Global Ship Lease Credit Rating Upgraded by Moody’s
July 12 2021 - 8:30AM
Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) (the “Company”) announced today
that its Corporate Family Rating has been upgraded to B1 from B2,
with a stable outlook, by Moody’s Investor Service (“Moody’s”). In
announcing the upgrade, Moody’s cited the Company’s increased scale
and improving credit metrics, refinancing activities resulting in
an extended maturity profile, high revenue visibility from
long-term charters, the strong container shipping market
environment, and an increase in the Company’s free float.
George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global
Ship Lease, commented, “This latest upgrade from Moody’s is further
evidence of our progress in transforming our balance sheet,
significantly expanding our charter durations and contracted
revenue, and capturing substantial and accretive growth
opportunities in this extraordinarily strong container shipping
market. With no material debt maturities until 2024 and the proven
ability to source and execute on immediately accretive vessel and
fleet acquisitions with negligible downside risk, combined with
strong market fundamentals that we expect to persist into 2022, we
believe we are well positioned to continue driving earnings growth,
and providing our shareholders with a sustainable, well-supported
dividend.”
Additional information regarding Global Ship
Lease’s rating can be found in the press release
dated July 9, 2021 on the Moody's website
at www.moodys.com.
About Global Ship Lease
Global Ship Lease is a leading independent owner of
containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller
containerships. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship
Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of
owning and chartering out containerships under fixed-rate charters
to top tier container liner companies. On November 15, 2018, it
completed a strategic combination with Poseidon Containers.
Global Ship Lease owns 49 containerships and has contracted to
purchase a further 17 ships, ranging from 1,118 to 11,040 TEU, with
a total capacity (when fully delivered) of 344,650 TEU. 32 ships
are Post-Panamax, of which nine are fuel-efficient new-design
wide-beam.
Adjusted to include all charters agreed, and ships acquired or
divested as at May 31, 2021 for a total on-the-water fleet of 49
ships, the average remaining term of the Company’s charters as at
March 31, 2021, to the mid-point of redelivery, including options
under the Company’s control, was 2.6 years on a TEU-weighted basis.
Contracted revenue on the same basis was $984.3 million. Contracted
revenue was $1,134.9 million, including options under charterers’
control and with latest redelivery date, representing a weighted
average remaining term of 3.1 years.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements provide the Company’s current
expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking
statements include statements about the Company’s expectations,
beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other
statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as
“anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,”
“intend,” “may,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,”
“project,” “will” or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of
those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements,
but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a
statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements
are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and the Company
cannot assure you that the events or expectations included in these
forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could
differ materially from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements as a result of various factors,
including the factors described in “Risk Factors” in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 20-F and the factors and risks the Company
describes in subsequent reports filed from time to time with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, you should
not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes
no obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking
statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this
press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
Investor and Media Contact: The IGB GroupBryan
Degnan646-673-9701or Leon Berman 212-477-8438
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