New York-listed tonnage provider Global Ship Lease has decided to reward shareholders in better-than-expected container ship charter markets.
The company is already committed to paying out $0.375 per share as a “sustainable” dividend each quarter.
Now it will add a “supplemental” sum of $0.075 from the second quarter.
This is an increase of 20%, bringing the total to the equivalent of a 6% annualised yield.
“Recent container ship charter market strength is enabling Global Ship Lease to secure higher-than-anticipated cashflows from time charters with longer-than-anticipated durations,” the company explained.
Chief executive Thomas Lister said: “Our capital allocation is disciplined and dynamic, shaped by our ongoing assessment of multiple factors including value, risk, forward visibility, capital market dynamics, and market context and events."
“On this basis, we are pleased to be paying a supplemental dividend to share the benefits of this unanticipated uplift in earnings with our shareholders for as long as conditions are supportive,” he added.
Lister explained this will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
But he added: “We are comfortable that we already have sufficient forward visibility to support it for at least the next several quarters.”
GSL owns 68 container ships, ranging from 2,207 teu to 11,040 teu.
As of 31 March, contracted revenue was a maximum of $1.96bn, including options.
Earlier this month, GSL posted earnings that blew past analyst expectations, as the company worked to capitalise on the rising boxship charter market in a volatile freight environment.
Net profit was $89.5m in the latest quarter, which was up from $72.2m in the first three months of 2023.
