London-listed shipowner Tufton Oceanic Assets has declared its debut dividend payment and revealed further expansion of its fleet.
Tufton has invested $31.75m to add LPG and dry cargo exposure to its position in the containership market.
This was followed this morning with the announcement of a first payout to shareholders by a company with a clearly stated strategy of returning capital to investors.
Andrew Hampson-led Tufton Oceanic Assets says the 75% stake in an LPG carrier cost $21.7m, while the outright purchase of a handysize bulker came at $10m.
“The LPG carrier slightly increases the portfolio's yield and significantly increases the weighted average charter length to 4.3 years minimum and 4.9 years expected,” Tufton said.
“The handysize bulk carrier will have floating revenue from operating in a leading bulker pool and will be the only spot market-linked vessel in the initial portfolio.”
After adding the new assets to the four containerships bought earlier this year, Tufton Assets has now set 83% of its IPO proceeds to work.
The remaining capital from the $91m float is expected to be deployed in line with previous plans, it said.
TradeWinds reported at the time of the listing the company was looking to set its IPO funds to work within nine to 12 months
Hampson told TradeWinds in January that the company was happy with its initial capital raise and was likely to return for further equity once the listing proceeds were invested.
It is no surprise to see Tufton Assets build a diversified fleet. Its listing on the specialist fund segment of the London market with a view to targeting different asset classes challenged the typical public pureplay model for shipping in the capital markets.
TradeWinds has previously reported Tufton Oceanic Assets intended to invest across the dry cargo, tanker and containership markets, as well as the general cargo space.
At the time of the listing the company said it planned an initial dividend yield of 5% in the first 12 months, with 7% pencilled in after that.
Today Tufton announced a first payout of $0.015 per share, which will arrive with investors on 17 August.
In a second quarter update, Tufton said it had a net asset value of $92.5m, which is equal to $1.016 per share.
