Castor Maritime is reducing the number of its shares to regain compliance with Nasdaq listing rules.
The Cyprus-based bulker and boxship company said it would carry out a reverse stock split on a one-for-10 basis.
The transaction will take place for trading on 27 March, reducing the number of outstanding common shares from 96.6m to 9.66m.
The stock closed down 1.56% at $0.40 in New York on Friday. The split would lift the price to $4 per share.
Castor was put on notice by the Nasdaq in April 2023 that the price had fallen below the minimum $1 level for 30 straight days.
It was given six months to put this right, which was extended by another six months in October.
In September, shareholders had approved a stock split at a ratio somewhere between one-for-two and one-for-100.
The share has fallen 18% so far this year. The price had been as high as $25 in 2019.
The market cap is about $39m.
Fleet value far outstripping market cap
The value of its fleet of 13 bulkers and two boxships is $294m, however, according to VesselsValue.
The company has been raising money for its next investments by selling older ships.
In February, Castor said the 80,300-dwt kamsarmax Magic Nebula (built 2010) had gone for $16.2m to a member of main shareholder and chief executive Petros Panagiotidis’ family.
This was the fourth such deal involving a Panagiotidis family member this year.
At the end of January, Castor sold two bulkers to a relative of the CEO at a profit.
The 78,800-dwt Magic Nova and 76,600-dwt Magic Horizon (both built 2010) went for $16.1m and $15.8m, respectively.
Earlier in January, the company struck a deal to offload the 83,400-dwt kamsarmax Magic Venus (built 2010) for $17.5m to another unnamed family member.
Castor has sold 10 ships since June.
In its fourth-quarter results, the owner revealed it has plenty of ammunition: its cash position stood at $120.9m on 31 December.
