Trading Update and IMS

13th May 2009 07:00



Goldenport Holdings Inc.

Athens, 13 May 2009

INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

Goldenport releases today the update on the trading of its fleet as of 12 May 2009 and the Interim Management Statement covering the period from 1 January 2009.

Operational Fleet Forward Coverage:

The percentage of available days of the fleet already fixed under contracts as of 12 May 2009 assuming the earliest charter expiration is as follows: 

	2009(1) (2)	2010(1) (2)	2011 (2)
Total Fleet	87% (77%)	53% (46%)	33% (29%)
Containers	94% (81%)	63% (52%)	46% (39%)
Bulk Carriers	75% (70%)	34% (33%)	11% (11%)

(1) Percentage of available days of the fleet fixed under contract as reported on 9 March 2009 is given in brackets

(2) The percentages above include only the currently operational fleet and exclude the nine new-build vessels for which we expect delivery in the future. 

Assuming earliest charter expiration, the estimated total revenue for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 deriving from contracts already fixed for the operational part of the fleet is US$ 176 million (US$ 174 million as of 9 March 2009). This calculation excludes the nine new-build vessels for which we expect delivery in the future.

CEO Statement:

Captain Paris Dragnis, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented: 

"The crisis that commenced in the fourth quarter of 2008 continued into the first quarter of 2009, which was one of the most challenging periods for the global economy, the financial markets and for the shipping industry.

"We are pleased to report that our proactive and defensive management initiatives safeguarded our Company during this difficult period and positioned it to benefit from the eventual market recovery. 

"During the first months of 2009 we optimized the employment of our container fleet by shifting contracts fixed during 2008 on older vessels of our fleet to younger vessels that were re-opening for rechartering. This strategy enabled us to maintain profitable employment for our younger tonnage in a period where a large portion of the global fleet is idle. The older and fully depreciated vessels, on which we exchanged their charters, are likely to be sold for scrap further strengthening our balance sheet with the relevant proceeds.

"We also continued with our planned fleet expansion, taking delivery of two vessels, a new-build dry-bulk and a reconstructed container vessel, both of which commenced their pre-agreed time charters. Taking advantage of the weak market conditions, we acquired a 1995 built container vessel which commenced its operation within April. The addition of these three vessels to our operational fleet expands our revenue base and profit generation potential. Finally, we also sold at a profit a 1977 built and fully depreciated dry-bulk carrier further adding to our cash reserves.

 

"In the present environment of market volatility and uncertainty, we are particularly pleased to report strong forward coverage for our fleet especially in the container segment where, assuming earliest charter expiration, 94% of the available days for 2009 and 63% for 2010 are already fixed under period employment with first class charterers.

"In the next few months several of our existing vessels become debt free. This will enable us to seek refinancing for these vessels enhancing our cash position and reinforcing our ability to seek attractive acquisition opportunities, as in today's market we could acquire second hand vessels at much more reasonable prices compared to before. Our Company is in a strong financial condition given that as of 31 March 2009 our net debt was only US$ 134.7 million and our net debt to book capitalisation was 33.9%, a moderate figure for our industry." 

Fleet Employment Profile:

