Genco Shipping & Trading Limited, the largest U.S. headquartered drybulk shipowner focused on the transportation of major and minor bulk commodities globally, reported its financial results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2019.
The following financial review discusses the results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and June 30, 2018.
Second Quarter 2019 and Year-to-Date Highlights
Commenced the installation of exhaust gas cleaning systems (“scrubbers”) as part of our comprehensive IMO 2020 strategy
– Four of our Capesize vessels have had scrubbers successfully installed to date, and we anticipate our remaining Capesize vessels to be scrubber-equipped by the end of 2019
In August 2019, we agreed to sell the Genco Challenger, a 2003-built Handysize vessel for a gross price of $5.3 million
Recorded a net loss of $34.5 million for the second quarter of 2019
– Basic and diluted loss per share of $0.83
– Adjusted net loss of $20.4 million or basic and diluted loss per share of $0.49, excluding $13.9 million in non-cash vessel impairment charges, as well as a $0.2 million non-cash impairment of the operating lease right-of-use asset
Net revenue (voyage revenues minus voyage expenses and charter hire expenses) totaled $36.9 million and $84.9 million during the second quarter of 2019 and the first six months of 2019, respectively
Our average daily fleet-wide time charter equivalent, or TCE, for Q2 2019 was $7,412
Through the first six months of 2019, our fleet-wide TCE was $8,341, which outperformed the relevant Baltic Exchange benchmark sub-indices as adjusted for our owned fleet profile by approximately $700 per vessel per day1
– Run rate of over 400 fixtures annualized on a fleet-wide basis
Third quarter 2019 TCE to date is $11,640 for 64% of our fleet-wide available days
Recorded adjusted EBITDA of $5.0 million during Q2 20192
John C. Wobensmith, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “During the first half of 2019, we continued to outperform our benchmarks, advance our comprehensive IMO 2020 strategy, and further strengthen our fleet profile and earnings power. With our sizeable and modern fleet of major and minor drybulk vessels, we remain well positioned to capitalize on the overall marked improvement in freight rates that began at the end of the second quarter and which has been largely driven by increased demand for Capesize vessels and low net fleet growth. Highlighting our strong upside to the Capesize sector, strategic positioning on select minor bulk vessels and our fleet’s significant operating leverage, we have booked a TCE of $11,640 thus far for the third quarter, over 55% higher than in the second quarter.”
Mr. Wobensmith continued, “As we approach the implementation of IMO 2020 in the months ahead, we continue to execute our comprehensive portfolio approach to compliance aimed at improving our environmental footprint, maximizing shareholder returns and reducing fuel costs in an evolving marine fuel environment. As 2019 represents our heaviest operational year to date with the installation of scrubbers in addition to ballast water treatment systems, we remain on target towards accomplishing our goal of full regulatory compliance. We are advocating for the full and effective enforcement of these upcoming environmental regulations as the global maritime industry takes an important step towards significantly reducing sulfur emissions.”
Overall, our fleet deployment strategy remains weighted towards short-term fixtures, which provides optionality for the Company. We believe that our active commercial strategy, together with our efficient cost structure, provides ongoing potential for increased margins. Furthermore, our approach to fleet composition in which we own both major bulk and minor bulk vessels provides us with direct exposure to global drybulk commodity trade flows. Moreover, our ownership of Capesize vessels provides us with upside potential associated with the iron ore trade, while our minor bulk vessels provide a relatively steady earnings potential.
The drybulk freight rate environment during most of the second quarter remained under pressure despite improving relative to the first quarter of the year. On our Capesize vessels, we maintained a short-term charter strategy in anticipation of a recovery in freight rates without locking in longer term coverage at softer levels. As contracts expire, vessels can then be fixed in what has been a strong third quarter drybulk market to date. On our minor bulk fleet, we strategically positioned select vessels to key regions in anticipation of a stronger third quarter market while rebalancing our positional exposure given our upcoming drydockings. On a fleet-wide basis, we utilized the second quarter to drydock several of our vessels while also commencing our scrubber installation program, the latter of which has led us to primarily trade our Capesize vessels in the Pacific instead of our usual approach of maintaining exposure to both the Atlantic and Pacific basins.
