Danaos Corporation

Good day and welcome to the Denaus Corporation conference call to discuss the financial results for the three months ended December 31st, 2023. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. Hosting the call today is Dr. John Kustas, Chief Financial Officer of Denaus Corporation, and Mr. Evangelos Hatzis, Chief Financial Officer of Denaus Corporation. Dr. Kustas and Mr. Hatzis will be making some introductory comments and then we will open the call to a question and answer session.

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Before we begin, I quickly want to remind everyone that management's remarks this morning may contain certain forward-looking statements and that actual results could differ materially from those projected today. These forward-looking statements are made as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update them. Factors that might affect future results are discussed in our filings with the SEC, and we encourage you to review these detailed safe harbor and risk factor disclosures. Please also note that where we feel appropriate, we will continue to refer to non-GAAP financial measures such as EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, time charter equivalent revenues, and time charter equivalent dollar income per day to evaluate our business. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release and accompanying materials. With that, let me now turn the call over to Dr. John Koustas, who will provide the broad overview of the quarter.

Thank you, Evangelos. Good morning, and thank you all for joining today's call to discuss our results for the fourth quarter of 2023. The announce continues to deliver strong results in the fourth quarter of 2023. as geopolitical events continue to impact global shipping markets. Mostly recently, the conflict in the Middle East expanded to the seas with attacks on vessels in the Red Sea area. These dramatically altered trade routes and the performance of liner companies, as most major companies decided to reroute their vessels away from the Suez Canal, sailing longer distances around the Cape of Good Hope to reach Europe. This in turn increased on-mile demand, leading to capacity shortage that drove box rates significantly higher up, up to 300%, while it's expected that box rates will remain elevated as long as the disruption continues. Against this backdrop, we have some secured additional charters for our vessels at very healthy levels. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Danaos completed delivery of all seven Cape-sized vessels that we had agreed to acquire earlier in 2023. Subsequent to the end of the year, we entered into agreements to acquire two additional Cape-sized vessels as we continue to diversify our revenues and look to capture upside from a healthy dry-bought market. The market for Cape-sized vessels has shown unusual season of strength, As Brazilian iron ore exports increase, coal trade remains elevated. Demand for minor banks like bauxite and agricultural commodities is following global recovery. Recent stimulus measures in China aimed at supporting construction, infrastructure projects, and consumer demand is expected to keep demand steady as fleet growth begins to slow over the next two years. We continue to explore interesting opportunities in the dry bulk sector. Danaos has also recently ordered two more 8,150 ATU vessels at Yangtze Yang Sea Pier, and we have now a total of four vessels under construction at that yard with deliveries scheduled for second half of 2026 and first quarter of 2027. All 12 vessels in our new building program are methanol ready and are designed with the latest eco-characteristic Demand for Shibuya delivery slots is very high as the industry is quickly moving to reduce carbon emissions by operating green vessels. As we continue to execute our strategy, we remain focused on taking actions that will ultimately benefit our shareholders. The analysis is well positioned with a very strong balance sheet and significant revenue visibility into 2025. This provides us with the flexibility to return value to our shareholders through dividends and share purchases, and also pursue opportunities to ensure the long-term resilience of the company. With that, I'll hand over the call back to Evangelos, who will take you through the finances for the quarter.