Euroseas Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESEA) (“Euroseas” or the “Company”), an
owner and operator of container carrier vessels and provider of
seaborne transportation for containerized cargoes, made today the
following announcements:
Time Charter for its Older
Containership, M/V Aegean Express
Euroseas announced today a new charter for its
older and smaller feeder containership, M/V Aegean Express.
Specifically, the charter of M/V Aegean Express has been extended
in direct continuation of its existing charter for a minimum period
of ten months and a maximum period of twelve months at a rate of
$16,700 per day.
Spin-off of its Older Three Vessels into
a Separate Company
The Company also announced its intent to
spin-off the Company’s older three vessels, M/V Aegean Express, M/V
Diamantis P and M/V Joanna, into a separate company, Euroholdings
Ltd. (“Euroholdings”), which has applied for listing on the NASDAQ
Capital Market.
The Company will contribute the three vessels to
Euroholdings in exchange for 100% of the shares of Euroholdings
which it will then distribute to its shareholders. There can be no
assurance that the spin-off transaction will ultimately occur or,
if it does occur, what its structure, terms or timing will be. The
Company has scheduled a conference call to discuss the spin-off on
January 7, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. EST. Please find conference call and
webcast information further in the press release.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of
Euroseas commented: “We are pleased to announce the
extension of the charter of Aegean Express and our plan to spin-off
our three elder vessels in a separate company, Euroholdings Ltd.,
which has applied for listing on NASDAQ. The spin-off of our three
older vessels into a separate entity and the distribution of all
shares to our common shareholders, the only shareholder class in
our capital structure, enables us to maximize the value of the
older vessels in our fleet and shareholder returns by creating a
new platform to capture new opportunities following a different
strategy from Euroseas.
Euroholdings shares represent only about 5% of
our Euroseas’ NAV estimate, so the spin-off is not expected to have
any material impact on Euroseas and its overall strategy. At
Euroseas, we plan to continue taking advantage of growth
opportunities as they may present themselves while continuing our
high quarterly dividend distributions based on our strong capital
structure and forward charter cover. Furthermore, Euroseas intends
to continue with its stated strategy of modernizing its fleet as we
have demonstrated over the last couple of years by placing orders
for 11 newbuilding vessels, seven of which have been delivered in
2023 and 2024, two are slated for delivery in early January 2025
and the remaining two in 2027.
We firmly believe that under the right
circumstances, there is considerable value in the current
environment in continuing to trade older well-maintained vessels,
rather than selling them, as these can ultimately generate higher
returns. The increased market and operational risks associated with
older vessels are mitigated by the fact that the three first
Euroholdings vessels are currently unlevered, two of the three are
under time charter employment providing medium term visibility of
earnings and all vessels will continue to be managed by our
affiliate, Eurobulk Ltd., which has a proven track record of
handling older vessels.
Given the company’s fleet profile and capital
structure, shorter remaining economic life and higher intended
dividend distribution policy, we believe that Euroholdings shares
should trade at better valuation levels and smaller or no discount
to NAV compared to its sector peers. We anticipate that both
Euroseas and Euroholdings will be valued better separately as they
offer more and different options to investors. Furthermore,
Euroholdings with its clean balance sheet and relatively liquid
platform can be used as a consolidating vehicle in the shipping
sector, especially for vintage vessels, creating additional value
to shareholders over the longer term.
We plan to discuss the spin-off in more detail
and the opportunities it may generate in a separate conference call
on January 7, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. EST.”
Conference Call details:
Participants should dial into the call 10
minutes before the scheduled time using the following numbers: 877
405 1226 (US Toll-Free Dial In) or +1 201 689 7823 (US and Standard
International Dial In). Please quote “Euroseas” to the operator
and/or conference ID 13750842. Click here for additional
participant International Toll- Free access numbers.
Alternatively, participants can register for the
call using the call me option for a faster connection to join the
conference call. You can enter your phone number and let the system
call you right away. Click here for the call me option.
