Containership charter owner Global Ship Lease has doubled its earnings on the back of its combination with Poseidon in late 2018.
For the three months ended March 31, 2019, the company’s operating revenues reached USD 64.5 million, compared to USD 36.1 million reported in the same quarter in 2018, with the increase principally due to the addition of the GSL Valerie in June 2018 and the Poseidon Containers fleet on November 15, 2018,
Reported net income was at USD 10.1 million for the period, up from USD 4.2 million seen a year earlier.
“Having successfully integrated GSL and Poseidon, we are seeing the anticipated wide-ranging benefits of our superior platform which are reflected in every aspect of our business. Our success in securing six longer-term charters in 2019 adds approximately USD 146 million, or 21.4%, to mid-point contracted net revenue, improving forward charter cover and cashflow visibility,” Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, said.
“Altogether, we are ensuring that GSL is in a position to fully benefit from opportunities arising out of the ongoing market recovery”
Amid consistently strong demand for our high-specification containerships, which are focused in vessel classes experiencing net supply contraction, we have made substantial progress in extending our forward contract coverage and locking in contracted cashflow at a time when charter rates have shown significant improvement.
The company said that a recent surge of demand for high reefer capacity Post-Panamax vessels has enabled GSL to secure profitable, multi-year charters for some of the older vessels in its fleet.
“Moving forward, we remain confident in the supportive long-term fundamentals for mid-sized and smaller containerships, and we will continue to take action to fully unlock the value of GSL’s leading commercial capabilities, strong balance sheet, extensive contracted revenue, and high-quality, modern fleet,” George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global Ship Lease, said.