Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) - Solid financial position and continued focus on dividend
June 26 2018 - 06:55AM
Hamilton, Bermuda, June 26, 2018
To shareholders and investors,
NAT has gone through a very active
period.
Earlier in June we informed you that we had sold
five vessels of 20 years or more, reducing the average age of the
NAT vessels significantly; to about 10 years.
Following further analysis, NAT recently cancelled
the suggested bond issue. We came to the conclusion that it
is not in the best interest of shareholders to go for such an
arrangement.
Thirdly, we achieved a contract for one of our
Suezmax new buildings (August 2018 delivery) from Samsung in South
Korea. We entered into a firm contract with a major
international oil and energy company for a minimum period of 3
years. The contract has a startup this autumn and could run for
five years if two one year options are exercised. Rates are
between $21,000 per day and $25,000.
In this message of today, June
26, we would like to inform you that we have sold three more
Suezmax tankers built in 1997, bringing the total number of vessels
sold over the recent past to eight. These
transactions will bring a cashflow close to $80 million.
The actions described above show that we have the
ability to move swiftly, showing the flexibility inherent in
NAT.
As in the past, our policy is to grow the company.
Before selling eight vessels, we had 33 vessels in NAT. In a
year, two or three, we expect that the number of NAT ships may be
much higher than 33.
Growth is necessary to retain the dynamics and to
provide a basis for a continued friendly dividend policy. NAT
has low net debt per ship. A best in class balance sheet is an
important NAT feature.
NAT is in a solid position, providing the basis
for a strong performance going forward, based on its conservative
business model. There is renewed optimism in the tanker
business.
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 world wide 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.
Contacts: |
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Gary J. Wolfe
Seward & Kissel LLP
New York, USA
Tel: +1 212 574 1223
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Bjørn
Giæver, CFO
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +1 888 755 8391 or +47 91 35 00 91 |
|
Herbjørn Hansson, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or +47 90 14 62 91 |
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Web-site: www.nat.bm |
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Press release (PDF)
This
announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf
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The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Nordic American Tankers Limited via
Globenewswire
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