Our opportunistic charter strategy has enabled us to directly benefit from the substantial improvement in the drybulk market that commenced towards the end of June. With still a significant portion of our Q3 available days still uncovered, particularly on our Capesize fleet as previous fixtures conclude, we anticipate upcoming fixtures to be done at levels reflective of current stronger market conditions. Genco’s approach to fleet composition has proved beneficial, as spot earnings on the Capesize vessels have exhibited substantial upside in Q3 to date. The rally in this larger vessel class has filtered down to the smaller sectors as well, leading to an overall uplift in the earnings environment. We currently have the following TCE fixed for the third quarter of 2019:
Capesize: $17,152 for 65% of the available Q3 2019 days
Panamax: $13,408 for 40% of the available Q3 2019 days
Ultramax and Supramax: $10,694 for 65% of the available Q3 2019 days
Handysize: $7,768 for 65% of the available Q3 2019 days
Fleet average: $11,640 for 64% of the available Q3 2019 days
1 TCE relative performance is benchmarked against the weighted average of the relevant sub-indices of the Baltic Dry Index as published by the Baltic Exchange (BCI 5TC, BPI, BSI 58 and BHSI) net of 5% for commissions, adjusted for our owned fleet composition as well as the characteristics of our vessels.
2 We believe the non-GAAP measure presented provides investors with a means of better evaluating and understanding the Company’s operating performance. Please see Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data below for a further reconciliation.
Financial Review: 2019 Second Quarter
The Company recorded a net loss for the second quarter of 2019 of $34.5 million, or $0.83 basic and diluted net loss per share. Comparatively, for the three months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recorded a net loss of $1.1 million, or $0.03 basic and diluted net loss per share.
The Company’s revenues decreased to $83.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019, as compared to the $86.2 million recorded for the three months ended June 30, 2018. The decrease in revenues was primarily due to lower rates achieved by the majority of the vessels in our fleet as compared to the second quarter of 2018 partially offset by the increased employment of vessels on spot market voyage charters.
The average daily time charter equivalent, or TCE, rates obtained by the Company’s fleet was $7,412 per day for the three months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to $10,964 per day for the three months ended June 30, 2018. In the second quarter of 2019, the drybulk market remained under pressure as iron ore volumes in both Brazil and Australia were limited due to the Vale dam breach and effects of Tropical Cyclone Veronica, respectively. Subsequently, during the third quarter, the freight rate environment has improved significantly as iron ore volumes have started to recover at a time of easing net fleet growth and lower fleet-wide productivity due to the global drybulk fleet’s preparation ahead of IMO 2020.
Total operating expenses were $110.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to $75.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018. During the second quarter of this year, $13.9 million in non-cash impairment charges were recorded in relation to the anticipated sale of the Genco Challenger and the revaluation of two other Handysize vessels to their respective fair values. During the three months ended June 30, 2018, a $0.2 million non-cash impairment charge was recorded in relation to the anticipated sale of the Genco Surprise. Voyage expenses rose to $41.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 versus $26.0 million during the prior year period primarily due to the increased employment of vessels on spot market voyage charters as part of our commercial strategy, in which we incur significantly higher voyage expenses as compared to time charters, spot market-related time charters and pool arrangements. Vessel operating expenses increased to $24.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019, from $23.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 primarily due to higher drydocking related expenses, partially offset by a decrease due to fewer owned vessels. General and administrative expenses decreased to $5.8 million for the second quarter of 2019 compared to $6.5 million for the second quarter of 2018, due to lower legal and professional fees, partially offset by an increase in compensation related expenses. Depreciation and amortization expenses increased to $18.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 from $16.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018, primarily due to depreciation expense for the six vessels delivered during the third quarter of 2018, partially offset by a decrease in depreciation expense for the eight vessels that were sold during the second half of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019.
Daily vessel operating expenses, or DVOE, amounted to $4,615 per vessel per day for the second quarter of 2019 compared to $4,344 per vessel per day for the second quarter of 2018. The increase in DVOE was predominantly due to higher drydocking related expenses. We believe daily vessel operating expenses are best measured for comparative purposes over a 12 month period in order to take into account all of the expenses that each vessel in our fleet will incur over a full year of operation. Based on estimates provided by our technical managers and management’s views, our DVOE budget for 2019 is $4,525 per vessel per day on a weighted average basis for the entire year for our fleet.
Apostolos Zafolias, Chief Financial Officer, commented, “Year-to-date, we have continued to actively manage our fleet, decreasing its average age and augmenting fleet-wide fuel efficiency, all top priorities for Genco and key components of our fleet modernization efforts. Specifically, after completing the sale of our last 1990s built vessel in the first quarter, we agreed to sell a 2003-built Handysize vessel at an attractive price. We have also funded scrubber related expenses to date from cash on hand, maintaining full flexibility under our credit facility for the remainder of our scrubber program.”
