Danish product tanker owner Torm raised its full-year 2026 earnings guidance on Monday, October 12. It pointed to freight coverage already in place and its view that market strength would persist for the balance of the fourth quarter.
The company now forecasts time charter equivalent (TCE) earnings of $1.7 billion–$1.9 billion, up from $1.4 billion–$1.6 billion.
It expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.3 billion–$1.5 billion, up from $1 billion–$1.2 billion. Each endpoint rose by $300 million, lifting the TCE midpoint by 20 per cent and the EBITDA midpoint by about 27 per cent.
Torm attributed the revision to earnings visibility above its previous expectations, alongside continued favourable conditions for the product tanker market. CEO Jacob Meldgaard said "exceptional market strength and strong execution" had led to the upgrade, which the company described as reaching record levels.
In the second quarter, Torm reported TCE of $512 million, EBITDA of $416 million and net profit of $338 million. The same quarter of 2025 produced $208 million, $127 million and $59 million respectively. Fleet-wide TCE averaged $59,301 per day, against $26,672 per day a year earlier.
The company has partly attributed the tight market to fewer vessels available for clean trades.
It said that by July, the overall number of product tankers was up five per cent year to date, while capacity trading “clean petroleum” products (CPP) was down five per cent. From the start of the year through July, the number of LR2 tankers trading CPP fell by 70, even with 46 LR2 newbuilding deliveries.
The upgrade follows shipping counterpart Norden's decision to raise its 2026 net profit forecast on October 6, citing firmer tanker rates. Fellow product tanker operator Hafnia reported an average fleet rate of $44,093 per day for the second quarter.
