Seanergy Marine reports Q4 adjusted EPS 58c, consensus 26c

Reports Q4 revenue $39.4M, consensus $35.47M. Stamatis Tsantanis, CEO stated: “In 2023 we delivered another profitable year for Seanergy despite a very volatile Capesize market, building on our robust commercial performance, our hedging activities and the investments we have made in improving our vessels’ efficiency over the years. In doing so, we successfully navigated extreme freight rate instability and achieved a healthy mix of fleet growth, accretion and cash dividends. We are executing a clear strategy that includes investing in our fleet to drive growth and efficiencies, delivering durable capital returns to shareholders and maintaining a healthy balance sheet with sustainable debt levels. The actions we have taken to grow our fleet substantially over the past three years with quality assets and further strengthen our balance sheet have us optimally positioned to reap the benefits of what looks like a very strong Capesize market…”Looking ahead, we are currently undergoing the strongest first quarter for the Capesize market since 2011 and we expect our commercial performance to remain solid. In terms of guidance for the first quarter of 2024, assuming that the remaining days of March are consistent with current FFA levels, we expect our daily TCE to be equal to about $23,219. Additionally, we have taken advantage of the recent upswing in freight futures levels by converting about half of our second-quarter ownership days at a fixed gross rate of approximately $28,300 in order to secure additional strong cash-flow for the Company. As regards our fleet developments, in 2023 we acquired our first Newcastlemax vessel through a 12-month bareboat charter with a purchase option. The vessel was delivered in the fourth quarter and commenced her employment with a first-class European charterer at a significant premium over the index. More recently, in February we agreed to acquire a 181,392 dwt Capesize bulk carrier, built in 2013 in Japan. The agreement for this acquisition was well-timed as it occurred prior to the steep upwards adjustment in vessel values witnessed over the recent weeks. Delivery is expected to take place between April and June, and we look forward to adding another high-quality vessel to our fleet acquired at an attractive price. Additionally, we extended the duration of time-charter employment on six of our vessels at index linked rates for periods ranging from 11 to 24 months…As a brief comment on the outlook of our market, ton-mile demand is expected to exceed net fleet growth in the next two years with healthy raw material flows. The Capesize orderbook is at historically low levels, while trade volumes and the need for fleet replacement due to environmental regulations have grown considerably. The high congestion resulting from port inefficiencies after the pandemic has normalized and is now closer to the low end of the historical range. As such there is little room for further efficiency gains and more potential for disruptions that are likely to benefit our market as has been the case with the tensions in the Red Sea and the low water levels in the Panama Canal. Overall, we remain highly optimistic about the Company’s prospects and our ability to deliver enhanced value to shareholders, as Seanergy is well-placed to benefit from the rising trend in the Capesize market through our high-quality fleet, index-linked market exposure and strong financial position.”