PIRAEUS, Greece, May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (NYSE:ANW) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its two 2,400 dwt specialty ro-ro tankers, the Maistros and the Ostria, to an unrelated third party. Upon completing the sale of both vessels, which are not related to Aegean's core business for the physical supply of marine fuel, the Company expects to realize a net gain in the second quarter of 2009. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the sale to pay down debt.
E. Nikolas Tavlarios, President, commented, "With this transaction, management has once again acted opportunistically for shareholders. The agreement to sell Aegean's two specialty ro-ro tankers at an attractive price further reduces our debt, enhances our financial flexibility and strengthens our focus on the Company's core operations for the physical supply of marine fuel. With an expected profit from this sale, Aegean will further increase its sizeable liquidity position, a core differentiator for the Company. Aegean remains focused on drawing upon its significant access to capital to further strengthen the Company's industry leading position and drive future shareholder value." About Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc.
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. is an international marine fuel logistics company that markets and physically supplies refined marine fuel to ships in port and at sea. The Company procures product from various sources (such as refineries, oil producers, and traders) and resells it to a diverse group of customers across all major commercial shipping sectors and leading cruise lines. Currently, Aegean has a global presence in 14 markets, including Vancouver, Montreal, Mexico, Jamaica, West Africa, Gibraltar, U.K., Northern Europe, Piraeus and Patras (Greece), the United Arab Emirates as well as Singapore, and plans to commence operations in Tangiers, Morocco and Trinidad and Tobago.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "forecast," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include our ability to manage growth, our ability to maintain our business in light of our proposed business and location expansion, our ability to obtain double hull secondhand bunkering tankers, the outcome of legal, tax or regulatory proceedings to which we may become a party, adverse conditions in the shipping or the marine fuel supply industries, our ability to retain our key suppliers and key customers, material disruptions in the availability or supply of crude oil or refined petroleum products, changes in the market price of petroleum, including the volatility of spot pricing, increased levels of competition, compliance or lack of compliance with various environmental and other applicable laws and regulations, our ability to collect accounts receivable, changes in the political, economic or regulatory conditions in the markets in which we operate, and the world in general, our failure to hedge certain financial risks associated with our business, our ability to maintain our current tax treatments and our failure to comply with restrictions in our credit agreements and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. DATASOURCE: Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc.
CONTACT: Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc., +1-212-763-5665, ; Investor Relations: Leon Berman, Principal, The IGB Group, +1-212-477-8438 Web Site: http://www.ampni.com/
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