OceanFreight Inc. Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results

May 20, 2008, Athens, Greece. OceanFreight Inc. (NASDAQ: OCNF), a global provider of marine transportation services, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

Financial Highlights

• For the first quarter of 2008 the Company reported Net Income of $6.4 million or $0.44 per common and subordinated share. Net income for the period has been affected by a non cash charge of $5.3 million associated with the valuation of the Company’s interest rate swaps and a one time non cash charge of $1.1 million related to the settlement agreement reached between the Company and the former Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Excluding the above two non cash items net income for the first quarter of 2008 amounted to $12.8 million or $0.88 per common and subordinated share.
• OceanFreight’s Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $0.77 per share for the first quarter of 2008. The dividend is payable on or about May 23, 2008, to common and subordinated shareholders of record as of May 16, 2008.

Other Developments

• The Company has entered its 1996 built 149,085 dwt Suezmax tanker MT Olinda into a time charter for a period of about 2 years at a daily gross rate of approximately $41,000. The vessel is expected to be delivered to its charterers in the third quarter of this year.

Anthony Kandylidis, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“This was the first quarter that OceanFreight had all of its eleven vessels operational. We achieved fleet utilization close to 100% which is a testament to the operational capability and efficiency of our ship managers. With the time charter of the Olinda all of our vessels will be employed on period contracts with an average remaining duration of 2.2 years. Our time charter coverage presently stands at about 95% and 87% of the total vessel operating days for the calendar year 2008 and 2009 respectively. In this quarter we also announced our second dividend of $0.77 cents per share, a dividend higher than our base dividend established at the time of our initial public offering. We remain committed to our stated business strategy since we went public and we believe that we are well positioned to continue to deliver consistent returns to our shareholders while looking for opportunities to grow.”

First Quarter 2008 Results

For the quarter ended March 31, 2008, Gross Revenue amounted to $38.4 million and Operating Income amounted to $15.6 million. Net Income for the first quarter of 2008 was $6.4 million representing $0.44 earnings per share calculated on 14,428,256 weighted average common and subordinated shares outstanding.

The above Net Income figure includes a non cash charge of $5.3 million associated with the valuation of the Company’s interest rate swaps and a one time non cash charge of $1.1 million related to the settlement agreement reached between the Company and the former Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Excluding the above two non cash items, net income for the first quarter of 2008 amounted to $12.8 million or $0.88 per common and subordinated share.

EBITDA for the first quarter of 2008 was $20.44 million

An average of 10.8 vessels were owned and operated during the first quarter of 2008, earning an average Time Charter Equivalent, or TCE rate of $34,938 per day.

Capitalization

On March 31, 2008, debt (debt, net of deferred financing fees) to total capitalization (debt, net of deferred financing fees, and stockholders' equity) was 60.7% and net debt (debt less cash and cash equivalents) to total capitalization was 56.2%. As of March 31, 2008, the Company had a total liquidity of approximately $23.5 million.

Fleet Employment Developments

The Company has entered its 1996 built 149,085 dwt Suezmax tanker MT Olinda into a time charter for a period of about 2 years at a daily gross rate of approximately 41,000. This time charter is expected to generate gross revenues of approximately $30 million for the Company over the corresponding charter period.

Capital expenditures

One of our panamax drybulk carriers is scheduled for drydocking for a period of approximately 35 days in the third quarter of 2008. It is the policy of the Company to expense drydocking costs as incurred.

Dividend Payment

OceanFreight’s Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.77 per share in respect of the first quarter of 2008. The dividend is payable on or about May 23, 2008, to common and subordinated shareholders of record as of May 16, 2008.

Since the Company’s listing on the NASDAQ Global Market in April 2007, OceanFreight has declared four consecutive quarterly dividends totaling $2.44 per common and subordinated share.

About OceanFreight Inc.
OceanFreight, Inc. is a global provider of seaborne transportation services through the ownership and operation of vessels in various shipping sectors. The Company owns a fleet of 11 vessels, consisting of 1 Capesize bulk carrier, 8 Panamax bulk carriers, 1 Suezmax and 1 Aframax tanker with a total carrying capacity of approximately 1 million deadweight tons. The Company's shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and trade under the symbol "OCNF."

OceanFreight Inc. press release