Costamare, a US-listed owner and operator of about 160 bulkers and boxships, posted a solid set of quarterly earnings on the back of the Red Sea upheaval.
Net income at the Greek company rose at an annual pace of 53% in the second quarter to $102.9m.
This is the third consecutive quarter in which the reading exceeded the $100m mark.
Taking account of one-offs and other items, adjusted net income available to common shareholders rose by one-third to $91.4m.
Much of that profit growth was due to rising revenue, boosted by upheaval in the Red Sea.
Gregory Zikos, chief financial officer of Costamare, said continued vessel diversions around Africa and an early peak season, with higher than expected cargo demand, resulted in charter rates remaining on an upward trajectory against a backdrop of short supply of prompt tonnage.
Konstantinos Konstantakopoulos-led Costamare took advantage of these conditions to charter on a forward basis seven of its 68 container ships for between two and three years.
“The new charter agreements are expected to generate incremental contracted revenues of above $220m,” Zikos said. The Greek executive told analysts in a conference call later on Wednesday that the vessels were chartered at “very healthy rates” in the “mid-$30,000” per day.
In a sign of how high demand is even for older ships, Zikos unveiled in the call that one of the seven vessels was 24 years old.
Bulker renewal
The company also reiterated its long-term commitment to the bulker sector, in which it owns and operates more than 90 vessels.
As part of a policy to shake out some of the older and smaller vessels it owns, the company confirmed an agreement to sell the 58,000-dwt Oracle (built 2009) to undisclosed buyers.
Costamare said it expected to book about $4m in net sale proceeds after debt prepayment from the deal. Brokers reported in early July that the ship was sold for $12.5m to Vietnamese interests.
Costamare has sold 14 such bulkers since early 2023 for total proceeds of about $160m, according to estimates by TradeWinds.
On the other hand, it has bought six large ships over the same period, including five capesizes.
The size of Costamare Bulkers (CBI) — its platform of large, chartered-in vessels — remained steady from the previous quarter at 54 ships comprising 32 newcastlemaxes or capesizes and 22 kamsarmaxes.
The company has “a long-term commitment to the sector, which has been a strategic decision for us”, Zikos said on Wednesday.
Weighed by start-up costs, CBI was a drag on profits in 2023, racking up $88m in losses for the full year.
The situation, however, stabilised in the first quarter, in which CBI losses shrank to a modest $340,000. Second-quarter figures for CBI have not been made available yet.
Another growing investment has been Neptune Maritime Leasing, a leasing platform in which Costamare has a controlling stake.
The firm has expanded its portfolio to 25 ships, up from 17 in September of last year, with a total current finance volume of about $285m, Costamare said on Wednesday.
Costamare has already announced that it is maintaining its dividend steady for a ninth consecutive quarter at $0.115 per share.
The company’s shares closed in New York at $13.97 apiece on Tuesday, giving the company a market value of about $1.69bn.
This is below the $3.38bn net value of the Costamare fleet, according to balance sheet figures as of the end of June.
According to the latest available information, Costamare chairman Konstantakopoulos and his brothers, Achillefs and Christos, combined owned 64% of the common shares.
