Global Ship Lease, an owner of containerships, announced today its unaudited results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024.
Full Year and Fourth Quarter of 2024 Highlights and Other Recent Developments
– 4Q 2024 operating revenue of $182.4 million; full year operating revenue of $711.1 million, up 5.4% on 2023.
– 4Q 2024 net income available to common shareholders of $90.2 million, or $2.54 Earnings per Share (EPS); full year 2024 net income of $344.1 million, or $9.74 EPS, up 16.6% on net income of 2023.
– 4Q 2024 normalized net income3 of $90.4 million, or $2.55 normalized EPS³; full year 2024 normalized net income of $352.7 million, or $9.99 normalized EPS³, up 10.3% on normalized net income of 2023.
– 4Q 2024 Adjusted EBITDA3 of $123.7 million; full year 2024 Adjusted EBITDA of $494.7 million, up 7.1% on 2023.
– Purchased four high-reefer, ECO-9,000 TEU containerships (the “Newly Acquired Vessels”), with charters attached, for an aggregate price of $274 million, and agreed 10-year financing priced at SOFR + 2.50%. Three of these vessels were delivered to us in December 2024 and the fourth in January 2025.
– Sold three older ships, consistent with our fleet renewal strategy. Tasman (5,900 TEU, built 2000), Akiteta (2,200 TEU, built 2002), and Keta (2,200 TEU, built 2003) are contracted for sale for an aggregate price of $54.5 million (compared to an aggregate book value at December 31, 2024 of $24.9 million). The sale of Tasman was agreed in December 2024, while those of Keta and Akiteta were agreed in February 2025. Akiteta was delivered to her new owners on February 19th, 2025 and the remaining two ships are scheduled for delivery to their new owners in first half 2025.
– Added $884.8 million of contracted revenues during 2024 and the first two months of 2025, bringing contracted revenues as of December 31, 2024 to $1.88 billion, over a weighted average remaining duration of 2.3 years.
– Declared a dividend of $0.45 per Class A common share for the fourth quarter of 2024, to be paid on or about March 6, 2025 to common shareholders of record as of February 24, 2025. Paid a dividend of $0.45 per Class A common share for the third quarter of 2024 on December 4, 2024.
– Board of Directors determined that sustained market demand for GSL’s fleet and the Company’s progress on securing forward fixtures at attractive levels supports a $0.075 per share increase in our quarterly supplemental dividend, amounting to a 16.7% increase in total annualized dividends per share to $2.10 ($0.525 per quarter), which is expected to commence with the dividend that is declared for the first quarter 2025 and payable in June 2025.
– Repurchased an aggregate of 251,772 Class A common shares during 2024, for a total consideration of approximately $5.0 million; all such repurchases were executed in the first quarter. Since third quarter 2021, the Company has invested $57.0 million in repurchasing an aggregate of 3,076,725 common shares, at an average price of $18.52 per share. Approximately $33.0 million of capacity remains under the Company’s opportunistic share buy-back authorization.
– On August 16, 2024, entered into a new equity distribution agreement with Evercore Group L.L.C. to opportunistically offer and sell Class A common shares having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million. 27,106 Class A common shares were issued at an average price of $27.02 during the third quarter for total gross proceeds of $0.7 million; as at the date of this press release no further shares have since been issued.
George Youroukos, our Executive Chairman, stated: “Demand for our well-specified, fuel-efficient vessels was very firm throughout 2024, and remains so today. We have taken advantage of these tailwinds to secure extended charter coverage across our fleet, adding $885 million of contracted revenues to our already-substantial backlog. In many cases, we have been able to secure attractive, multi-year coverage even for our oldest ships. Additionally, in December, our financial strength and industry position enabled us to move quickly to acquire four highly specified younger vessels, on charter to Hapag-Lloyd, further increasing our revenue backlog and lowering our average fleet age, with terms and financing that de-risked the transaction upfront. We are also rotating out three of our older ships, all of which are contracted to be sold on attractive terms. In a highly volatile and uncertain geopolitical environment, we benefit from the optionality and deployment flexibility represented by our fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships. As we closely track developments around the world, we are confident that we are well-positioned now, and in the future, to sustain our track record of creating shareholder value through operational excellence, capital allocation discipline, and opportunistic acquisitions.”
Thomas Lister, our Chief Executive Officer, stated: “As we look at a geopolitical environment and global trade landscape that is as complex, unpredictable, and dynamic as any that we have encountered, we are confident that our consistent focus on building balance sheet strength and maintaining a long-term perspective has positioned us well to manage risks and to pounce on opportunities as they arise. Over several years, we have sustained and greatly benefited from the shipping up-cycle, capitalizing on our strong cashflow and forward visibility to opportunistically refinance, extend our debt maturities, and reduce our borrowing costs, thereby further improving our competitiveness, financial strength, and ability to move nimbly and selectively on the right deals. From this robust platform, we are well placed to execute on value-maximizing opportunities in whatever market environment prevails in the quarters and years ahead. Meanwhile, we have the opportunity and confidence to share the uplift in our contracted revenues with our shareholders through an increase in our supplemental dividend, bringing our total annualized dividend to $2.10 per common share, up 40% from $1.50 per common share at this time last year.”