Nordic American Tankers Ltd (NYSE: NAT) – The Full Year 2020 & the 4th quarter – 2020 was a good year. NAT is a dividend ...
February 26 2021 - 7:11AM
February 26, 2021
Dear Shareholders and Investors,
Highlights:
The following main elements in our business stand out at
this time:
- During 2020 we distributed $67.2 million in cash
dividends and repaid our existing loans with a gross amount of
$75.5 million.
- The first half of 2020 was a strong period for
NAT
- The third quarter of 2020 came out positively with a
timecharter equivalent of about $25,000 per day per
ship
- The fourth quarter of 2020 was weak
- We undertook planned technical maintenance of our ships
during softer market periods of 2020
- At the time of this report the market has improved and
we believe that we are close to a significant positive
turnaround
- The full year 2020 produced a net income of $50 million
or an earning per share (EPS) of $0.34. This is an improvement of
about $60 million in 2020 compared to 2019, which produced an EPS
of -$0.07.
- We see strong oil demand, in particular from Asia for
2021. This is good for us. Oil will be required to improve standard
of living for millions of people worldwide.
- In the final quarter of 2020 we concluded the financing
of the two newbuilding suezmaxes, which we ordered in September
2020. This financing offers us pre-delivery funding for the last
two pre-delivery instalments of the newbuildings, if
required.
- In December 2020, we expanded our senior secured loan
with our existing lender in Texas with $30 million, as a liquidity
reserve. Accordingly, our long term liabilities as per December 31,
2020 stood at $335.5 million.
- During 2020, 11 of our vessels were taken through
scheduled drydockings. The majority of these dockings were
conducted during the second half of the year. For 2021, we have 4
vessels due for scheduled drydockings and our fleet is as such
ready for a recovery.
- Our top quality fleet as evidenced by “vettings”
undertaken by the oil companies performed technically well last
year.
- The reduced oil production from OPEC+ during the fourth
quarter of 2020 affected our earnings. The average time charter
equivalent (TCE) for our trading fleet during the fourth quarter of
2020 was $8,700 per day per ship.
- We see that the market is finely balanced and there are
clear signs we are going into a stronger market.
- Cash dividends are a priority for NAT. In 2020 we paid
$67.2 million or 45 cents per share in cash
dividends.
- We announce our 94th consecutive quarterly dividend.
The dividend for 4Q2020 is 2 cents ($0.02) per share, payable on
March 31, 2021, to shareholders of record March 12, 2021. With
improved earnings, higher dividends can be expected.
- As communicated earlier, the Covid-19 situation has not
impacted us to a significant extent.
- Detailed financial information for the full year 2020,
the third and fourth quarter of 2020 and for other periods is
included later in this report.
Sincerely,
Herbjorn HanssonFounder, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Ltd.
www.nat.bm
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
worldwide 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.
NAT is a Bermuda based company.
Contacts:
Gary J. WolfeSeward & Kissel LLPNew York, USATel: +1 212 574
1223
Bjørn Giæver, CFO
Nordic American
Tankers Ltd
Tel: +1 888 755
8391 or +47 91 35 00 91
Herbjørn Hansson, Founder, Chairman & CEONordic American
Tankers LtdTel: +1 866 805 9504 or +47 90 14 62
91
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