Performance Shipping Inc. Announces Full Prepayment of Piraeus Bank S.A. Loans and Significant Reduction of Finance Costs
December 18 2023 - 9:27AM
Performance Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ: PSHG), (“we” or the “Company”),
a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of tanker
vessels, today announces the voluntary prepayment in full of its
existing loans with Piraeus Bank S.A., (the “Piraeus Loans”). The
voluntary prepayment amounts to approximately US$44.8 million. The
Piraeus loans were secured by the M/T P. Monterey, M/T P. Yanbu and
M/T P. Sophia. Following the full prepayment of the Piraeus Loans,
the Company’s total outstanding debt will be approximately US$55.2
million, and three out of the seven vessels comprising the
Company’s current fleet will be completely unencumbered.
Commenting on this prepayment, Andreas
Michalopoulos, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, stated:
“Following the recent strategic sale of the M/T
P. Kikuma, we deployed our excess liquidity to prepay the Piraeus
Loan, decreasing the Company's indebtedness by approximately 44%,
significantly reducing future interest rate costs, and enhancing
our financial performance. Indicatively, the prepayment will result
in negative net leverage of approximately -3% of our estimated
fleet market value, savings of US$5.3 million per annum in
principal loan repayments, and a reduction of our expected 2024
finance costs by approximately US$3.7 million or approximately 50%.
We expect to continue generating significant free cashflow with the
crude oil and refined petroleum product tanker markets remaining
strong, further strengthening our balance sheet and, with three
unencumbered vessels in our fleet, enhancing our ability to pursue
growth opportunities. We believe that the efficient use of our
excess cash towards the deleveraging of our Company, as well as the
continuation of our preapproved US$2 million share buyback program,
enhances shareholder value.”
About the Company
Performance Shipping Inc. is a global provider
of shipping transportation services through its ownership of tanker
vessels. The Company employs its fleet on spot voyages, through
pool arrangements and on time charters.
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, but are not limited to,
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 words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,”
“forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,”
“should,” “expect,” “targets,” “likely,” “would,” “could,” “seeks,”
“continue,” “possible,” “might,” “pending” and similar expressions,
terms or phrases may 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.
In addition to these important factors, other
important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to
differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to: the strength of world
economies, fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, general
market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and
vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker shipping industry,
changes in the supply of vessels, changes in worldwide oil
production and consumption and storage, changes in our operating
expenses, including bunker prices, crew costs, drydocking and
insurance costs, our future operating or financial results,
availability of financing and refinancing including with respect to
vessels we agree to acquire, 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, the length and severity of
epidemics and pandemics, including COVID-19, and their impact on
the demand for seaborne transportation of petroleum and other types
of products, changes in governmental rules and regulations or
actions taken by regulatory authorities, general domestic and
international political conditions or events, including “trade
wars”, armed conflicts including the war in Ukraine and the war
between Israel and Hamas, the imposition of new international
sanctions, acts by terrorists or acts of piracy on ocean-going
vessels, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents,
labor disputes or political events, vessel breakdowns and instances
of off-hires and other important factors. Please see our filings
with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete
discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.
Corporate Contact:
Andreas Michalopoulos
Chief Executive Officer, Director and Secretary
Telephone: +30-216-600-2400
Email: amichalopoulos@pshipping.com
Website: www.pshipping.com
Investor and Media Relations:
Edward Nebb
Comm-Counsellors, LLC
Telephone: + 1-203-972-8350
Email: enebb@optonline.net
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