Euroseas, an owner and operator of container carrier vessels and provider of seaborne transportation for containerized cargoes, announced its results for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2023.
Second Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights:
- Total net revenues of $47.7 million. Net income of $28.9 million or $4.17 and $4.15 earnings per share basic and diluted, respectively. Adjusted net income1 for the period was $29.0 million or $4.19 and $4.17 per share basic and diluted.
- Adjusted EBITDA1 was $30.6 million.
- An average of 17.95 vessels were owned and operated during the second quarter of 2023 earning an average time charter equivalent rate of $30,151 per day.
- Declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share for the second quarter of 2023 payable on or about September 16, 2023, to shareholders of record on September 9, 2023, as part of the Company’s common stock dividend plan.
- As previously announced, on July 6, 2023, the Company took delivery of its second newbuilding M/V “Terataki”, an eco 2,800 teu feeder containership from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. in South Korea. The vessel is EEDI Phase 3 compliant and equipped with a Tier III engine and other sustainability linked features including installation of AMP (alternative maritime power). The acquisition was financed with a combination of own funds and a sustainability-linked loan provided by the National Bank of Greece S.A. Following its delivery, M/V “Terataki” commenced a thirty-six- to forty-month charter with Asyad Lines.
- The original share repurchase program of $20 million approved by the Board during 2022 has been extended for another year. As of August 9, 2023, we have repurchased 396,615 shares of our common stock in open market transactions for $8.1 million.
First Half 2023 Financial Highlights:
- Total net revenues of $89.6 million. Net income of $57.6 million or $8.28 and $8.25 earnings per share basic and diluted, respectively. Adjusted net income1 for the period was $50.7 million or $7.29 and $7.26 per share basic and diluted, respectively.
- Adjusted EBITDA1 was $56.6 million.
- An average of 17.52 vessels were owned and operated during the first half of 2023 earning an average time charter equivalent rate of $29,714 per day.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented:
“We are very pleased with our results for the second quarter of 2023 which are one of the best results we have ever had since Euroseas became a containership focused public company in 2018. At the same time, our very high charter coverage at quite profitable rates for the remainder of the year but also for 2024 suggests that we should continue registering highly profitable quarters regardless of charter rates development.
“One-year time charter rates were up in the first half of the second quarter but up to now they have declined again by about 15% compared to their highs in mid-May. They are about 75% lower than their levels a year ago but they are still higher than their pre-pandemic levels. However, the direction they will take during the rest of 2023 and 2024 remains quite uncertain based on the projected supply and demand trends. There is good news on the economic front as it appears that the attack on inflation via interest rates increases has worked without causing a recession, at least, in the developed economies; undoubtedly, stronger economic growth is positive for containerized trade and containership demand. But there remain geopolitical uncertainties and, quite importantly, a large orderbook of containership vessels to be delivered over the next 2-3 years that the market needs to absorb. The latter seems a difficult task despite the expectation that fleet growth is to be somewhat mitigated by greenhouse gas emission regulations that will force some vessels to either reduce their speeds or stop trading.
“We believe we are well insulated from market volatility and expect to generate significant cash flow reserves that will allow us to comfortably fund the equity portion of our remaining seven newbuilding vessels, continue our dividend and share repurchase program and still have a significant war chest to pursue investment opportunities in an accretive way to our shareholders.
“Within the aforementioned concept we published our third Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. Our ESG report for 2022 presents our priorities and goals, reports on a wide range of sustainability-related Key Performance Indicators and provides extensive information about the ways in which our Company manages its impact on the environment, its people and society.”
Tasos Aslidis, Chief Financial Officer of Euroseas commented: “Within the second quarter of 2023 the container charter market has slightly improved as compared to the first quarter of the year. Still the charter rates observed in the second quarter of 2023 are significantly lower compared to the ones of the same period of 2022. Despite the significant decrease in the charter rates, our results for the second quarter of 2023 are slightly lower compared to the same period of 2022. This was due to the fact that most of our vessels are employed in time charter contracts booked before the decline of the market rates started. During the second quarter of 2023, we operated 17.95 vessels versus 16.46 vessels during the same period of last year. Our net revenues decreased to $47.7 million in the second quarter of 2023 compared to $48.5 million during the same period of last year. On a per-vessel-per-day basis, our vessels earned a 10.6% lower average charter rate in the second quarter of 2023 as compared to the same period of 2022.
“Daily vessel operating expenses, including management fees, averaged $7,114 per vessel per day during the second quarter of 2023 as compared to $7,080 per vessel per day for the same quarter of last year, and $7,220 per vessel per day for the first half of 2023 as compared to $6,867 per vessel per day for the same period of 2022, reflecting a 0.4% and 5.1% increase, respectively, which was attributable to the higher prices for all the categories of vessel supplies paid for our vessels compared to the same period of 2022. General and administrative expenses averaged $715 per vessel per day during the second quarter of 2023 as compared to $652 per vessel per day for the same quarter of last year, and $728 per vessel per day for the first half of 2023 as compared to $667 per vessel per day for the same period of 2022. The increase is mainly due to inflation adjustments.
“Adjusted EBITDA during the second quarter of 2023 was $30.6 million versus $34.2 million in the second quarter of last year. As of June 30, 2023, our outstanding debt (excluding the unamortized loan fees) was $132.8 million versus restricted and unrestricted cash of $38.2 million. As of the same date, our scheduled bank debt repayments over the next 12 months amounted to about $45.6 million (excluding the unamortized loan fees), and we are in compliance with all our loan covenants.”