Global Ship Lease suffered a lighter deficit for the fourth quarter, thanks to a smaller impairment charge.
The New York-listed boxship player posted a $72.5m loss versus an $99.8m red figure during the same period last year.
That translated into a $0.64 loss per share compared to a $2.08 loss per share.
The red ink for both periods came at the hands of two massive impairment losses, the latest being $71.7m on three vessels related to last year's $780m merger with Poseidon Containers.
GSL absorbed an $87.6m impairment loss on five of its own ships in the last quarter of 2017.
Fourth-quarter revenue came in at $50m versus $37.9m due to the Poseidon deal more than doubling GSL's fleet to 38 vessels.
“2018 was a transformative year for Global Ship Lease, as we repositioned the company, attained a significantly greater earnings potential, dramatically increased our NAV per share, and created an integrated, industry-leading management platform to unlock shareholder value," executive chairman George Youroukos said.
Good times ahead
GSL is well set to benefit from the boxship sector's positive supply-demand fundamentals, thanks to the Poseidon merger and six five-year charters nailed down in the fourth quarter, chief executive Ian Webber said.
"These positive fundamentals, combined with the significantly enhanced operational and financial profile of the new Global Ship Lease, position us to move confidently forward as a leading provider of mid-sized and smaller containerships," he said.
