Diana Shipping has sweetened its shareholder payout for the second quarter, thanks to achieving a better bottom line in a stronger dry bulk sector.
The Semiramis Paliou-led owner with 35 bulkers fixed on period deals has issued a $0.275 dividend for the three-month period, improving upon the previous quarter’s bonus of $0.25.
The Athens-based company returned to paying dividends last year after a 13-year hiatus by giving $0.10 for the third quarter and $0.20 for the fourth quarter.
New York-listed Diana posted a $34.2m profit attributable to common shareholders on Thursday, compared with $1.4m in attributable income a year earlier.
Revenue reached $74.5m for the second quarter versus $47m for the same period last year, driven by Diana’s ability to achieve much higher period rates from a year ago.
It earned an average time charter equivalent (TCE) rate of $24,663 per day against an average TCE figure of $14,377 per day for last year’s second quarter, while keeping daily operating costs close to $5,700 per day for both periods.
As a result, Diana posted $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the period, beating analyst consensus by $0.06 and year-ago EPS by $0.40.
The Baltic Dry Index fared better year-over-year for the second quarter, climaxing at 3,369 points on 23 May versus a peak of 3,254 points attained on 11 May of last year.
Net income attributable to common shareholders for the first half of 2022 came to $58.8m versus $1.5m in attributable profit posted during the first six months of 2021.
Revenue for the first six months totalled $141m, up from $88.1m for the same period last year.
