Performance Shipping has taken out a $20m revolving credit facility with Nordea to pay off $18.8m in debt backed by two sister aframax tankers.
The secured loan was acquired from Nordea in July 2019 and was secured by first-priority mortgages over 115,571-cbm Blue Moon and Briolette (both built 2011).
Proceeds from the revolving credit facility, which will mature in 2028, will also go toward general corporate purposes.
It will be repayable in quarterly instalments of $833,332 over five years and will carry a secured overnight financing rate (Sofr) plus 2.50% per year which will have a lower financing cost compared to the prior loan.
The facility’s flexible structure will allow Performance to optimise the timing of drawdown and repayment based on prevailing market conditions, the owner said.
“The market’s positive expectations of a sustainable tanker freight rate environment, coupled with our lender’s confidence in our Company’s strong financial position, are evident through this agreement,” chief executive Andreas Michalopoulos said in a statement.
On 27 July, Performance, which owns eight aframax tankers, reported a 375% leap in second-quarter profit, thanks to strong aframax rates.
The New York-listed Greek tanker owner reported $18.4m of net income, nearly quadrupling the $3.87m a year earlier. Profit attributable to common shareholders increased to $17.9m from $3.66m.
The rise was driven by a jump in revenue to a record $31.5m, up from $16.7m in the second quarter of 2022, as net income surged to nearly $41,900 per day from about $24,900 per day a year earlier.
