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Global Ship Lease Looking to Weather the Storm Until Record-Low Orderbook Comes Into Play

Global Ship Lease, Inc., a containership charter owner, announced today its unaudited results for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

First Quarter 2020

– Reported operating revenues(1) of $70.9 million for the first quarter 2020.

– Reported net income(2) of $0.6 million for the first quarter 2020 after a non-cash impairment charge of $7.6 million and $2.3 million premium paid following the redemption of $46.0 million of our 9.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2022 (“2022 Notes); resulting in a normalized net income(3) of $10.5 million.

– Generated $39.6 million of Adjusted EBITDA(3) for the first quarter 2020.

– On February 13, 2020, our credit facility that matured on December 31, 2020 was fully refinanced through the utilization of the $38.0 million second tranche of our $268.0 million New Senior Loan, secured by Mary, and an additional facility of $9.0 million which we entered with an international bank, secured by Maira, Nikolas and Newyorker.

– On February 10, 2020, we redeemed $46.0 million principal amount of our 2022 Notes. During March 2020, we purchased $9.1 million of these notes in the open market at an average price of $0.9814.

– Between January 1, 2020 and March 31, 2020, a further $18.9 million net proceeds was raised under our ATM program for our 8.00% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2024 (“2024 Notes”) and a further $4.0 million net proceeds under our ATM program for our 8.75% Series B Preferred Shares (“Series B Preferred Shares”).

– Since January 1, 2020, up to May 11, 2020, we have agreed short charter extensions for nine of our smaller ships: Manet, Maira, Nikolas, Newyorker, Athena, GSL Valerie, Matisse, Utrillo and GSL Keta. The extensions are all at rates of between $8,000 and $9,000 per day and range in duration from a few months to a year. We have also agreed to extend the charter of one of our Post-Panamax ships (New Purchase One) for 70 – 90 days, from early April, at a charter rate expected to generate Adjusted EBITDA of around $1.2 million for the median extension period.

George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global Ship Lease, stated, “Our extensive contract cover and high-quality fleet have largely insulated us from the coronavirus-related disruptions that have expanded to affect the global economy. During the first quarter, we generated strong, consistent earnings and took delivery of two new ships. Our total contracted revenue is now around $696.0 million over a TEU-weighted average remaining duration of 2.3 years, with many of our charters extending for multiple years. The flexibility of our mid-sized and smaller containership fleet, as well as our low slot costs and high reefer capacity, enable us to support our liner partners with reliable, cost-efficient ships at a time when the industry is under pressure. We maintain close relationships with our customers, for whom we provide a vital service, and will continue to focus on providing them uninterrupted, best-in-class operations.”

“As the spread of COVID-19 has had an increasing impact on global supply chains, the containership industry is taking active measures to maintain market discipline and adapt to changing market conditions. During this time, Global Ship Lease’s highest priority remains the health and safety of our seafarers and staff on shore. While the full extent of the economic impact of the pandemic and the shape of the subsequent recovery remain to be seen, our strong contract cover, consistent operational excellence, and close relationships with our customers position us well to weather the current storm. Once the global economy turns the corner, we expect that the contraction in vessel supply of mid-sized and smaller vessels in recent years and the negligible order book moving forward will position Global Ship Lease to benefit in the medium and long term.”

Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, commented, “We have always prioritized resilience and have focused on maintaining a strong balance sheet while building contract cover with market-leading charterers. As a result of pro-actively refinancing our nearer term debt maturities over the last few months, we now have negligible debt maturities through 2020 and none in 2021. Further, during the first quarter 2020, we took steps to reduce our cost of capital by opportunistically retiring $46.0 million of high-cost debt. We also put additional charters in place to further improve cash flow visibility over the coming months. We are minimizing discretionary spend without compromising safety or our ability to consistently service our charterers at a high level, and are likely to dispose of our two oldest vessels rather than invest in their upcoming drydocks. Our strong balance sheet and maturity profile, with extensive cash on hand, five unencumbered vessels, and only approximately $5.0 million of debt maturing between now and late 2022, ensures that we are well suited to endure a volatile global trade environment.”