Audio Webcast‐
Slides Presentation:
There will be a live and then archived webcast
of the conference call and accompanying slides, available on the
Company’s website. To listen to the archived audio file, visit our
website http://www.euroseas.gr and click on Company Presentations
under our Investor Relations page. Participants to the live webcast
should register on the website approximately 10 minutes prior to
the start of the webcast.
The slide presentation for the Euroholdings
spin-off will also be available in PDF format minutes prior to the
conference call and webcast, accessible on the company's website
(www.euroseas.gr) on the webcast page. Participants to the webcast
can download the PDF presentation.
Fleet Profile:
After the spin-off, the Euroholdings Ltd. fleet profile is as
follows:
Name |
Type |
Dwt |
TEU |
Year Built |
Employment (*) |
TCE Rate ($/day) |
Container Carriers |
|
|
|
|
|
|
DIAMANTIS P |
Feeder |
30,360 |
2,008 |
1998 |
undergoing minor repairs |
- |
JOANNA(*) |
Feeder |
22,301 |
1,732 |
1999 |
TC until Mar-26,then until Sep-26,then until Nov-26 |
$19,000$9,500$16,500 |
AEGEAN EXPRESS(*) |
Feeder |
18,581 |
1,439 |
1997 |
TC until Nov-25 |
$16,700 |
Total Container Carriers on the Water |
3 |
71,242 |
5,179 |
|
|
|
Notes: (*) TC denotes time
charter. Charter duration indicates the earliest redelivery date;
all dates listed are the earliest redelivery dates under each TC
unless the contract rate is lower than the current market rate in
which cases the latest redelivery date is assumed; period to
Nov-2026 is at the option of the charterer.
After the spin-off of Euroholdings Ltd., the Euroseas Ltd. fleet
profile is as follows:
Name |
Type |
Dwt |
TEU |
Year Built |
Employment (*) |
TCE Rate ($/day) |
Container Carriers |
|
|
|
|
|
|
MARCOS V(*) |
Intermediate |
72,968 |
6,350 |
2005 |
TC until Aug-25 |
$15,000 |
SYNERGY BUSAN(*) |
Intermediate |
50,726 |
4,253 |
2009 |
TC until Dec-27 |
$35,500 |
SYNERGY ANTWERP(*) |
Intermediate |
50,726 |
4,253 |
2008 |
TC until Mar-25 |
$26,500 |
SYNERGY OAKLAND(*) |
Intermediate |
50,787 |
4,253 |
2009 |
TC until May-26 |
$42,000 |
SYNERGY KEELUNG(*) |
Intermediate |
50,969 |
4,253 |
2009 |
TC until Apr-25 |
$23,000 |
EMMANUEL P(*) |
Intermediate |
50,796 |
4,250 |
2005 |
TC until Apr-25 |
$21,000 |
RENA P(*) |
Intermediate |
50,796 |
4,250 |
2007 |
TC until Apr-25 |
$21,000 |
EM KEA(*) |
Feeder |
42,165 |
3,100 |
2007 |
TC until May-26 |
$19,000 |
GREGOS(*) |
Feeder |
37,237 |
2,800 |
2023 |
TC until Apr-26 |
$48,000 |
TERATAKI(*) |
Feeder |
37,237 |
2,800 |
2023 |
TC until Jul-26 |
$48,000 |
TENDER SOUL(*) |
Feeder |
37,237 |
2,800 |
2024 |
TC until Oct-27 |
$32,000 |
LEONIDAS Z(*) |
Feeder |
37,237 |
2,800 |
2024 |
TC until Mar-26 |
$20,000 |
EVRIDIKI G(*) |
Feeder |
34,677 |
2,556 |
2001 |
TC until Feb-25then until Apr-26 |
$40,000$29,500 |
EM CORFU(*) |
Feeder |
34,654 |
2,556 |
2001 |
TC until Feb-25then until Aug-26 |
$40,000$28,000 |
STEPHANIA K(*) |
Feeder |
22,262 |
1,800 |
2024 |
TC until May-26 |
$22,000 |
EM SPETSES(*) |
Feeder |
23,224 |
1,740 |
2007 |
TC until Feb-26 |
$18,100 |
JONATHAN P(*) |
Feeder |
23,357 |
1,740 |
2006 |
TC until Sep-25 |
$20,000 |
EM HYDRA(*) |
Feeder |
23,351 |
1,740 |
2005 |
TC until Mar-25 |
$13,000 |
MONICA(*) |
Feeder |
22,262 |
1,800 |
2024 |
TC-until May-25 |
$16,000 |
PEPI STAR(*) |
Feeder |
22,262 |
1,800 |
2024 |
TC until Jun-26 |
$24,250 |
Total Container Carriers on the Water |
20 |
774,930 |
61,894 |
|
|
|
Vessels under construction |
Type |
Dwt |
TEU |
To be delivered |
Employment |
TCE Rate ($/day) |
DEAR PANEL (H4251) |
Feeder |
37,237 |
2,800 |
Q1 2025 |
