GLYFADA, GREECE / ACCESSWIRE / April 9, 2024 / Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:SHIP), a leading player in the global shipping industry, reported a fourth-quarter net profit of $10.8 million, a significant increase from $0.5 million in the previous year. The company's revenue also grew to $39.4 million compared to $28.5 million for the same quarter last year. Despite a very volatile Capesize market, Seanergy's daily time charter equivalent (TCE) outperformed the Baltic Capesize Index (BCI) by 7% in 2023.
For the first three months of 2024, the company is projecting a TCE of $23,219 per day. During the full-year period, they recorded a net income of $2.3 million, while their fleet's average daily rate was $17,501, exceeding the Baltic Capesize Index average of $16,389. Seanergy says its consistent ability to generate higher revenues from its Capesize fleet compared to industry benchmarks sets it apart from other shipping companies like Hapag-Llyod Aktien and Matson Inc.
In the first quarter, experiencing the strongest start for the Capesize market since 2011, Seanergy reports it has capitalized on the surge in freight futures prices. Seanergy has utilized the freight futures market to fix the rates for approximately half of its ownership days in the second quarter at around $28,300 per day, securing strong cash flow and profitability.
In February 2024, Seanergy acquired a 2013 Japanese-built Capesize dry bulk vessel with a capacity of 181,392 deadweight tons (dwt), which will be renamed M/V Iconship. The purchase price was $33.7 million, however, the value of the bulker has increased to $38 million since.
"The actions we have taken to grow our fleet substantially over the past three years with quality assets and to further strengthen our balance sheet have us optimally positioned to reap the benefits of what looks like a very strong capesize market," shared CEO Stamatis Tsantanis.
Tsantanis explained some of the overall strategy, "As you have seen, we have a perfectly balanced approach. We acquired ships, which we believe will contribute very significantly to the cash flow of the company going forward … We also buy back the stock and at the same time, we pay a dividend. So, we're doing all three that we can in a perfectly balanced way. It's going to be pretty much the same. Assuming that the rates and the cash flow allows, we will continue to reward the shareholders, and of course, doing buybacks as well in the event that allows. … In many cases, we have maximized that and the stock price has been increasing. So, we're doing our best to comply with all three major balanced allocations of capital."
United Maritime
Seanergy's spin-off company, United Maritime Corporation (NASDAQ:USEA), completed a sale-and-leaseback transaction to generate liquidity and potentially expand its fleet of bulkers. The transaction allowed United Maritime to refinance an existing $13 million loan facility. The six-year lease gives United Maritime options to repurchase the vessel after the first two years, with ownership transferred at no additional cost.
In 2023, United Maritime successfully regrew its fleet, continuing the shareholders' reward program, and managed to record a positive bottom line. The net revenues for 2023 were $36.1 million, which increased by 58% compared to 2022, but so did voyage expenses, interest and finance costs. As a result, their fleet earned an average daily TCE rate of about $15,400 in 2023, compared to $28,800 in 2022.
United Maritime recorded $11.6 million in net revenues, with adjusted EBITDA at $4.6 million for the fourth quarter. Despite the quarterly loss of $0.7 million, United Maritime maintained the dividend of $0.075 per share, reflecting a solid 11% annualized yield. United Maritime anticipates that the fleet's daily TCE earnings could see additional growth if the physical market aligns with the forward curve for freight rates this quarter. Furthermore, it is securing higher rates for some of the ownership days in the second quarter compared to those achieved in the first quarter.
"The healthy dry bulk market seen so far in the first quarter seems to be sustainable through the rest of the year, making us optimistic about our financial performance in 2024 with a fleet that will consist of three Capesize, three Kamsarmax and three Panamax vessels … With regards to our investment strategy, we are pleased with the timing of our transition towards larger sizes of dry bulk vessels, as we are witnessing the strongest first quarter for the dry bulk market of the past decade," Stamatis Tsantanis stated.
Featured photo courtesy of Seanergy Maritime.
Seanergy Investor Relations
E-mail: [email protected]
United Investor Relations
E-mail: [email protected]
SOURCE: Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp.