Seanergy Maritime of Greece believes it has timed its latest capesize acquisition to perfection.
The Nasdaq-listed owner said it added a 2013-built Japanese-constructed bulker in February just ahead of a spike in asset values.
Brokers named the ship as the 181,400-dwt Kinokawa Maru, with a price tag of $33.5m after passing a special survey.
But the bulker is already worth $39m, according to VesselsValue, after a steep rise in the weeks since a deal was agreed.
The seller is Shunzan Kaiun of Japan.
The bulker, to be renamed Iconship, is the 18th vessel and youngest cape in Seanergy fleet.
Chief executive Stamatis Tsantanis said: “The agreement for this acquisition was well timed as it occurred prior to the steep upwards adjustment in vessel values witnessed over the recent weeks.”
Delivery is expected between April and June.
Tsantanis called the price attractive. He also said the company extended the duration of time charter employment on six vessels at index-linked rates for periods ranging from 11 to 24 months.
Profit swells
Net profit in the fourth quarter was $10.8m, against $500,000 a year ago, while revenue grew to $39.4m from $28.5m.
“In 2023 we delivered another profitable year for Seanergy despite a very volatile capesize market, building on our robust commercial performance, our hedging activities and the investments we have made in improving our vessels’ efficiency over the years,” Tsantanis said.
“The actions we have taken to grow our fleet substantially over the past three years with quality assets and further strengthen our balance sheet have us optimally positioned to reap the benefits of what looks like a very strong capesize market.”
The daily time charter equivalent rate was $24,920 in the final quarter.
The company is guiding for a TCE of $23,219 per day for the first three months of 2024.
“Additionally, we have taken advantage of the recent upswing in freight futures levels by converting about half of our second-quarter ownership days at a fixed gross rate of approximately $28,300 in order to secure additional strong cash flow for the company,” the CEO added.
Tsantanis believes tonne-mile demand will exceed net fleet growth in the next two years with healthy raw material flows.
“Overall, we remain highly optimistic about the company’s prospects and our ability to deliver enhanced value to shareholders, as Seanergy is well placed to benefit from the rising trend in the capesize market through our high-quality fleet, index-linked market exposure and strong financial position,” he said.
