Box Ships Inc. Reports Third Quarter Ended September 30, 2011 Results

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

14 Nov 2011

Box Ships Inc., or the Company, a global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of containers, announced its results for the third quarter of 2011 and for the period

from its Initial Public Offering on April 14, 2011 ("IPO") to September 30, 2011 ("period ended September 30, 2011").
Third Quarter 2011 - Financial Results:
The Company reported time charter revenues for the third quarter of 2011 of $15.3 million, net of the amortization of above/below market time charters, which had a negative effect of $0.4 million or $0.02 per share, and net income of $5.1 million, or $0.32 per basic and diluted share, calculated on 16.0 million weighted average number of basic and diluted shares outstanding for the period. Please refer to the table at the back of this release for the calculation of earnings per share. EBITDA for the third quarter of 2011 was $10.1 million. Please refer to the table at the back of this release for a reconciliation of EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable financial measure in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP").
The Company operated an average of 6.64 vessels during the third quarter of 2011, earning an average time charter equivalent rate, or TCE rate, of $24,371 per vessel per day. Please see the table at the back of this announcement for a reconciliation of TCE rates to time charter revenues.
Total vessel operating expenses for the third quarter of 2011 were $4.8 million, or approximately $7,882 per vessel per day, including vessel operating expenses, management fees and general and administrative expenses for the period.
Period ended September 30, 2011 - Financial Results:
The Company reported time charter revenues for the period ended September 30, 2011 of $22.6 million, net of the amortization of above/below market time charters, which had a negative effect of $0.6 million or $0.04 per share, and net income of $7.4 million, or $0.48 per basic and diluted share, calculated on 15.1 million weighted average number of basic and diluted shares outstanding for the period. Please refer to the table at the back of this release for the calculation of earnings per share. EBITDA for the period ended September 30, 2011 was $14.7 million. Please refer to the table at the back of this release for a reconciliation of EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable financial measure in accordance with U.S GAAP.
The Company operated an average of 5.34 vessels during the period ended September 30, 2011, earning an average time charter equivalent rate, or TCE rate, of $24,194 per vessel per day. Please see the table at the back of this announcement for a reconciliation of TCE rates to time charter revenues.
Total vessel operating expenses for the period ended September 30, 2011 were $7.3 million, or approximately $8,029 per vessel per day, including vessel operating expenses, management fees and general and administrative expenses for the period.
Commenting on the results, Michael Bodouroglou, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, "We are pleased to report our second profitable quarter. For a second consecutive reporting period we had 100% fleet utilization enabling us to declare a dividend of $0.30 per share, twice the amount of our dividend that was declared and paid for the last quarter's results. During the third quarter we took delivery of our seventh containership, the 2004-built MSC Emma, and today the weighted average age of our fleet is 3.9 years, the youngest among our peers. In addition, following the latest acquisition, our fixed revenue days under time charter contracts have increased from 91% to 93% and from 67% to 71% of our fleet capacity in 2012 and 2013, respectively."
Mr. Bodouroglou concluded, "Moving towards the end of 2011, the economic projections for a moderate global growth and the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis place downside risks to the charter market. Our charter coverage provides stable cash flows regardless of these economic developments."
Dividend Declaration:
The Company's Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with respect to the third quarter of 2011, payable on or about November 29, 2011 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 21, 2011. This is the second consecutive quarterly dividend since the Company went public in April 2011.
The declaration of a dividend will always be subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors of the Company, and will depend on, among other things, the Company's earnings, financial condition and cash requirements and availability, the covenants in the Company's existing and future debt instruments and global economic conditions.
Chartering Strategy:
Pursuant to our chartering strategy, we intend to focus on containerships with carrying capacities ranging from 1,700 TEU to 7,000 TEU employed on short- to medium-term time charters of one to five years with staggered maturities, which will provide us with the benefit of stable cash flows from a diversified portfolio of charterers, while preserving the flexibility to capitalize on potentially rising rates when the current time charters expire. Based on the latest redelivery dates, the Company has secured under such contracts 93% and 71% of its fleet capacity in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
Source: Box Ships Inc.