulled vessels go by the wayside in 2015 due to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. In fact, under these parameters, they can use their remaining few single-hulled tankers until January 1, 2015. This gives K-Sea time to upgrade and move forward to deliver more oil to more customers worldwide.
Let us hear your thoughts below: