Diana Shipping inc.

Greetings and welcome to the Diana Shipping Incorporated 2024 Fourth Quarter Conference Call and Webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Edward Nebb of Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you, Daryl, and thanks to everyone who is joining us today for the Diana Shipping, Inc. 2024 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Conference Call. With us today leading the management team is Samira Mizpalu, Chief Executive Officer, who will introduce the other members of the management team. And so without further delay, I will turn the call over to Ms. Palu.

Thank you, Ed. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Diana Shipping Inc.' 's fourth quarter and end of the year 2024 Financial Results Conference call. It's a pleasure to address you today alongside our esteemed team, Mr. Stacey Margaroni, Director and President, Mr. Ioannis Zafirakis, Director, Co-Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, Mr. Lesseris Papatrifon, Director, and Ms. Maria Dede, Co-Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I kindly remind you to review the forward-looking statements on page four of the accompanying investor presentation. The Q4 2024 performance. It has been another record year for dry bulk volumes through 2024, and earnings have averaged well over that seen in 2023. But it was a year of two halves in terms of rates. with a very strong first six months, followed by somewhat softer conditions through the back end of the year. Trade disruption played a key part in boosting ton-mile demand, especially as Panama Canal transit slots were cut due to drought conditions, leading to rerouting. This was further exacerbated by Houthi attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden, which subsequently led to a 40% reduction in bulk of transit and even more rerouting. Towards the end of 2024, shipment volumes remained high, but fleet efficiency gains began to weigh on Cape size and Panamax earnings. Meanwhile, the near normalization of the Panama Canal and more basin bound trade kept limits on ton mile growth. Having said that, the forward curve has remained in steep contango for all sizes, and we have managed to charter our vessels for periods at significant premiums over the spot market. Turning to slide five, let's review our company's snapshot as of today. Diana Shipping Inc., founded in 1972 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2005, operates a fleet of 38 dry bulk vessels, seven of which are mortgage-free, Our fleet has an average age of 11.4 years and a total deadweight capacity of approximately 4.2 million tons. We anticipate the delivery of two methanol-dual-fuel new-building Camp Sarmat dry bulk vessels at the end of 2027 and early 2028, respectively. Fleet utilization reached 99.7% for the fiscal year 2024, highlighting our effective vessel management strategy. As of the end of the fourth quarter, we employed 981 individuals at sea and ashore. Financially, our net debt stands at 40% of market value, supported by $207 million in cash reserves and total secured revenues of approximately $155 million as of February 19th. On slide six, we outlined the key developments from the fourth quarter through February. In October, we signed a term loan facility with Danish Ship Finance, secured by seven vessels, drawing 80.2 million US dollars to refinance the existing term loan facility. This refinancing released two previously financed vessels. In October, we successfully completed the approval and publication of the company's prospectus for the bond listing on the Oslo Exchange. In November, we completed a 25 million US dollars tap issue under our expanding senior unsecured bonds due July, 2029, issued at 102% of par value with a fixed coupon of 8.75%. In November, we released our 2023 ESG report the fifth in a row, underscoring our ESG strategy and commitment to sustainability. In December, we repurchased 11,442,645 common shares at the price of $2 per share. As of February 19th, we have raised $25.6 million through the exercise of $6,394,000 709 warrants under our ongoing warrant program, with the potential to raise an additional $65 million under the full scope of the program. As of February 19th, we have secured revenues for 63% of the remaining ownership days of 2025, amounting to approximately $125 million, and 10% of available ownership days in 2026. amounting to approximately 30 million US dollars. Maria will provide further details on our cash flow generation potential. In February, we announced the sale of Motivational Alkmini for a purchase price of approximately 11.9 million US dollars before commission. She is expected to be delivered to her new owners latest by March 7th, 2025. For the fourth quarter, we are pleased to declare a quarterly cash dividend of one cent per common share, totaling approximately 1.1 million US dollars. On slide seven, summarizing our recent chartering activity. Since our last earnings presentation, we have secured favorable time charters for nine vessels. Two ultramax vessels at the weighted average daily rate of 12,952 US dollars, for 228 days, seven Panamax, Camtamax, and post-Panamax vessels at a weighted average daily rate of $11,260 for 252 days, and four Cape-side vessels at a weighted average daily rate of $18,312 for 264 days. Slide eight highlights our discipline chartering strategy. We focus on standard medium to long-term charters to avoid clustered maturities, ensuring earnings visibility and resilience against market downturn. Now I'll pass the floor to Maria for a more detailed financial analysis.