TC until Nov-27 |
$32,000 |
SYMEON P (H4252) |
Feeder |
37,237 |
2,800 |
Q1 2025 |
TC until Nov-27 |
$32,000 |
ELENA (H1711) |
Intermediate |
55,200 |
4,300 |
Q4 2027 |
|
|
NIKITAS G (H1712) |
Intermediate |
55,200 |
4,300 |
Q4 2027 |
|
|
Total under construction |
4 |
184,874 |
14,200 |
|
|
|
Notes:(*) TC denotes time charter.
Charter duration indicates the earliest redelivery date; all dates
listed are the earliest redelivery dates under each TC unless the
contract rate is lower than the current market rate in which cases
the latest redelivery date is assumed; vessels with the latest
redelivery date shown are marked by (+).(**) Rate is net of
commissions (which are typically 5-6.25%)
About Euroseas Ltd.
Euroseas Ltd. was formed on May 5, 2005 under
the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to consolidate the
ship owning interests of the Pittas family of Athens, Greece, which
has been in the shipping business over the past 140 years. Euroseas
trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker
ESEA.
Euroseas operates in the container shipping
market. Euroseas' operations are managed by Eurobulk Ltd., an ISO
9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certified affiliated ship management
company, which is responsible for the day-to-day commercial and
technical management and operations of the vessels. Euroseas
employs its vessels on spot and period charters and through pool
arrangements.
The Company has a fleet of 23 vessels, including
16 Feeder containerships and 7 Intermediate containerships.
Euroseas 23 containerships have a cargo capacity of 67,073 teu.
After the delivery of two feeder and the two intermediate
containership newbuildings in 2025 and 2027, respectively,
Euroseas’ fleet will consist of 27 vessels with a total carrying
capacity of 86,873 teu.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking
statements (as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended) concerning future events and the Company's growth
strategy and measures to implement such strategy; including
expected vessel acquisitions and entering into further time
charters. Words such as "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes,"
"anticipates," "hopes," "estimates," and variations of such words
and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no
assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have
been correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and
are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that are
inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies,
many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results
may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially include, but are not limited to changes in the
demand for containerships, competitive factors in the market in
which the Company operates; risks associated with operations
outside the United States; and other factors listed from time to
time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The Company expressly disclaims any obligations or
undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change
in the Company's expectations with respect thereto or any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is
based.
Visit our website www.euroseas.gr
Company ContactTasos AslidisChief Financial
OfficerEuroseas Ltd.11 Canterbury Lane,Watchung, NJ 07069Tel. (908)
301-9091E-mail: aha@euroseas.gr |
Investor Relations / Financial MediaNicolas
BornozisMarkella KaraCapital Link, Inc.230 Park Avenue, Suite
1540New York, NY 10169Tel. (212) 661-7566E-mail:
euroseas@capitallink.com |
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