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spk02: ladies and gentlemen thank you for standing by and welcome to this energy maritime holdings corporation second quarter and first of 2022 financial call at this time all participants are in listen-only mode after the speaker's presentation there will be a question and answer session to ask a question during the session you will need to slowly press star 1 and 1 on your telephone You will then hear an automated message advising that your hand is raised. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. Please now turn to slide two of the presentation. Many of the remarks today contain forward-looking statements based on the current expectations. Actual results may differ materially from the results projected from those forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that can cause the actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the second quarter 2022 earnings release, which is available on the Synergy website, www.synergymaritime.com. I would now like to turn the conference over to your speaker today, Stamatis Santonis. Please go ahead, sir.
spk06: Hello.
spk05: I would like to welcome everyone to our conference call. Today we are presenting the financial figures for the second quarter and first six months of 2022. We are also pleased to announce the distribution of another cash dividend this quarter. The second quarter was another outstanding period in terms of financial performance for Synergy, supported by a healthy cap size market, and our effective commercial strategy that balances reward and risk for our shareholders. There are various negative events on a global scale, such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the fears about inflation, and the ensuing risk of recession, as well as the COVID-19-related lockdowns in China. However, our view is that the robust fundamentals of the capes high sector will provide for solid market conditions despite these uncertainties. Let's start with second quarter and first half highlights. During the second quarter, we recorded net revenue of 32.8 million and adjusted EBITDA of 17.3 million, up 18% and 53% respectively, compared to the second quarter of 2021. Net income was equal to 5.9 million, compared to 2 million in the second quarter of 2021. The positive financial performance was driven both by the increased size of our fleet and by the 16% increase in the time shutter equivalent earned by our vessels. For the first six months of 2022, net revenue reached 62.5 million, which represents a new record for Synergy. Adjusted EBITDA climbed to 34.1 million, posting a year-on-year increase of 77%, while net income amounted to 9.6 million. We reaffirm our commitment to rewarding our shareholders through the declaration of another regular dividend of 2.5 cents per share for the second quarter and a new buyback plan for up to $5 million, which was recently announced. I will expand on the shareholders' rewards deliverables in a minute. On a corporate level, during the second quarter, we concluded the spin-off of our wholly owned subsidiary United Maritime Corporation, which commenced trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on July 6, 2022, under the symbol UC. All shares of UC were distributed to our shareholders. As part of this transaction, the previously owned Cape Size Gloryship was spun off to the new entity, which will be focusing on the tanker sector going forward. In order to replace our oldest vessel that was spun out to UC, we acquired the 2010 built Japanese Cape size, the Honor Ship, which improved our fleet's average age and the overall operating margin of synergy. On the financing front, during the first six months of the year, we completed new financings and refinancings of $80.3 million, out of which $59 million were concluded in the second quarter of the year. As such, we continuously improve the capital structure of our company. In addition to these financings, we have received a commitment letter from a prominent European financial institution for the refinancing of an existing facility with current outstanding balance of 24.8 million, which matures in the end of the year. Our CFO will provide more color in a while. The total buybacks of convertible notes, warrants and common shares have now reached 26.7 million and can potentially rise to 31.7 million once our new buyback plan materializes. The regular dividend represents an annual dividend yield of 14% based on Tuesday's closing price. Since the start of our capital rewards program in the fourth quarter of 2021, a total of $44.7 million of Synergy's cash will have been allocated to shareholders' rewarding actions. Turning to slide five, by adding the value of the non-cash distribution of the United Maritimes shares, under three different UC price scenarios, the total dividend yield, cash and non-cash, of Synergy shares ranges between 16% and 24%, which is very impressive. Given our strong balance sheet position and modest CAPEX requirements, we expect to continue to reward our shareholders in the next quarters. Our operating performance during the second quarter was robust for yet another period, given the prevailing freight market, with an average TCE reaching $23,300 per day. Now, as regards to the first six months of the year, we achieved an average TCE of approximately $21,200 per day, outpacing the Baltic Cape Size Index by approximately 17%. Our estimated TC guidance for the third quarter is approximately $23,650 per day, assuming our earnings for the remaining operating days of our index-linked TCs will be in line with the current FFA rate. Our performance is benefiting from the conversions of the floating daily rate of three of our vessels into fixed rates at an average level of about $36,000 a day. I also expect our commercial performance to remain solid in the second half of 2022, which represents the seasonally strongest part of the year. As an indication, if the BCI average in the second half of the year is at the current FFA rates, we expect full-year EBITDA to reach approximately $76 million. Before I pass the call to Stavros, a quick fleet maintenance update. We have now completed our plan for installation of ballast water treatment system on 100% of our fleet, while we have continued with our fleet's upgrading strategy by installing energy-saving devices on several vessels. These upgrades are typically accompanied by agreements with our charters to increase the daily high rate, reflecting the improved performance of the underlying vessels. I will now pass the call to our CFO, Stavros Giftakis, who is going to discuss more thoroughly our financial results. I will come back at the end of the call for the market update shortly. So Stavros, please go ahead.
