Euroseas, a US-listed owner of small and medium-sized container ships, saw profitability decline for a second consecutive quarter, weighed down by dry-dock costs.

The Athens-based company posted net income of $20m in the first quarter, down 30% year on year and its lowest reading since the fourth quarter of 2021.

Euroseas kept its dividend payment unchanged at $0.60 per share, as the profit drop was due mostly to one-off factors amid a generally robust charter market environment.

Results included $5.6m in dry-docking expenses, up from $600,000 last year.

This reflected special survey expenses for three of its biggest vessels — the 6,350-teu Marcos V (built 2005), 4,253-teu Synergy Antwerp (built 2008) and Synergy Oakland (built 2009).

The comparison with year-ago figures is additionally skewed, as first-quarter 2023 earnings included a $5.2m gain from the sale of a ship, which the company did not repeat this year.

Euroseas has 22 feeders and intermediate boxships on the water, as well as four under construction.

Its active fleet includes six newbuildings it has taken delivery of since 2023.

Charter markets recovering in the wake of the Red Sea crisis allow Euroseas to find employment for its vessels at rates higher than it expected it would, chief executive Aristides Pittas said in the earnings statement on Thursday.

“We have been taking advantage of the improved rate environment and concluded charters for two of our newbuildings and extended the charters of certain of our other vessels, typically at rates higher than the levels we anticipated three months ago,” he said.

“The market so far this year has been able to absorb the high level of newbuilding deliveries from the high overall vessel orderbook.”

Euroseas shares closed trading at $34.67 apiece on Wednesday, giving the company a market value of $243m. The net value of its fleet stood at $308m at the end of March.

The stock had climbed to a nine-year high of about $40 in early March.

Apart from dividends, Euroseas rewards shareholders through a share buyback programme of up to $20m. As of Thursday, the company had bought back about 400,705 shares, or 5.7% of its outstanding stock, worth $8.2m.

Members of the Pittas family and company directors hold nearly 60% of Euroseas’ common shares.

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