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Athens, Greece - June 30, 2015
Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (the "Company" or "Star Bulk") (Nasdaq: SBLK), a global shipping company focusing on the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, today announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.
Petros Pappas, Chief Executive Officer of Star Bulk, commented: “In the first quarter of 2015 we have witnessed a new historical low of the dry bulk market, which has clearly impacted our financial performance as well as that of other companies in the dry bulk market. Amidst this weak market environment, we continue to take proactive measures in order to control costs, enhance our liquidity position and safeguard long term shareholder value.
“We remain committed to be among the lowest cost operators in the industry. Our average daily operating expenses per vessel were $4,439 for Q1 2015, reduced by 7% compared to the full year 2014 amount of $4,750 per day. Similarly, our average daily net cash G&A expenses per vessel for Q1 2015 were $1,130, reduced by 22% versus $1,440 per day for full year 2014, demonstrating the effect of economies of scale on our bottom line.
“In order to proactively enhance our liquidity position, we tapped the capital markets in May 2015, raising a total $180 million of additional common equity. This capital raise was supported again by our major shareholders, Oaktree Capital Management, Monarch Alternative Capital, my family and business associates, as well as many reputable institutional investors.
“Furthermore, we have agreed to delay the delivery of our remaining newbuilding vessels by a total of 77 months, or approximately 3.3 months per vessel, deferring $288.0 million of newbuilding installments from 2015 to 2016. This initiative has boosted our liquidity position in 2015 and has enhanced the resale value of many of our newbuilding vessels, since they will be one year younger than we had previously expected. In addition, we have agreed the cancellation of one newbuilding vessel without incurring penalties and have thus reduced our expected equity capital expenditures by $11.6 million.
“As part of our fleet renewal plan, since January 1, 2015, we have successfully disposed of eight older vessels for total gross proceeds of $42.7 million. In addition, we have completed the acquisition of the last six vessels from the fleet of Excel Maritime and have taken delivery of nine newbuilding vessels. As of today, 25 newbuilding vessels are due for delivery over the next 18 months with relevant capital obligations fully financed.
“We have also agreed with our lenders to the relaxation and waiver of certain key financial covenants until December 31, 2016, proactively dealing with compliance issues we thought were possible in the future.
“While rates remain low, there have been some positive developments on the supply side, with record scrapping levels, high slippage, minimal ordering, diminishing orderbook and, notably, negative Capesize fleet growth year to date.
“In my experience, due to the cyclical nature of the shipping business a deep and prolonged market downturn is usually followed by a steep and sustainable recovery. Overall, the actions we have taken so far have allowed us to protect our asset base and navigate safely through turbulent waters. We continue to work so as to ensure that Star Bulk is favorably positioned for the next upturn of the shipping cycle.”
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Star Bulk Carriers Corp. press release