Friday, February 25, 2022
Highlights:
As regards the recent political events in Russia and Ukraine, we shall comment later when matters are more clear.
1. On a Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) basis, fourth quarter 2021 was the best quarter of the last five quarters. We take comfort from an improving trend in both top- and bottom-line results.
2. The average TCE for our active fleet during the fourth quarter 2021 came in at $10,100 per day per ship. This was up 74% from the previous quarter of $5,800 per day.
3. We recorded a net loss of -$21.0 million or an EPS of -$0.12 for the fourth quarter 2021. The adjusted EBITDA was $1.9 million. The net loss for the previous quarter was -$44.6 million, a corresponding EPS of -$0.27 and an adjusted EBITDA of -$12.3 million.
4. Our two newbuildings under construction by Samsung in South-Korea are scheduled for delivery in May and June 2022. The construction of these vessels are progressing on schedule. The remaining payments to the shipyard are fully financed.
5. On February 9, 2022, we entered into two six-year contracts for our two newbuildings, mentioned above. The accumulated TCE revenue from these six-year contracts is in excess of dollar 100 million. The two contracts will secure earnings, cash flow and financial stability. The Charterer of both vessels are ASYAD shipping co., a company controlled by the Sultanate of Oman.
6. Asset values continue on a firm note. On February 18, 2022, the “Nordic Mistral” was delivered to new owners. After the transaction our fleet counts 23 units. This is the second vessel we have sold since we announced such plans in our July 28, 2021 press release.
7. The aggregate proceeds from the above mentioned sales of about $30 million have been used to pay down debt. During 2021 and until today we have paid down $56.2 million in debt.
8. NAT has one of the lowest debt levels among publicly listed tanker companies. The company’s net debt per december 31, 2021 is $245.3 million or $11.1 million per vessel. Our Gross loan-to-value ratio is currently 49%. this provides the company with financial flexibility. Our objective is to become debt free.
9. Global oil demand is nearing pre-pandemic levels of early 2020. Oil production is increasing, slowly, but surely. We expect that the tanker markets will gradually improve during the year and hit an inflection point in utilization that can create a very interesting market for our fleet. With global oil inventories at critically low levels now, this could happen sooner than later.
10. The cash dividend for 4Q 2021 is 1 cent ($0.01) per share, payable on Wednesday March 30, 2022, to shareholders on record Friday March 11, 2022. This is our 98th consecutive quarterly dividend payment.
11. Financial information for the fourth quarter of 2021 and for other periods can be found in the attached report at the end of this press release.
Sincerely,
Herbjorn Hansson
Founder, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Limited www.nat.bm
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “pending” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market, as a result of changes in OPEC’s petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the prospectus and related prospectus supplement, our Annual Report on Form 20-F, and our reports on Form 6-K.
NAT is a Bermuda based company.
Contacts:
Gary J. Wolfe
Seward & Kissel LLP
New York, USA
Tel: +1 212 574 1223
Bjørn Giæver, CFO
Nordic American Tankers Ltd
Tel: +1 888 755 8391 or +47 91 35 00 91
Herbjørn Hansson, Founder, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Ltd
Tel: +1 866 805 9504
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