Global Ship Lease Announces New Multi-Year Charters and Increases Quarterly Dividend
November 22 2021 - 8:30AM
Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) (the “Company”) today announced
that it has agreed new five-year time charters for the Eco 9,115
TEU Al Khor and Maira XL with a leading liner operator, to commence
mid-2022 at the conclusion of their current charters. The vessels,
which are currently earning $31,650 and $34,000 per day,
respectively, are expected to generate aggregate Adjusted EBITDA of
approximately $206 million over the five-year firm period. Adjusted
to include these newly signed charters, the Company’s total
contracted revenue increases to $1.85 billion.
These new charter agreements, for two of GSL’s
most valuable and in-demand vessels, are consistent with the
Company’s strategy of capitalizing on the strong charter market to
lock-in cashflow over a multi-year period. The agreements
materially reduce open days in 2022 which are now at minimal
levels, and together with the substantial increase in contracted
revenue from other year-to-date charter renewals and from growth,
provide additional cashflow visibility. Accordingly, our Board of
Directors has announced its intention to increase the quarterly
dividend to be paid to common shareholders by 50% to $0.375 per
share, with effect from the first quarter of 2022. This increased
dividend represents more than triple the amount initially announced
in January 2021.
George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global
Ship Lease, stated, “These new long-term charters at excellent
rates, agreed well ahead of current charter expiry, are in line
with our strategy of locking in attractive cashflow for multi-year
periods. They demonstrate not only the continued strength of the
charter market for high-quality, Eco post-panamax containerships,
but also the dramatic earnings growth potential of the GSL fleet.
Having increased the size of our fleet by more than 50% over the
course of 2021, through a series of immediately accretive
acquisitions, these newly signed charters are a powerful
demonstration of the operating leverage of our business model.
Taking into consideration all of these highly supportive
developments, our greatly expanded contract cover, and our
continued positive assessment of mid-sized and smaller
containership prospects for some time to come, our Board of
Directors is confident that GSL can sustainably support this
significant increase in our quarterly dividend for common
shareholders to $0.375 per share, more than three times the level
we announced in January 2021. Looking ahead, we continue to see
opportunities to create shareholder value by further growing the
fleet with accretive acquisitions of on-the-water vessels, to
opportunistically work with our customers to renew and improve our
fleet on a non-speculative basis, and to pursue a range of
value-creating activities for the long-term benefit of our
shareholders.”
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. It was listed on the New
York stock Exchange in August 2008.
As at November 21, 2021, Global Ship Lease owned
65 containerships, ranging from 1,118 to 11,040 TEU, with an
aggregate capacity of 342,348 TEU. 32 ships are wide-beam
Post-Panamax.
Adjusted to include all charters agreed, and
ships contracted to be purchased, up to November 21, 2021, the
average remaining term of the Company’s charters as at September
30, 2021, to the mid-point of redelivery, including options under
the Company’s control and other than if a redelivery notice has
been received, was 2.8 years on a TEU-weighted basis. Contracted
revenue on the same basis was $1.85 billion. Contracted revenue was
$2.10 billion, including options under charterers’ control and with
latest redelivery date, representing a weighted average remaining
term of 3.4 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 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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