Operating Revenues and Utilization

The fleet generated operating revenues from fixed-rate time charters of $70.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2020, an increase of $6.4 million compared to $64.5 million for the first quarter of 2019, with the increase principally due to the addition of five vessels between April 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019 and two vessels during first quarter 2020. There were 4,016 ownership days in the quarter, an increase of 17% compared to 3,420 days in the first quarter of 2019, which was primarily due to the addition of the seven vessels noted above. In the first quarter of 2020, the time taken for scheduled drydockings and scrubber installations was adversely affected by congestion and slow down in workings or shutdowns in yards due to COVID-19 resulting in 224 days for planned offhire days. There were a further 39 days of unplanned offhire and 56 idle days, giving an overall utilization of 92.1%. There were five days of unplanned offhire in the first quarter of 2019, giving an overall utilization of 99.8%.

There were three regulatory drydockings in first quarter 2020 and two scrubber installations in progress and none in first quarter 2019. A further seven regulatory drydockings are due in 2020.

Vessel Operating Expenses

Vessel operating expenses, which include costs of crew, lubricating oil, repairs, maintenance, insurance and technical management fees, were $25.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $21.0 million in the prior year period. The increase was mainly due to 596 additional ownership days (up 17%) as a result of the acquisition of the seven vessels noted above all of which are post-panamax with higher daily operating expenses. The average cost per ownership day in the quarter was $6,352, compared to $6,127 for the prior year period, up $225 per day.

Time Charter and Voyage Expenses

Time charter and voyage expenses comprise mainly commission paid to ship brokers, the cost of bunker fuel for owner’s account when a vessel is off-hire or idle and miscellaneous costs associated with a vessel’s voyage. Time charter and voyage expenses were $3.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $1.6 million in the prior year period. The increase was mainly due to the addition of the seven vessels noted above and the re-chartering of a number of legacy vessels that did not previously incur brokerage commission.

Depreciation and amortization

Depreciation and amortization for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was $11.5 million, compared to $10.8 million in the prior year period; the increase was mainly due to the addition of the seven vessels noted above.

Vessel impairment losses

We approved a plan for the vessels Utrillo and GSL Matisse to be sold. As of March 31, 2020, the vessels were not immediately available for sale and did not qualify as assets held for sale as of March 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2020, we had a current expectation that the vessels would be sold before the end of its previously estimated useful life, and as a result performed an impairment test of the specific asset group. An impairment loss of $7.6 million has been recognized for the three months ended March 31, 2020. No impairment charges were recognized in the prior year period.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses were $2.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $2.5 million in the prior year period.

Adjusted EBITDA

As a result of the above, Adjusted EBITDA was $39.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, a slight decrease from $40.1 million for the prior year period.

Interest and other finance expenses (including premium on 2022 Notes)

Debt at March 31, 2020 totaled $866.1 million, comprising $267.6 million of indebtedness on our 2022 Notes, $12.1 million of indebtedness under a secured term loan, both collateralized by 18 legacy vessels, $59.0 million of indebtedness on our 2024 Notes, and $527.5 million other debt collateralized by our other vessels. Five vessels are unencumbered.

Debt at March 31, 2019 totaled $882.9 million, comprising $340.0 million of indebtedness on our 2022 Notes, $34.8 million of indebtedness under the secured term loan, and $508.1 million other debt collateralized by our other vessels.

Interest and other finance expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2020, were $19.6 million, an increase of $0.2 million, or 1%, on the interest and other finance expenses for the prior year period of $19.4 million. The increase is mainly due to $2.3 million premium paid on the optional redemption of the $46.0 million principal amount of our 2022 Notes in March 2020, offset by a reduction in interest cost.

Interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was $0.6 million, an increase of $0.2 million on $0.4 million for the prior year period. The increase was mainly due to higher average cash balances and increased interest rates.

Other income, net

Other income, net is mainly comprised of gains in bunkers following deliveries and redeliveries of vessels from charterers and passenger income. Other income, net was $21,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $0.5 million in the prior year period.

Taxation

Taxation for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was $nil compared to $16,000 in the prior year period.

Earnings Allocated to Preferred Shares

The Series B Preferred Shares carry a coupon of 8.75%, the cost of which for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was $0.9 million, compared to $0.8 million in the prior year period, with the increase being due to the issuance of additional Series B Preferred Shares under our ATM program.

Net Income Available to Common Shareholders

Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was $0.6 million, compared to $9.6 million in the prior year period.

Fleet

The following table provides information about our fleet of 45 ships. One ship was delivered in January 2020 and one in February 2020.

Full Report

Source: Global Ship Lease

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