Seanergy Maritime Holdings has reported a record profit for the first nine months of the year, as the New York-listed bulker owner flipped its quarterly earnings to the black.
Athens-based Seanergy reported net income of $12.5m for the third quarter, reversing a $5m loss in the same period of 2023.
That lifted nine-month profit to $36.8m, turning around $8.5m in losses booked in the first three quarters of 2023.
“In the third quarter, Seanergy sustained its profitable trajectory by continuing to execute on our focused strategy as a dedicated capesize operator,” chief executive Stamatis Tsantanis said.
Seanergy reported quarterly revenue of $44.4m, an 81.2% leap from the same period of last year.
Tsantanis said that the quarter saw the Baltic Exchange assess average rates of $24,900 per day during the period, but his company reeled in a “notable” time-charter equivalent rate of $26,500 per day.
“This outperformance highlights the effectiveness of our hedging strategy, which has been instrumental in reducing charter rate volatility and increasing our revenue visibility,” he said.
“Our objective remains to maintain a balanced risk-return profile throughout the market cycle, ensuring stability and resilience in our earnings.”
The company’s board has approved the biggest-ever dividend in its history, paying out $0.26 per share.
“As evidenced by our recently implemented updated dividend policy, which targets a distribution of approximately 50% of our operating cash flow after debt service, we are committed to delivering strong capital returns to our shareholders, consistent with our earnings performance, while continuing to grow our fleet and maintain a healthy balance sheet,” Tsantanis said.
“In line with this policy, the Board has approved a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share for the third quarter of 2024.”
The results came a day after Seanergy announced that shareholders overwhelmingly approved re-election of two board members challenged by Greek shipping tycoon and shareholder George Economou, as well as rejecting a call for Tsantanis’ resignation.
Economou owns 1.86m shares, which represents 9% of the company and means he is poised to receive a $483,000 dividend cheque.
Seanergy, which owns 19 capesize bulkers, ended the quarter with $41.3m in cash out of $528m in total assets.
The company reported $238m in long-term debt and other financial liabilities.
