Genco Shipping & Trading Limited Announces First Quarter 2008 Financial Results

Declares Increased Dividend of $1.00 per Share for Q1 2008 Increases 2008 Quarterly Dividend Target Rate to $1.00 per Share Repays $73 Million of Debt

NEW YORK, April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE: GNK) today reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2008.

The following financial review discusses the results for the three months ended March 31, 2008 and March 31, 2007.

First Quarter 2008 and Year-to-Date Highlights

* Declared a dividend at a new quarterly target rate of $1.00 per share, an increase of $0.15 over the previous target of $0.85 per share, based on Q1 2008 results, payable on or about May 30, 2008 to all shareholders of record as of May 16, 2008;
* Excluding the $26.2 million gain on the sale of the Genco Trader, recorded net income of $47.8 million, or $1.66 basic and $1.65 diluted earnings per share;
* Recorded net income of $74.0 million, or $2.57 basic and $2.56 diluted earnings per share;
* Took delivery of the Genco Champion, completing the acquisition of the six drybulk vessels from affiliates of Evalend Shipping Co. S.A. for an aggregate purchase price of $336 million;
* Took delivery of the Genco Constantine, the fifth of nine vessels from the Metrostar transaction;
* Completed the sale of the Genco Trader, realized a gain on the sale of assets of $26.2 million and repaid $43 million of debt from the sales proceeds;
* Repaid $30 million of debt with cash flow from operations;
* Paid an $0.85 per share dividend on March 7, 2008 based on Q4 2007 results;
* Increased our ownership of the outstanding stock of Jinhui Shipping and Transportation Limited to 19.4% through April 30, 2008; and
* Entered into an agreement to time charter the Genco Carrier at a gross rate of $37,000 per day for 34 to 37.5 months, a 54% increase over its current rate of $24,000.

About Genco Shipping & Trading Limited
Genco Shipping & Trading Limited transports iron ore, coal, grain, steel products and other drybulk cargoes along worldwide shipping routes. Genco Shipping & Trading Limited currently owns a fleet of 28 drybulk vessels consisting of five Capesize, six Panamax, three Supramax, six Handymax and eight Handysize vessels, with a carrying capacity of approximately 2,020,000 dwt. After the delivery of the four remaining Capesize vessels from companies within the Metrostar Management Corporation group, Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will own a fleet of 32 drybulk vessels, consisting of nine Capesize, six Panamax, three Supramax, six Handymax and eight Handysize vessels, with a carrying capacity of approximately 2,700,000 dwt.

Source: Genco Shipping & Trading Limited