NewLead Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: NEWL) jumped from a penny stock last Thursday when the dry bulk shipping company enacted a one-for-50 reverse stock split so that the company’s shares would meet the minimum $1 per share requirement for a listing on the Nasdaq.
On Monday, the firm announce that it had taken delivery of a new eco-type Handysize vessel, the NewLead Albion, a dry bulk carrier of around 32,000 deadweight tons. A second Handysize vessel is scheduled for delivery in July. The company paid $18.25 million for each of the vessels, and their current market value, according to NewLead, is $20.25 million.
The eco-type ships are both more fuel-efficient and emit less carbon dioxide than earlier vessels. Shippers have been relying on slow-steaming to keep costs down as demand for shipping has slowed. The Baltic Dry Index has tumbled 55% since the beginning of the year and is currently at around 1,022. That is only a hair above the 1,000 starting value of the index in 1985.
NewLead’s shares were trading at around $3.47 in the noon hour on Tuesday, up more than 76% for the day after rising nearly 300% Monday.
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