spk04: Thank you Stamati. I would like to welcome everyone from my side as well to our second earnings call for this year. Let us start by reviewing the main highlights of our financial statements for the second quarter and six months period that ended on June 30, 2022. Net vessel revenue for the quarter was equal to $32.8 million, marking an increase of 18% from the second quarter of 2021, while the increase in the six-month period stands at 30%. Meanwhile, our daily time charter equivalent for the second quarter reached $23,250, 16% higher compared to $20,100 in the second quarter of 2021. Our chartering and freight hedging strategy was effective once again as our 6-month time charter equivalent exceeded the average Baltic Cape Size Index by 17%, with this outperformance expected to sustain based on the floating to fixed conversions for three of our vessels during the third quarter at an average gross daily rate of 36,000. Adding on this, we anticipate a further decrease in our interest expenses after the completion of the refinancing of our last maturity for 2022, as I will describe in a moment. Of course, the rising momentum of interbank interest rates is expected to partly offset the positive effect of this transaction. At the same time, Cash and cash equivalents, including time deposits, at the end of the second quarter stood at 43 million, which leads to a net debt of 219 million. Total book value of shareholders' equity stood at 234 million. Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter was approximately 17.3 million, up from 11.3 million in the same quarter of 2021. The 6-month adjusted EBITDA stood at 34.1 million with a year-over-year percentage increase reaching 77% over a 16% increase in a time-charter equivalent, demonstrating once again our company's operating leverage. Net income for the quarter was 5.9 million compared to net income of 2 million in the same quarter last year. Adjusting this for non-cash charges, we end up at an adjusted net income of $7.1 million. Average daily operating expenses, excluding pre-delivery expenses, were $6,510 in the first half, with a year-over-year increase caused by the overall inflation rate. on raw material prices affecting all the aspects of our operating expenses such as loops, crew victualing and spares as well as higher forwarding costs. In addition, you have increased crew costs due to the ongoing port restrictions having to do with COVID and of course the challenges in sourcing and especially repatriating Ukrainian crew. Moving on to discuss our debt and financial expenses. Our fleet expansion and the financing of the Duke ship resulted in our total debt outstanding reaching approximately $262 million, including convertible nodes, with the debt per vessel standing at around $14.6 million. Our loan-to-value currently stands at 43% and given the current scrap prices, all our indebtedness is covered by the demolition value of our fleet. Meanwhile, the impact of our recent activity on the financing side is reflected in the reduced interest expense and extended loan maturities. Focusing on the cash interest expense, this stood at $2.5 million for last quarter, with interest expense per operating day standing at $1,900. Our continuous efforts to improve further in the financing expenses front is also attested by the 4.2% cost of debt in the first half of 2022, which is approximately 1% lower compared to a year ago, and this despite the increase in the base interbank rates in the same period. As concerns the market value of our vessels, this posted another rise as of June 30, 2022, reaching approximately $584 million, which led to a corporate leverage of approximately 42%, considerably improved year over year. This underpins the timely execution of our acquisition programs. Now the book value of our fleet is around $455 million, almost $130 million less than its market value. Moving on to our recent financial transactions, we continue our efforts to optimize our capital structure as we successfully concluded during this period new financing and refinancings of $59 million with existing creditors. We entered into a 38 million sustainability linked loan facility with Piraeus Bank with a two-fold purpose. The refinancing of the existing facility, on the one hand, at an improved rate of 3% over LIBOR, and the partial funding of the acquisition cost of our new Cape-sized vessel, the Ownership. The other transaction that closed during the second quarter was a new 21 million loan agreement with Alfa Bank at 295% over SOFR secured by the Duke Ship. These transactions attest to our creditors' confidence in Synergy and its prospects. Furthermore, we have obtained a commitment letter from Danish Ship Finance for a loan facility of up to 28 million. The interest rate will be 2.5% over SOFR and the term of the loan will be 5 years. The proceeds from this agreement will be utilized to refinance the only existing facility with a balloon payment within 2022 and will be secured by the Premiership and the Fellowship. Through this transaction, we will have addressed all our loan maturities until the fourth quarter of 2023. In addition to all these materialized deals, We are in constant discussions with various international financing providers for prospective transactions that could further improve our capital structure, reduce our interest expenses and provide liquidity for emerging opportunities. Lastly, I would like to state that Synergy has been positioned through all these years at the proper place to be able to benefit from any market upsets. Our EBITDA at the end of the first half of 2022 was 28.9 million, a figure already much improved compared to the respective period of 2021. However, we firmly believe that we can efficiently take advantage of a market rise in the coming quarters and achieve a full-year EBITDA at even more notable levels. For example, in case that our time charter equivalent is averaged, At current 2022 FFA levels, our EBITDA is expected to reach 76 million, while it can even surpass 100 million in case that our time charter equivalent reaches last year's average of the BCR. All in all, we are confident that Synergy will continue in a solid performance path in the coming quarters, capitalizing on our enhanced operating leverage. This concludes my review. I would now turn the call back to Stamatis, who will discuss the market and industry fundamentals. Stamatis?
