NASDAQ-LISTED shipping group TBS International is to relocate to Ireland from Bermuda to avail of unspecified “economic benefits”.
The board of the Hamilton-based group unanimously approved the change in the place of incorporation on Monday. Shareholders will be asked to approve the transaction by the end of the year.
Shareholders in TBS will become shareholders in a new Irish company, TBS International plc, which will be known as TBS Ireland.
TBS believes that incorporation in Ireland will provide “economic benefits and help ensure our continued global competitiveness”, according to a statement from Joseph E Royce, chairman, chief executive and president. Calls to the company’s Yonkers, New York offices were not returned yesterday.
“As a member of the European Union, Ireland offers a stable political and economic environment and sophisticated, well-developed corporate, legal and regulatory environment.
“It also has a long history of international investment and long-established commercial relationships, trade agreements and tax treaties with European Union member states, the US and other countries around the world where TBS does business.
“In addition, Ireland has the financial and legal infrastructure to meet TBS’s current and future needs,” the statement read.
TBS owns a fleet of 47 multi-purpose cargo ships and its business is focused “around key trade routes between Latin America and China, Japan and South Korea, as well as select ports in North America, Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East”.
Six ships are under construction. The group says its strategy is to target routes, ports and cargos not being efficiency served by the operators of large container and bulk carrier ships. It says its vessels can operate in ports not easily serviced by larger vessels.
The group floated on the stock market in 2005 and had a “follow-on” offering in May 2008. Its losses in the six months to June were $38.2 million, while revenues were $143.3 million. This compares with profits of $98 million in the first half of 2008 and revenues of $288.5 million. Freight carried by its ships increased from 4.3 million tons to 4.6 million tons, but average freight rates fell from $52.37 to $27.03.
