Euroseas reports Q1 adjusted EPS $2.66 vs. $3.09 last year

Reports Q1 revenue $46.7M, consensus $46.31M. Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented: “During 2024 and through mid-May of 2024, the containership markets continued their recovery mainly on the back of higher demand for vessels which resulted from longer trade routes. The latter resulted when liner companies decided to avoid going through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal in reaction to the attacks on shipping in the area. Rates for vessels similar to our 2,800 teu newbuildings increased by about 80% since the beginning of the year. Similar rate increases have been registered across most segments. We have been taking advantage of the improved rate environment and concluded charters for two of our newbuildings and extended the charters of certain of our other vessels, typically, at rates higher than the levels we anticipated three months ago. While it is unclear for how long the tense situation in the Red Sea will continue, after which rates might normalize, the market so far this year has been able to absorb the high level of newbuilding deliveries from the high overall vessel orderbook. The orderbook is still high by historical standards but it has come down to about 22% as a percentage of the global fleet. For the feeder and intermediate segments, the orderbook is quite low and stands at around 8% as a percentage of the global feeder fleet. What is more, over 20% of the capacity of the feeder segment has an age profile older than 20 years; it is, thus, not unlikely at all that the feeder fleet might even decline in the coming years. The above mixed supply situation and a demand for containerized trade that depends not only on the economic trends across the globe but also on regional conflicts and geopolitical developments introduce significant uncertainties in the market. We believe that the best way to navigate through that is to remain focused on delivering our charter contract backlog strengthening our balance sheet and enhancing our liquidity. Operationally, our main priority is to safely and efficiently operate our fleet to reduce our carbon footprint through our newbuilding program and retrofits of our existing vessels. In parallel, we continuously evaluate investment opportunities that are accretive to our earnings while at the same time we continue to reward our shareholders by again declaring a $0.60 per share quarterly dividend which provides a significant yield to the holders of our shares.”