spk05: Thank you, Stavros. Let's now have a more extensive view of the CAPE size demand and supply fundamentals. Seasonal patterns are noticeable in the freight market for yet another year, with a usually low first half being followed by an improved second half. Traditionally, of course, the second half of the year is the strongest. The average level of the Baltic Cape Size Index for the first six months of the year was approximately $18,100 per day, with a low of $5,800 per day and a high of $38,200 per day. Although the average performance of the index is lower compared to 2021, it stands much higher than the 10-year average of the first half performance. Given the global events and uncertainties, the CAPESA's market has been quite resilient, driven mostly by increased coal cargoes. Ton-mile demand growth is expected to reach 1.2% in 2022 and 2.1% in 2023, while projected annual fleet growth will not surpass 0.75% in 2023. The Chinese economy has undoubtedly slowed down in the first half of the year, but since the government has kept its annual GDP growth targets intact, aggressive infrastructure stimulus will be required in the domestic market. In fact, the Chinese government has reiterated its support for the real estate sector several times this year by implementing many measures such as the issuance of special bonds for infrastructure and construction projects and the direct purchase of large unfinished housing developments. We expect these measures to help maintain steel production at high levels, which will support increased iron ore imports in the second half of the year. In addition, we are experiencing increased demand for thermal coal for power generation. The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the sanctions that have been imposed have led to an increased ton-mile demand for coal, mainly from Europe. Before the war, the EU was importing around 35 to 40 million tonnes of thermal coal from Russia, which now have been substituted from longer distance imports. sources such as Australia, the US, Colombia and Indonesia. Finally, the incremental demand for iron ore is anticipated to be covered largely by Brazilian iron ore, increasing further ton-mile demand in the sector due to longer travel distances compared to Australian exports. Given the current daily export rate, Vale could surpass value of Brazil could surpass the export volumes of the second half of 2021. Considering all these demand developments, Cape size vessels are likely to improve in the following quarters. Moving on to vessel supply. The picture continues to be very encouraging. The limited ordering activity in the previous quarters has helped trimming the Cape size fleet growth to just 2.1% in 2022, while the order book as a percentage of the active fleet continues being the lowest in more than 20 years. Given the uncertainty surrounding compliance with future environmental regulations and the lack of shipyard capacity, I expect slow fleet growth to be an enduring feature of the market in the next 10 years. It is interesting to note that the first half of 2022 only saw orders for 10 new building capes being placed, which is the slowest pace of ordering seen in the past decade. Due to this healthy supply dynamics, we expect the CAPE size market to follow an upward trajectory in the following years and synergy with all the operating leverage improvement and the ESD and Scrabble investments is in advantageous position to benefit for future developments. Finally, by continuing to invest in the energy efficiency improvement of our vessels, and based on the strong relationship with our world-leading charterers, I am sure that Synergy will continue to benefit from the Cape-size uptrend in the following quarters. On that note, I would like to turn the call over to the operator and answer any questions you may have. Operator, please take the call.
spk02: Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to slowly press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Once again, it's star one and then one on your telephone. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster.
spk06: We are going to proceed with the first question.
