The Q2 result was announced after market hours on Thursday, 24 October 2013.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 13.35 points or 0.06% at 20,712.08.

On BSE, 2,077 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 11,355 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 18.30 and a low of Rs 17.60 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 31.40 on 25 October 2012. The stock had hit a record low of Rs 13 on 6 August 2013.

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 24 October 2013, surging 11.86% compared with Sensex's 4.04% gain. The scrip had, however, underperformed the market over the past one quarter, advancing 2.95% as against Sensex's 3.16% rise.

The small-cap company has equity capital of Rs 205.23 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Essar Shipping's consolidated revenue declined 35.32% to Rs 516.08 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declined 2.38% to Rs 212.98 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012.

Essar Shipping said that the reduction is revenue was mainly due to scale down of logistics services done through Essar Logistics (ELL). This has been done as part of plan of Essar Shipping to focus on its core high EBITDA margin business activities viz. Sea Transportation and Oilfields Services, the company said. The EBITDA margins have increased to 41% during the current quarter as compared to 27% in the corresponding quarter of previous year.

The shipping business registered a turnover of Rs 255 crore, EBITDA of Rs 62 crore and net loss of Rs 29 crore in Q2 September 2013 as against turnover of Rs 370 crore, EBITDA of Rs 90 crore and net loss of Rs 62 crore in Q2 September 2012.

Commenting on the results of the shipping business, Capt. Anoop Sharma Director & CEO Sea Transportation Business said, "Shipping industry is still facing pressure on freight rates, though there is some increase in the Capesize dry bulk sector. The tanker segment continues to be under pressure".

During the quarter, the oilfields services business registered a turnover of Rs 191 crore, EBITDA of Rs 128 crore and net profit of Rs 8 crore as against turnover of Rs 165 crore, EBITDA of Rs 107 crore and net profit of Rs 19 crore in Q2 September 2012.

Essar's semi-submersible rig, Essar Wildcat, continues its drilling contract with ConocoPhillips, Indonesia, operating at very high efficiency levels. Commenting on the results, Mr. Ankur Gupta, CEO of Essar's Oilfield Services Business, said, "The Oilfields Services business has been consistently enhancing its performance by operating its rig assets at very high efficiency levels. We are also implementing cost containment measures and streamlining operating processes, which has led to a reduction of about 4% in operating expenses in this quarter as against the corresponding quarter of FY 2013. We are also actively pursuing opportunities for deployment of various assets in international geographies to increase our asset utilisation".

Essar Shipping operates a diversified fleet of 26 vessels, including VLCCs, Capesize, Mini-capesize, Supramaxes, mini-bulk carriers & tugs. A sizeable part of the capacity is deployed on long-term contracts and COAs, insulating the company from the volatility of spot markets. The Oilfields Services business provides contract drilling services to oil & gas companies across the globe. This business owns one semi-submersible rig and 15 land rigs. The company has two new jack-up rigs on order.