Diana Shipping inc.

Thank you for standing by, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Diana Shipping, Inc. conference call on the first quarter 2026 financial results. We are joined by the company's chief executive officer, Ms. Semiramis Paiu. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a Q&A session. To ask a question, press star 1 on your telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced. Please note that this conference is being recorded. We will now turn the floor over to Ms. Semiramis Paliu. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Diana Chipping's first quarter 2026 financial results conference call. I am Semiramis Paliu, the CEO of the company, and it's my pleasure to present alongside our esteemed team, Mr. Ioannis Zafirakis, Director and President, Ms. Maria Vedic, Co-CFO and Treasurer, Mr. Dave Vanderlinden, Chief Financial Officer of Diana Shipping Services SA. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone to review the forward-looking statements on page four of the accompanying presentation. The first quarter of 2026 continued to show strong momentum, which carried over from last year. The usual seasonal slowdown in Q1 did not happen, and the Cape size market had its best first quarter since 2010. Again, this was due to several factors, none of them necessarily demand-driven. We saw more utilization tightening caused by longer ton miles, a substantial dry dock schedule, and the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. The Middle East conflict not only caused part of the dry bulk fleet to be tied up in that area, but also an overall reduction in operating speeds, especially on the long haul routes. Cape-sized vessels were the strongest movers, but this time we have also seen a marked improvement in the Campermax market, which was supported by a spike in coal movements in the Pacific. Countries like Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam have increased their coal imports to address their energy needs. Interestingly, the growth in grain shipments was also concentrated to other countries besides China. In the quarter, we took period coverage across all sizes in the fleet, again at rates significantly higher than their previous charters. I would like to mention that although Diana has no vessels directly affected by the Persian Gulf situation, Our thoughts are with the many seafarers who must fear for their safety and well-being. Turning to slide five, let's review our company snapshot as of today. Diana Shipping Inc., founded in 1972 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2005, operates a fleet of 36 dry-buck vessels, one of which is mortgage-free. Our fleet has an average age of 12.5 years and a total deadweight capacity of approximately 4 million tonnes. We anticipate the delivery of two methanol dual fuel new building Camp Thermax dry bulk vessels at the end of 2027 and early 2028 respectively. Fleet utilization reached 99.9% for the three months ended March 31st, 2026, highlighting our effective vessel management strategy. As of the end of the first quarter, we employed 941 individuals at sea and the shore. Financially, our net debt stands at 46% of market value, supported by $124.5 million in cash reserves as of quarter end, and total secured revenues of approximately $168.5 million as of May 20, 2026. Moving on to slide six, let's go over the key highlights of the first quarter of 2026 and recent developments. In January, we announced our intention to nominate a slate of six highly qualified independent candidates for election at Czenko's annual meeting on June 18th. In March the same year, we increased our offer to 23.5 US dollars for sharing cash to acquire all outstanding shares of Genco not already owned by us. The offer is backed by 1.433 billion US dollars in full committed financing from six leading global banks with no financing conditions. The offer is further supported by a definitive agreement with Starbuck Carriers Corp. which will acquire 16 JNCO vessels for 470.5 million US dollars upon closing. In May 2026, we launched a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of JNCO for 23.5 dollars per share in cash. As of May 20th, 2026, we have secured 123.5 million US dollars of contracted revenues for 83% of the remaining ownership days of the year 2026 and have secured 44.1 million US dollars of contracted revenues for 17% of the remaining ownership days of the year 2027. In May 2026, we were awarded the Global Award in the Governance Leader Award category at the Environmental, Social and Governance Shipping Awards, 2026. Today, we are pleased to declare a quarterly cash dividend of one cent per common share with respect to the first quarter of 2026, totaling approximately 1.2 million US dollars. Lastly, just yesterday, We amended our offer price to acquire Genco to $24.8 per share in cash and have extended the tender offer deadline to June 26, 2026. The revised offer price will be adjusted on a one-for-one basis for any dividends or other distributions declared or paid to shareholders following the announcement of our offer. The new increased offer represents a 39% premium to Genco's undisturbed share price on the day before our initial offer, a 48% premium to its 30-day volume-weighted average price as of that date, and this price at approximately one times net asset value at what analysts have described as 15 years high asset values. It should be noted that Genco's share price is currently trading at or around NAV, while the Dry Bug peers are currently trading at an average 20% discount to NAV. Before our involvement, Genco traded at an average 30% discount to NAV since 2020. As such, Genco shareholders face significant downside risk in the absence of our offer. If the offer is not completed, Genco's share price could decline to approximately $18 per share if the stock reverts towards its historical trading. Unfortunately, for six months, the Genco board has completely refused to engage with us, Genco's largest shareholder. Our previous offer have each been met with silence. and we are hopeful that the Genco board will finally sit down with us to engage in a constructive dialogue. This is the path forward that we strongly prefer, but