Container ship owner Euroseas has locked in good times and profitability until 2025, its chief executive and chairman Aristides Pittas believes.
The Nasdaq-listed company has a high charter coverage for the next year and a half which should protect the company whatever happens to the market.
The comments come as the boxship tonnage provider reported a slight deterioration in its profitability.
Net income was down $1.8m to $28.9m in the three months to the end of June compared with the same period last year. Net revenues dropped 1.6% to $47.7m.
The fall was due to decreased time charter earnings which were around 10% down.
Despite the drop from last year’s record profits, the results remained among the best since Euroseas became a container ship-focused public company in 2018, Pittas noted.
The company retained “very high charter coverage at quite profitable rates for the remainder of the year as well as for 2024”, he added.
That suggested “that we should continue registering highly profitable quarters regardless of charter rates development”, he said.
Charter rates drop
Euroseas, an owner of 19 container vessels of 1,400 teu through to 6,300 teu, was impacted by a 10% drop in charter rates in the second quarter.
But rates were still historically strong and above pre-pandemic levels at around $30,151 per day.
“However, the direction they will take during the rest of 2023 and 2024 remains quite uncertain based on the projected supply and demand trends,” Pittas said.
The company was “well insulated from market volatility and expects to generate significant cash flow reserves”, Pittas said.
Euroseas has seven container ships under construction, comprising four 2,800 teu vessels and three 1,800-teu ships.
Pittas said the company should be able to comfortably fund the equity portion of those newbuildings and continue its dividend and share repurchase program.
He added it would “still have a significant war chest to pursue investment opportunities in an accretive way to our shareholders”.
