Danaos Corporation ("Danaos") (NYSE: DAC), one of the world's largest independent owners of container vessels, today reported unaudited results for the period ended December 31, 2025.
Highlights for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2025 and up to date of this release:
Financing developments
- On October 16, 2025, the Company successfully placed a $500 million senior unsecured bond with a seven-year tenor and a coupon of 6.875%. On December 1, 2025, we utilized $111.4 million from this offering towards early repayment of two secured credit facilities, and we have issued a redemption notice to repay in full early on March 2, 2026 our 8.5% senior notes due 2028 with an outstanding principal amount of $262.8 million. The remaining proceeds, after application to refinancing-related costs and expenses, including fees and commissions, are available for general corporate purposes.
- As of December 31, 2025, out of our total 85 vessel fleet, we have 77 debt free vessels of which 61 are unencumbered and 16 are encumbered in connection with our $382.5 million Revolving Credit Facility on which no debt has been drawn.
- We have entered into Japanese Operating Lease ("Jolco") transactions for two of our recently delivered newbuilding vessels, 'Phoebe' and 'Greenhouse' that were refinanced out of our $450 million syndicated credit facility that originally housed them. The Jolco transactions were consummated on October 30, 2025 and January 15, 2026, respectively, each for a consideration of $80 million and a tenor of eight years.
Fleet developments
- Since our previous earnings announcement we have added four 5,300 TEU containership vessels to our orderbook with deliveries in 2028 and 2029.
- As a result, our containership orderbook currently consists of 27 newbuilding containership vessels with an aggregate capacity of 174,550 TEU with expected deliveries of three vessels in 2026, thirteen vessels in 2027, seven vessels in 2028 and four vessels in 2029. All vessels in our orderbook are designed with the latest eco characteristics and will be built in accordance with the latest requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in relation to Tier III emission standards and Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase III.
- In relation to our dry bulk fleet, we have placed orders for two Newcastlemax dry bulk carriers of approximately 211,000 DWT capacity each, with expected delivery dates in 2028 while, as previously announced, we expect to take delivery of a secondhand Capesize dry bulk vessel towards the end of the first quarter of 2026.
- On a pro forma, fully delivered basis, assuming the delivery of all vessels currently under construction and on order, our fleet would consist of 102 containerships with an aggregate capacity of approximately 652,041 TEUs and 13 dry bulk vessels, comprising 11 Capesize bulk carriers and two Newcastlemax bulk carriers, with an aggregate capacity of approximately 2.37 million DWT.
Chartering developments
- Since the date of our previous earnings release, we have added approximately $428 million to our contracted revenue backlog through a combination of charter extensions and forward new charters for 17 of our existing container vessels.
- As a result, total contracted operating revenues, based on concluded charter contracts through the date of this release, currently stand at $4.3 billion, including newbuildings. The remaining average contracted charter duration for our containership fleet is 4.3 years, weighted by aggregate contracted charter hire.
- Contracted operating days charter coverage for our container vessel fleet is currently 100% for 2026, 87% for 2027 and 64% for 2028. This includes newbuildings based on their scheduled delivery dates.
New Investments
- On January 20, 2026, the Company announced a strategic partnership with Glenfarne Group to advance the Alaska LNG project. This partnership includes a $50 million development capital equity investment in Glenfarne Alaska Partners LLC. In addition, Danaos Corporation will also be the preferred tonnage provider to construct and operate at least six LNG carriers to deliver LNG to global customers for Glenfarne Alaska LNG, LLC, majority owner and developer of the Alaska LNG Project. This transaction provides Danaos with an opportunity to capitalize on its expertise in global seaborne transportation and expand the footprint of Danaos in the LNG and Energy segments.
Share buy-back and dividends
- As of the date of this release, Danaos has repurchased a total of 3,247,444 shares of its common stock in the open market for $235.1 million under its $300.0 million authorized share repurchase program, that was originally introduced in June 2022 and was upsized twice in $100.0 million increments, in November 2023 and in April 2025.
- Danaos has declared a dividend of $0.90 per share of common stock for the fourth quarter of 2025. The dividend is payable on March 4, 2026, to stockholders of record as of February 23, 2026.
Danaos' CEO Dr. John Coustas commented:
In this quarter it became evident that the business community continues to adapt quickly to geopolitical disruptions. Despite concerns that tariff and geopolitical uncertainty would cause a U.S. slowdown, it has not materialized. At the same time, the hype around AI-related investments has increased optimism, China's exports continue to set new records and consequently container volumes have reached record highs. With the Suez Canal still largely avoided by major liners, and trade patterns increasingly transforming to multipolar, demand for midsize vessels has remained very strong.
Against this background we continued our strategy of securing long term employment for our existing vessels through forward fixtures by either extending existing charters or by new charters even for late 2027 dates. We also continued to invest in modern container vessels. We ordered six 1,800 TEU vessels, four 5,300 TEU vessels, and two 211k DWT Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels for deliveries in 2028 and 2029. We have secured 10-year charters for four of these vessels, and the Company's total contracted revenue increased to $4.3 billion as of the end of the quarter, giving us great earnings visibility into the future from which we derive comfort on our ability to manage any eventual future market developments.
On the financing front, we completed a seven-year $500 million unsecured bond offering at 6.875% coupon, one of the most competitively priced deals ever achieved in the shipping industry for an unsecured bond of such tenor, further diversifying the capital structure and re-affirming our access to the deep and liquid international debt capital markets.
Our liquidity at year-end reached $1.4 billion. Backed by a strong financial profile, we have begun exploring selective investments in the energy sector to broaden revenue sources and expand in the LNG business. In this context, Danaos became a strategic investor in the Alaska LNG project, providing access to LNG transportation opportunities associated with a facility planned to produce 20 MTPA annually.
The Company remains focused on positioning itself at the forefront of shipping and energy growth areas for the benefit of our shareholders.