we have also given Genco shareholders the opportunity to vote for our board nominees, who we are confident will explore all opportunities to maximize value and to tender their shares. We are committed to seeing this through and you can stay informed by visiting our campaign website at cashforjenko.com. We urge Jenko shareholders to vote the gold universal proxy card for Diana's sixth independent director's nominee at the 2026 annual meeting. Again, for more information, please visit our website at cashforjenko.com. Moving on to slide eight, Slide 8 summarizes our recent chartering activities. From February 20th, 2026 until May 20th, we have secured time charters for five vessels. An Ultramax vessel at a daily rate of 16,000 for 408 days. Three Panamax, Campermax, and Post-Panamax vessels at an average daily rate of 17,250. for an average of 387 days. A Cape-sized vessel at a daily rate of 27,500 for 641 days. Slide nine highlights a disciplined chartering strategy. We focus on staggered medium to long-term charters to avoid clustered maturities, ensuring earnings visibility and resilience against market downturns. This disciplined chartering strategy has secured for the remaining of 2026 approximately $124 million in contracted revenues, resulting in an average fixed time charter rate of $18,338 per day. For the rest of 2026, only 17% of days remain unfixed. The average contract duration is 1.24 years, covering some days of 2027. Now, I'll pass the floor to our co-CFO Maria Dedes for a more detailed financial analysis. Thank you, Semiramis.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I will walk you through our financial performance for the first quarter of 2026. Time starter revenues were 54.7 million, slightly lower than 54.9 million in the same quarter last year. The decrease reflects the smaller feed size compared to the prior year period and was largely offset by a higher time starter equivalent rate achieved during the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was 23.3 million for both periods. Net income was 29.1 million compared to three million in the first quarter of 2025. Net income attributable to common stockholders was 27.7 million compared to 1.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. Basic and diluted earnings per common share was 25 cents for the first quarter of 2026 compared to one cent for the same quarter last year. Profitability of the quarter was supported by the higher time-chartered equivalent rate mentioned earlier, decreased interest expense on our steadily amortizing debt, increased dividend income, and an unrealized gain on our investment in Genco of 26.4 million. We continue to maintain a strong balance sheet with increased costs and decreased debt compared to year-end 2025. As of March 31st, 2026, costs stood at 124.5 million compared to 122.3 million as of December 31st, 2025. Long-term debt and finance liabilities, net of the third financing cost decreased to 621.1 million as of March 31st, 2026, from 636.1 million as of year end 2025, reflecting the quarter's debt amortization. We ended the quarter with a strong liquidity position and a conservative net loan to buy of 46%. During the quarter, We operated an average of 36 vessels compared to 37.8 vessels in the same quarter last year, following the sale of Alkmini early in March and Selina in July 2025. This reduction is reflected in lower revenues, operating expenses and ownership available and operating days. Time charter equivalent averaged $16,035, a 2% increase compared to $15,739 in the first quarter of 2025, with a strong fleet utilization of 99.9%. Vessel operating expenses for the quarter decreased by 3% to 19.5 million compared to 20 million in the first quarter of 2025, due to the smaller fleet size. On a per day basis, daily operating expenses rose by 2% to 6,009, compared to 5,866 in the first quarter of 2025, mainly due to higher crew stores, supply, and environmental costs. We maintain a disciplined approach to leverage. The mix of variable rate-secured bank debt, the senior unsecured bond with a fixed coupon, and certain leaseback facilities at fixed interest rates provides diversification and stability. Our amortization profile is gradual, with no significant near-term refinancing concentration. Our debt amortization schedule is steady and predictable through 2029, when the 175 million senior unsecured bond matures. We will address this maturity well in advance to ensure liquidity stability, minimize refinancing risk, and maintain predictable cash flows. In this slide, we compare our free cash flow break-even levels against estimated revenues for 2026 and 2027. As of March 31st, 2026, our cash flow break-even rate stood at $16,344 per day, including voyage operating and general and administrative expenses, financing costs, and debt amortization. For the remainder of 2026, we have secured 83% of the ownership days, at an average time charter rate of $18,338 per day, generating expected revenues of $123.5 million. For 2027, 17% of the ownership days are fixed at an average time charter rate of $19,858 per day, with expected revenues of $44.1 million. Potential revenues for the remainder of 2026 and for 2027, including the estimated revenues for the unfixed days based on SFA rates of May 20, 2026, could reach $149.6 million and $252.3 million for 2027, respectively. Overall, our competitive break-even rate reflects disciplined cost control across the fleet. Our contracted revenues provide solid visibility and downside protection, while the market exposure of the fixed operating days allows us to preserve flexibility in our commercial strategy and participate in improving market conditions. This slide highlights dividend distributions The company has consistently rewarded shareholders with quarterly dividends since the third quarter of 2021 in both cash and shares. In line with this policy, we declared the dividend of one cent per share for the first quarter of 2026, bringing cumulative dividends paid since 2021 to $2.71 per common share. Dividends are declared at the discretion of the Board and depend on earnings, cash flows, and capital requirements. I will now hand over to Dave van der Linden for an overview of the dry bulk market.