spk02: The first questions come from the line of Tate Sullivan from Maxim Group. Please ask your question. Your line is open.
spk03: Hello. Hello, all. Good day. Thank you for taking my question. And to be honest, I figured I'd start with the market commentary that you ended your presentation with, particularly given the decline in cape size rates today, too. I mean, can you comment on you did previously in previous quarters comment on coal cargos in your fleet versus iron ore cargos? And how much could the resilient demand for coal offset the potential for weaker demand for iron ore in the second half of the year, please?
spk05: Well, hi, Tate. Good morning. Good morning. The thing here is that obviously the capesize rates have been quite disappointing. Nobody was expecting to see this kind of lows as we are experiencing today. That doesn't change our view and how bullish we are for the sector in respect of demand and supply. So the weird thing here is that you have both healthy routes with iron ore and very healthy voyages with coal as well. So apparently, demand appears to be quite strong. I think the market drop is mostly sentiment-driven, and the fact that the price of bankers is trying to find a certain level. But I think overall it has been affected by the massive sell-off that we saw in the FFA's, which affects the physical market as well. Together with the fact that there's been some sort of an equilibrium at these levels which again, in our opinion, is not justified, and that we expect to see the market rising again very, very soon. So it's going to bottom out, you know, very soon, and we expect to see an upward trend moving into the second half of Q3. I think that the procurement of coal from Europe and other countries on the basis of the energy crisis is going to absorb more and more tonnage, We have seen a lot of unwinding of ships from delays in various ports due to mostly good weather globally. So with the first sign of disruption, we expect to see the market ending back up very aggressively. That's our take on the market.
spk03: Thank you so much. And you mentioned something about Vale as well. I mean, Vale slightly reduced their production guidance for this year earlier this year. a couple of weeks ago, but did you say they still, with that guidance, will have higher exports, iron ore exports in the second half compared to the second half of 21? Was that your comment?
spk05: Yes, I think that's slightly going to be higher. The overall exports from Brazil in the second half of the year, we estimate to be pretty much at the same levels like the second half of 2021. The thing here is that we have higher coal demand for the reasons that we all know. the Russian invasion of Ukraine and all that, and the energy crisis. So we expect the market to turn higher in the very near future. So our take is that the market is going to recover very soon. I don't know what it's going to be in the next few weeks or maybe in September. We don't know, and I don't want to take a position on that. But certainly and surely we expect to see the market recovering very soon.
spk03: Thank you. And Stavros, did you mention in your prepared remarks and in the presentation you have no balloon payments until 2023? Did I hear that correctly?
spk04: Yes, that's correct. Now, we have addressed through the commitment letter that we received the last maturity, which is in December 2022, that of Unicredit. And then there is only one facility maturing at the end of next year. of the championship, which based on the current dynamics on the fair market value of the ship and the project outstanding of the facility, it will be a relatively comfortable exercise to refinance next year. Thank you very much. Thank you, Dave.
spk02: Thank you. We are going to proceed with the next question. Please stand by. We have the next questions coming from both right from Alliance group partners. Please go ahead. Your line is open.
spk01: Yeah, good morning, Stamatis. Good morning, Sabra, or good afternoon for you guys. Just a quick question on the table that you have for the third quarter forward cover. It implies that the fixed rate, you know, the two, the Patriot ship and the Hello ship, are going to be fixed, were fixed for the entire quarter, and that you don't expect those to be re-delivered to you. Is that a fair assumption? And then what is your assumption for the fourth quarter on both those? Because those rates are relatively high relative to the current spot market.
spk04: Yeah, that's correct. Both vessels are currently fixed on voyages that extend potentially to the end of the, or close to the end of the third quarter, Paul. So if these vessels get re-delivered, it will be after the third quarter. Now concerning the fourth quarter, it's anybody's guess whether this will be re-delivered. Remind you that both vessels are scrubber fitted and it's developing into a two-tier market out there. So scrubber fitted ships are earning very decent premiums compared to non-scrubber. So the rates might seem high compared to where the market stands now. But if you factor in also the scrubber premium, they are not that far away from where the market stands. So all in all, I mean, for the third quarter, if I were you, I would include those vessels in my projections for the rates that we have them. And then in the fourth quarter, We'll see whether we receive something from the charters on those.
