Genco Shipping & Trading Limited Announces Fourth Quarter Financial Results

Declares a Regular Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.175 per Share

New York - Feb 25, 2020

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) (“Genco” or the “Company”), the largest U.S. headquartered drybulk shipowner focused on the transportation of major and minor bulk commodities globally, today reported its financial results for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2019.

The following financial review discusses the results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018.

Fourth Quarter 2019 and Year-to-Date Highlights

• Announced a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.175 per share for the fourth quarter of 2019
-- Payable on or about March 16, 2020 to all shareholders of record as of March 6, 2020

• Completed our exhaust gas cleaning systems (“scrubbers”) installation program for our 17 Capesize vessels

• Recorded net income of $0.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2019
-- Basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.02
-- Adjusted net income of $3.0 million or basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.07, excluding $1.3 million in non-cash vessel impairment charges and a $0.8 million loss on sale of vessels

• Recorded adjusted EBITDA of $27.9 million during Q4 20191

• In Q4 2019 and the year-to-date, we have completed the sale of our three oldest Handysize vessels, as well as one of our two remaining Panamaxes
-- Genco Challenger, 2003-built Handysize, delivered to buyers on October 10, 2019
-- Genco Champion, 2006-built Handysize, delivered to buyers on October 21, 2019
-- Genco Raptor, 2007-built Panamax, delivered to buyers on December 11, 2019
-- Genco Charger, 2005-built Handysize, delivered to buyers on February 24, 2020
-- We have also agreed to sell the Genco Thunder, 2007-built Panamax, which is expected to be delivered to buyers in Q1 2020

John C. Wobensmith, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “During 2019, we executed several key initiatives to further strengthen Genco’s drybulk platform, enhance the fleet’s earnings power and return capital to shareholders. Specifically, we implemented a regular quarterly cash dividend policy as a part of our broader capital allocation strategy, highlighting Genco’s solid balance sheet, strong liquidity position and compelling long-term prospects. Including a one-time special dividend, we have now declared total dividends of $0.675 per share over the past two quarters. Despite an unprecedented period of disruption at shipyards in the Far East, we are pleased to have completed our 17 Capesize vessel scrubber program on time, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team. Importantly, we have complied with IMO 2020 regulations in a manner that significantly reduces sulfur emissions and improves air quality, while enabling Genco to capitalize on higher rates for scrubber-installed Capesize vessels. During the year, we also took steps to continue to optimize our asset base through the sale of older, less fuel-efficient vessels, creating a more modern and focused fleet that closely aligns with the strengths of our active commercial strategy.”

Mr. Wobensmith continued, “We are currently experiencing a short-term, seasonal decline in overall drybulk freight rates, which has been further impacted by the onset of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus. In anticipation of the seasonal freight rate pullback in the first quarter, we have fixed vessel revenues for a portion of the quarter, providing Genco with a degree of insulation from current market conditions. As the year progresses, we expect our strong liquidity position and industry leading balance sheet will continue to serve us well. With a sizeable, diverse fleet and leading drybulk platform, we believe we are well positioned to take advantage of an expected increase in demand for both major and minor bulk commodities once current market pressures subside, against a backdrop of low net fleet growth.”

We believe the non-GAAP measure presented provides investors with a means of better evaluating and understanding the Company’s operating performance. Please see Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data below for a further reconciliation.

Completion of our Scrubber Installation Program
In January 2020, we completed our exhaust gas cleaning systems (“scrubbers”) program which consisted of installing scrubbers on Genco’s 17 Capesize vessels. This represents a key pillar of our previously announced comprehensive plan towards compliance with International Maritime Organization (“IMO”) regulations that limit sulfur emissions from vessels to 0.5% down from 3.5% on a global basis to improve air quality.

Specifically, given the timely nature of our scrubber retrofits on our Capesize vessels, we have been able to capture the differentials between compliant and high sulfur fuel so far in the early stages of compliance, significantly de-risking the initial investment. With no scheduled drydockings for our Capesize vessels for the balance of 2020, we plan to maximize utilization for these vessels while re-implementing our active chartering approach. As such, we strategically repositioned select Capesize vessels after the completion of their scrubber installations towards the Atlantic Basin during the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020 to better capture market fundamentals.

In addition to the installation of scrubbers on our 17 Capesize vessels, the balance of our fleet consisting of minor bulk vessels is consuming ultra-low sulfur compliant fuel.

Full report

About Genco Shipping & Trading Limited
Genco Shipping & Trading Limited transports iron ore, coal, grain, steel products and other drybulk cargoes along worldwide shipping routes. As of February 25, 2020, Genco Shipping & Trading Limited’s fleet consists of 17 Capesize, one Panamax, six Ultramax, 20 Supramax and 10 Handysize vessels with an aggregate capacity of approximately 4,914,000 dwt and an average age of 9.7 years.

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited press release