Greek bulker and tanker owner C3is will carry out a reverse stock split to deal with a pending delisting from the Nasdaq exchange.
The Harry Vafias-controlled company is appealing against a decision by the New York bourse to kick it out after its shares dropped below $0.10 for 10 days.
The shipowner is also trying to regain compliance with the Nasdaq’s $1 per share listing requirement.
C3is said in its annual results statement that the board has decided to reduce the number of shares to boost the price.
The ratio and date for the transaction will be announced soon.
The share closed at $0.048 in New York on Tuesday, up 37%.
Vafias told TradeWinds the stock was the most liquid in the US yesterday, trading more than Tesla, Citi, Facebook, ExxonMobil and Amazon.
Data shows 590m C3is shares changed hands.
The low price suggests a split ratio of at least one share for every 25 held, and probably a lot higher than that to give some leeway.
The company was spun off from Vafias’ Imperial Petroleum and began trading in June 2023 at $10 but dropped below $1 within weeks.
The owner, which controls two handysize bulkers and an aframax tanker, logged net profit of $5.6m in the fourth quarter, up from $500,000 in the same period of 2022.
Revenue jumped from $3.1m to $13.8m year on year as the fleet expanded.
Day rates up
Time charter equivalent earnings were $34,060 per day in the final three months, compared with $20,801 per day the year before.
The bulkers are on short-term, fixed-rate time charters at between $13,000 and $14,000 per day, while the aframax is trading spot, with rates above $40,000 per day.
The fleet has no debt attached.
During the first quarter of 2024, C3is carried out two follow-on equity offerings worth $11m that lifted its cash balance to $35.6m.
The net asset value is estimated by the company at $50.45m, or $0.31 per share, against a market cap of $6.6m.
Chief executive Diamantis Andriotis said the results were indicative of its ability to operate the fleet efficiently and capitalise on the “sustainable freight rate environment”.
“Our diversified fleet and deployment in the spot market enables our company to take advantage of the promising charter rate environment and is expected to generate strong cash flow going forward,” he said, adding that the company is eyeing “selective vessel acquisitions”.
The lack of bank debt and a strong cash balance will help with this, he added.
