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Module 2: Company Details |
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Date of incorporation: |
17 March 1984. |
Place of incorporation: |
Liberia. Operates from Greece via Law 89/67. |
Company Type: |
Private. |
Company Status: |
Active. |
Share Capital: |
Not disclosed. |
Shareholders: |
Believed to be Constantine Palaiologos. |
Directors: |
Constantine Palaiologos, Anna Palaiologos. |
Managers: |
Constantine Palaiologos - Technical Manager.
Anna Palaiologos - Financial Manager.
Leo Palaiologos - Operations Manager.
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Main Banks: |
HSBC Bank (Piraeus branch), Royal Bank of Scotland (Piraeus). |
Company Affiliates /
Subsidiaries: |
None. |
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Module 3: Operations |
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Brief Description: Ship's agency, commercial and technical manager of five dry cargo vessels. |
History: Halikarnassos Shipping Agencies (hereafter HSA) was set up to manage the Colossus of Rhodes, the first dry bulker purchased by Constantine Palaiologos in 1984. Prior to that time, Palaiologos worked in the shipping sector for over 15 years, mainly in the London-based agency offices of several Greek owners. HSA has grown through shrewd sales & purchase activity. |
Current Operations: HSA manages one Capesize, two Panamax and two handymax/handysize dry bulkers, believed to be controlled by the Palaiologos family. The ships are registered offshore, under single-shipholding companies, thus ultimate ownership will be difficult to establish. The vessels all work spot, and are mostly deployed in the South America-Australasia-Far East Asia markets. Common cargoes are iron ore, coal, steel, coke and grain. HSA's principals are rumoured to be cash-rich and considering acquisitions of modern, second-hand tonnage while prices are attractive. Such activity should lead to the scrapping of older vessels such as the Colossus of Rhodes and Constantine V. |
Recent Developments: Constantine Palaiologos' son, Leo Palaiologos, joined the company in 1999 as an operations manager. In December 1999, the Colossus of Rhodes was detained by Australian Port State Control for numerous technical defects, including a number of cracks in the superstructure and corroded bulk heads. The 1978-built, 28,000dwt bulker Nike was scrapped in January 2000, following the 1976-built, 18,000dwt general cargo carrier Solon, which was scrapped in November 1999. |
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Module 4: Fleet |
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Name |
Size |
Type |
Flag |
Built |
Acquired |
Colossus of Rhodes |
147,000 |
Bulk |
Pan |
1975 |
1984 |
Lykourgos |
65,000 |
Bulk |
Pan |
1984 |
1988 |
Themistokles |
68,000 |
Bulk |
Pan |
1985 |
1989 |
Plataea |
36,000 |
Bulk |
Pan |
1986 |
1991 |
Constantine V |
38,000 |
Bulk |
Pan |
1977 |
1989 |
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Module 5: Financial |
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Filed Accounts: None. |
Statutory Requirements: Not required to file accounts. |
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Commentary: No figures have been disclosed for HSA or the fleet. As a management/agency company, HSA's turnover is generated from fees and commissions charged to the shipholding companies in the fleet. It is unlikely that HSA is operated as a profit centre. The balance sheet will be typical of a service company, with limited fixed assets, minimal equity.and current items dominant.
The real profit centres are the shipowning companies, believed ultimately to be controlled by the Palaiologos family. The fleet comprises old tonnage, operating spot. The dry bulk markets have been poor since 1996, though have improved recently. The five ships currently managed could have generated about US$9.5 million in 1999. With tight cost control, the fleet should have generated operating profit margins of 10% to 15%. Currently they are achieving better margins. As assets, the two Panamaxes could be worth US$2 million each, while the Plataea could fetch US$6 million on the second-hand markets. It is believed that the Colossus of Rhodes and Constantine V are being considered for scrapping. They could fetch US$2.5 - 3 million in scrap value.
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Module 6: Payment References |
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HSA deals with a number of independent bunker traders for bunkers and two of the oil majors for lubricants. With traders, HSA has credit lines of between US$200-400,000. Feedback indicates that since the start of 1999, payments have slowed from an average of 45-50 to 60-70 days after delivery on bunker fuels, and up to 90-100 days after delivery for lubricants. Terms vary between suppliers. References from paints suppliers, chandlers and other suppliers indicate late payments, though within the context of Greek companies and poor markets these were not considered to be severe. Our sources were not concerned about the slow-down in payments, indicating that HSA's performance typically reflected the state of the markets. |
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Module 7: Rating and Assessment |
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Rating |
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Opinion |
Trend |
Overall Performance |
A |
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Payment Performance |
B |
 
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Credit Opinion |
US$400,000 |
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Suggested Review Period |
6 months |
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Assessment: Due to positive factors such as the management skills of the principals, coupled with perceived strong finances and recently improved markets, we support a credit facility at this time, but you need to be able to tolerate possible delays. |
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Confidentiality: This document, and any attachments, contains information which is confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient please note that any copying, use, dissemination or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this document and/or attachments is prohibited and unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please telephone us immediately on +44 1865 420400
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