DHT Holdings has sealed a new $305m refinancing deal at a lower interest rate.
The New York-listed tanker owner said the six-year credit facility is secured on 10 of its VLCCs.
The interest will be at the secured overnight financing rate plus a margin of 1.9%.
This includes a historical credit adjustment spread of 26 basis points.
The cost of the facility equates to a Libor margin of 1.64%, representing a reduction of the company’s current borrowing cost.
The new deal will refinance an existing ABN Amro credit facility.
ING and Nordea are acting as joint coordinators and bookrunners, while Credit Agricole, Danish Ship Finance and SEB join them as mandated lead arrangers.
The loan package was oversubscribed, DHT added.
The pure-play VLCC owner said in November that fourth-quarter spot bookings had climbed to $61,800 per day.
Bigger dividends coming?
The 123% rise, with 69% of spot days booked, sets it up for a fatter dividend under its new 100% payout policy if the market rally continues. Its financial breakeven for the quarter is $27,800 per day.
DHT reported net profit of $7.5m for the third quarter, compared with a $21m loss on revenue of $59.1m a year earlier.
“The market recovery has commenced with more cargo in the market when compared to last year and the first half of this year,” the company said in November.
“In addition, trade disruptions are resulting in increased transportation distances, reducing the productivity of the global tanker fleet, hence driving rates upwards.”
DHT bought back 1.5m shares at an average price of $5.87 during the third quarter, for an outlay of $8.8m.
The company controls a fleet of 23 VLCCs. Fifteen are fitted with exhaust-gas scrubbers and the rest are to be retrofitted in this quarter.
