Costamare Inc.

Thank you for standing by, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Costa Mare Inc. conference call on the fourth quarter 2024 financial results. We have with us Mr. Gregory Zekos, Chief Financial Officer of the company. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session, at which time, if you were to ask a question, please press star then 1 on your telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced. I must advise you that this conference is being recorded today, Wednesday, February 5, 2025. We would like to remind you that this conference call contains forward-looking statements. Please take a moment to read slide number two of the presentation, which contains the forward-looking statements. We'll pause one moment. Thank you. I will now pass the floor over to your speaker today, Mr. Zicos. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. During the fourth quarter of the year, the company generated an adjusted net income of about 82 million. Our liquidity stands at around 940 million after repaying during the year a fixed rate bond of Euro 100 million and also redeeming the Series E prefer stock of 115 million dollars. In the container ship sector, the crisis led to diversions via the much longer Cape of Hood haul route. These diversions, together with strong cargo demand, absorb the incremental new building capacity. The commercial idle fleet remained low during 2024 and at the start of 2025. Should, however, Linus gradually return to the Swiss route, the release of tonnage combined with new building capacity could potentially distort the current supply and demand dynamics. During this quarter, we charted on a forward basis 12 containers with an average time charted duration of about two and a half years. and estimated contracted revenues of close to $330 million. The contingency fleet employment stands at 96% and 69% for 2025 and 2026, respectively. Total contracted revenues amount to $2.4 billion, with a remaining time charted duration of about 3.4 years. On the direct market, charter rates dropped to their lowest levels of 2024 during the last quarter, and have started 2025 on a similarly soft note. The easing of congestion, along with pressures in the China steel market and less grain tonne mild demand have resulted in tonnage oversupply. As per our strategy to renew the own fleet and also increase its average size, during the quarter we concluded the acquisition of one Cape size and two Ultramax vessels, as well as the disposal of one 100 size ship, while we have agreed to sell one Panamax vessel. CBI today manages a fleet of 51 ships, the majority of which are on index-linked chartering agreements. As mentioned in the past, we have a long-term commitment to the sector, and we view the vessel loaning and the trading platform as highly complementary activities. Finally, with regards to Neptune maritime leasing, the platform continues to grow with a healthy pipeline, having total investments and commitments exceeding $500 million. Moving now to the slides presentation. On slide 3, you can see our annual results. Net income was above $290 million, or $2.44 per share. Adopted net income was around $330 million, or $2.76 per share. Our liquidity stands above $940 million. Slide 4, on the charting side, we have charted on a forward basis 12 containerships with incremental contracted revenues of around $330 million. Our revenue days are fixed 96 percent for 25 and 69 for 26, while our contracted revenues are 2.4 billion, with a DU weight at remaining duration of 3.4 years. As you will notice, we have charted three 1996 bridge vessels for a period of healthy rates. Turning to slide five, regarding our S&P activity, we have concluded the acquisition of one Cape size and one ultra-max dry bulk, and two ultra-max dry bulk vessels. In parallel, we have concluded the sale of one hand-sized ship and agreed to sell one Panamax vessel. Slide 6. We have concluded finances for a total amount of circa $340 million with respect to 36 of the 38 dry park vessels we currently own. The new financing provides us with improved funding costs and the extension of maturities. In addition, we have secured a new hunting license of $100 million. for financing of the acquisition of drive-out vessels. Slide 7, regarding CBI, we have started in 51 period vessels with the majority of the fleet being on index link agreements. On our leasing platform, we have already invested around $123 million. Slide 8, our liquidity starts above $940 million. This liquidity gives us the ability to look for opportunities to grow the company on a healthy basis. Moving to slide 9, chart rates in the contingency market remain at firm levels. The continued ejection of new building capacity along with the rerouting via the Red Sea and Suez Canal may, however, affect current market dynamics. The idle fleet remains at low levels at around 0.6 percent. And finally, on slide 10, you can see the recent drive-by market trends in the spot and forward markets. Charter rates have extended their big line from 2024 into the first quarter of 2025. The order book starts at around 11% of the total fleet. With that, we can conclude our presentation, and we can now take questions. Thank you. We can take questions now.

We will now begin the question and answer session. As a reminder... If you would like to ask a question, please press star then one on your telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star then two. We will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. Our first question today comes from Ben Nolan of Stiefel. Please go ahead.