AMSC is sitting on a nice chunk of cash to invest further in the offshore vessel space.
The Oslo-listed company reported a profit of $3m for the quarter with $22.1m in cash before the sale of its Jones Act fleet closed in October, earning it $249m.
“We have paid a significant additional dividend to shareholders and have kept ample liquidity for future investments,” chief executive Pal Magnussen said.
“We are also proactively looking for new investments in the maritime space to add to our dividend capacity going forward.”
Magnussen described the last several months as “transformational” for the company, which was once known as American Shipping Co and owned a fleet of 10 US-flagged, Jones Act-qualified tankers all on charter to Overseas Shipholding Group.
The company announced the sale of those vessels to New Orleans-based Maritime Partners in August and agreed in October to flip the 178-loa Normand Maximus (built 2016) for shares in a reorganised Solstad Offshore.
The agreement was part of an $875m deal with Norwegian billionaire and AMSC primary shareholder Kjell Inge Rokke to take a controlling stake in Solstad Offshore.
AMSC had bought the Normand Maximus last year from one Solstad Offshore subsidiary and leased it back to another, preventing the company from having to buy the offshore construction vessel.
AMSC financed the vessel using debt, including a $42.5m tranche maturing in January 2024 that it paid off using proceeds from the tanker sales.
It also approved $ 170m worth of dividends following the sale.
Shortly after the Normand Maximus acquisition, AMSC was tipped to be looking for more opportunities in the offshore space, a move Magnussen and the company have reiterated several times since.
In the third-quarter earnings report, the company suggested it could be looking at anchor-handling tug supply vessels and subsea construction vehicles, both of which are exposed to rising capital expenditures from oil companies.
At a Marine Money event in New York earlier this month, Magnussen said the company was focused on offshore deals.
“It was the right time for us,” Magnussen said of the tanker sales. “But it is hard. The business was doing fine. It’s tough to sell, but better to get out on top rather than hanging on for too long.”
