NEW YORK (AP) - Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. said Wednesday that third-quarter profit plunged as the weak global economy continued to plague shippers.

The dry bulk shipper said it earned $512,000, or a penny per share, down 98 percent from $23.2 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company said that excluding a charge related to changing its credit facility, it would have earned $3.9 million, or 6 cents per share.

EAGLE BULK SHIPPING INC  NASDAQ:EGLE  Updated: 16:00 ET  5.99  +0.12

Revenue dropped 19 percent to $41.6 million from $51.6 million a year ago.

Analysts, who usually exclude items from their forecasts, expected Eagle to earn 3 cents per share on sales of $41.6 million.

The company said it expects to add seven ships by the end of March, five of which are chartered with minimum contracted revenues of $259 million.

The company amended its credit facility down to $1.2 billion from $1.35 billion and plans to use it to finance commitments for new ships. The company took a charge of $3.4 million related to the change.

Shares rose 8 cents to $4.78 in regular trading, then fell 18 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $4.60 in extended trading after the financial report.

11/04/09 18:56 © Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.