Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) - Solid financial position and continued focus on dividend
June 26 2018 - 6:56AM
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. WolfeSeward &
Kissel LLPNew York, USATel: +1 212 574 1223 |
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Bjørn Giæver, CFONordic
American Tankers LimitedTel: +1 888 755 8391 or
+47 91 35 00 91 |
|
Herbjørn Hansson, Chairman & CEONordic American Tankers
LimitedTel: +1 866 805 9504 or +47 90 14 62 91 |
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Web-site:
www.nat.bm |
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