Ship Finance International is keeping an open mind toward new investments as it reported a smaller profit for the third quarter.
Net income for the John Fredriksen-controlled company was $32.3m, compared to $38.8m at the same stage of last year.
But earnings per share of $0.35 beat the analysts’ consensus of $0.31.
SFL declared its fifty-first consecutive quarterly dividend. It is paying investors $0.45 per share in December.
Ole Hjertaker, chief executive of SFL, said: “Our diversified backlog now stands at $3.9bn with a weighted average charter period of nearly nine years.
“While we have not committed to new investments in recent months, we have strengthened our balance sheet through the issuance of a $225m convertible bond in October, and are continuously evaluating investment opportunities.”
As of 30 September,SFL had approximately $238m of available liquidity and said it was well positioned for further growth.
It reported quarterly charter revenue of $149m, which was $10m lower than the previous quarter.
SFL added that the combination of a challenging banking market and low asset prices creates opportunities for investments with limited downside.