spk01: Okay, great. And then you have on the index link charters, you have 10 of those time charters with options to fix. And it looks like you fixed three of them for the full third quarter, you know, at a really healthy rate of, you know, close to 34,000 a day. Did you fix those beyond? the third quarter into the fourth quarter, or were those just exclusive to the third quarter?
spk04: Only one vessel extends until the end of the year, until December, and the rate there is 31,500 per day. So the other two ships that were fixed close to in excess of 38,000 were fixed up until the end of September.
spk01: Okay, great. And then I'm trying to figure out, you know, certainly a cash walk to the third quarter potential cash level and i just wanted to make sure that i'm looking at things in the proper way in in july after the quarter closed you invested 10 million in the preferred in the spin-off um you also had debt that was assumed by the spin-off of about $5 million. And then you had the premier, you have potentially the premiership and the fellowship, you know, refi that will, you know, that refi if it closes in the third quarter will, you know, hit the balance sheet, but then you'll have the debt repayment in the fourth quarter. Is that anything else I'm missing as far as just the financing aspect for the third quarter?
spk04: No, these are the, I mean, the major liquidity events I would say that are the ones that you mentioned.
spk01: Okay. And I may correct in assuming that the premier and fellowship refi, you know, there'll be a timing issue as far as it'll show. It'll be done in the third quarter, but the debt won't be repaid until the fourth quarter.
spk04: most probably the two ships will be refinanced by the end of the third quarter. So whether it's a third quarter event or an early fourth quarter event, it remains to be seen depending on the documentation procedure with the bank. But it's potentially going to be a third quarter event.
spk01: Okay. And then looking at the spinoff, you know, you invested $10 million and the preferred to you know essentially help capitalize the spin-off initially and then help raise some capital to for to complete an acquisition you know that capital of 10 million is locked up for at least a year what what should we be thinking sorry sorry allow me to to interrupt you it's not locked for uh for a year period i mean this capital
spk04: It's redeemable within three months from issuance. So, potentially, I mean, if United so decides, they could return the capital within three months from issuance.
spk01: Okay. It'd be interesting to see where they get that capital. But, okay, so that begs the question, what's your additional appetite for, you know, helping the spinoff raised money as far as, you know, additional preferred. Have we seen the last of it? And then also, can you assure me that the management attention won't be diluted on Synergy, that, you know, having another company, public company to run won't dilute your efforts on Synergy?
spk05: Hi, Paul. This is Stamatis. Good morning from my side. First of all, I will start with the last part of your question. There's absolutely no dilution effect. Synergy and United have the proper management depth, especially Synergy, as you know, has grown into something that we consider to be, I'm not going to say mature, but it has come to a point where we have the proper management depth and the company goes on a very steady route and path. So we don't anticipate any disruptions there. As far as United is concerned, the company recently completed an equity offering, so it has sufficient capital for the current acquisitions as well as other acquisitions. So it will not require additional capital from Synergy, and it's likely that it's going to return capital to Synergy in the very near future. Going back to Synergy, we might look into some fleet replacement options in the coming months, which means disposing of older assets and buying newer assets, so we reduce the average age. But this is not going to affect the distribution to our shareholders or anything like that. And we might be talking about one, two ships for replacement of all the tenants. And that's about it. So it's going to continue in a very stable course of business operations.
spk01: Great. I didn't, I wasn't asking about the, you know, the fleet renewal or fleet potential fleet, you know, M&A, but that's helpful. Last quarter, I asked what your optimal level is for the Cape size fleet. And you, you know, pretty much Stamatis said that it was in the 20 range. Is that still the case? Is that sort of a target that we should be thinking about over the intermediate term?
spk05: Well, again, I don't anticipate to see any further acquisitions in the immediate future. But like I said, I mean, by the end of the year, we might be buying one more ship and disposing of an older ship. But that's about it. I don't anticipate anything super aggressive in respect of fleet renewal until the end of the year.
spk01: Great. Thanks for your time.
spk05: Thank you, Paul. Have a great day.
spk02: We have no further questions at this time. I will now hand the conference back to you for closing remarks.
spk05: Okay. Once again, I would like to thank everyone for attending our earnings poll today. Thanks very much, and looking forward to the next call sometime end of October, beginning of November for our Q3. So thanks, everyone, for attending. And Razia, you may disconnect the call. Thank you.
spk02: Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect your lines. Speakers, please stand by.
spk00: The conference will begin shortly. To raise your hand during Q&A, you can dial star 11. The conference will begin shortly. To raise your hand during Q&A, you can dial star 1 1.
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