	Operational fleet
	Vessel	Type	Capacity	Rate (US$) per day	Earliest
					Expiration (1)
	Containers		TEU
1	MSC Fortunate(2)	Post Panamax	5,551	28,500	Feb-13
2	Procyon (3)	Post Panamax	4,953	12,350	Apr-13
3	Bosporus Bridge	Sub Panamax	3,720	14,750	Feb-12
4	MSC Finland	Sub Panamax	3,032	16,500	Mar-10
5	MSC Scotland	Sub Panamax	3,007	20,770	Oct-09
6	MSC Anafi	Sub Panamax	2,420	20,500	May-09
7	MSC Socotra (4)	Sub Panamax	2,258	14,350	May-09
8	Howrah Bridge	Sub Panamax	2,257	14,180	Jul-09
				4,850	Mar-10
9	MSC Himalaya	Sub Panamax	2,108	14,500	Jul-10
10	MSC Accra	Sub Panamax	1,889	14,200	Jun-12
11	Gitte (5)	Handy	976	Euro 5,250	Aug-09
				Euro 6,950	Apr-10
12	Tiger Star	Handy	976	4,000	May-09
				6,000	Jun-12
13	MSC Mekong	Handy	962	7,000	Jan-11
14	MSC Emirates (4)	Handy	934	7,000	May-09
	Dry Bulk		DWT
15	Vasos	Capesize	152,065	23,950	Feb-11
16	Gianni D	Panamax	69,100	16,150	Jun-09
17	Marie-Paule (6)(8)	Supramax	53,800	18,000	Jan-12
18	Alex D	Supramax	52,315	26,000	Oct-09
19	Limnos	Supramax	52,266	10,300	May-09
20	Lindos	Supramax	52,266	14,500	Jul-09
21	Tilos	Supramax	52,266	20,500	Aug-10
	Vessels under construction
	Vessel / Yard name	Type	Capacity	Scheduled Delivery
	Containers		TEU
22	Jiangsu Yangzijiang	Sub Panamax	2,500	2010
23	Jiangsu Yangzijiang	Sub Panamax	2,500	2011
	Vessel or Yard name	Type	Capacity	Scheduled Delivery	Rate (US$) per day
	Dry Bulk		DWT
24	COSCO (7)	Supramax	57,000	2010	17,650+50% profit share at BSI + 5%
25	COSCO	Supramax	57,000	2010	-
26	COSCO (7)	Supramax	57,000	2011	25,000
27	COSCO (7)	Supramax	57,000	2011	17,700+50% profit share at BSI + 5% over 18,200
28	QINGSHAN (7)	Supramax	57,000	2010	27,000
29	QINGSHAN	Supramax	57,000	2010	-
30	Alpine-Trader (8)	Supramax	53,800	2009	Commercially managed by Glencore International AG
(1) Represents earliest day on which the charter may redeliver the vessel
(2) The rate stated is the average rate per day over the duration of the charter
(3) The vessel will be renamed to MSC Socotra
(4) Upon completion of the existing charters the vessels MSC Socotra and MSC Emirates are likely to be sold for scrap
(5) The charter of the vessel Gitte is received in Euros
(6) Effectively the charter rate remains at US$18,000 per day. For the first six months the rate will be US$ 14,000 per day and for the remaining period to the end of the contract the rate will be US$18,000. The opportunity cost of the difference between the two rates for the first six months has been obtained from the yard as a discount from the final vessel's value
(7) The charter term is for three years from delivery
(8) Both vessels owned under a 50:50 joint venture with Glencore

First Quarter 2009, Selected Financial and Operating Data:

Balance Sheet Data (in US$ million):		31 March 2009 (Unaudited)
Gross Debt		154.9
Cash		20.2
Net Debt		134.7
Expected Net Debt to book capitalization		33.9%
FLEET DATA:		Quarter 1, 2009
Average number of vessels in operation	(1)	19.7
Number of vessels at end of period:
- Operating		20
- Non-Operating		1
- New Buildings under construction		9
Ownership days	(1) (2)	1,774
Available days	(1) (2)	1,747
Operating days	(1) (2)	1,645
Fleet utilization		94.2%

(1): Number of vessels in operation, ownership, available and operating days in first quarter, include the vessel 'Athos' that was sold on 12 February 2009 and the vessels 'Marie-Paule', 'MSC Fortunate' and 'Procyon'  that were delivered on 11 February, 23 February and 4 March respectively

(2): Ownership, available and operating days exclude the 9 vessels that will be delivered in a future date.

First Quarter 2009, Review of Operations:

Fleet utilisation for the period of 94.2% (97.5% for 2008) would have been higher, but  the vessel 'Procyon' was delivered to the Company on 4 March 2009 and was not  operational as at the end of the quarter and the vessel 'MSC Socotra'  experienced a technical problem which although claimable still affects the utilisation.

Given that the 'Procyon' commenced operation during April 2009 and that the vessel 'MSC Socotra' was operational during the second quarter and is likely to be sold for scrap after May 2009, the Company expects the fleet utilisation to rise. 

The Company has repaid US$ 10.8 million of scheduled loan instalments and has drawn-down US$ 10.1 million of previously committed bank debt in order to finance the new building programme and US$ 6.2 million in order to finance the acquisition of the vessel 'Procyon'.

In January 2009, the Company also refinanced existing debt of US$38.1 million, of which US$33.1 million was maturing within 2009. 

As of 31 March the net debt was US$ 134.7 million (US$ 116.2 million as of 31 December 2008) and net debt to book capitalisation was 33.9% (30.5% as of 31 December 2008). 

Vessel Deliveries

Vessel Acquisitions - Rescheduling of Deliveries 

Vessel disposal

- ENDS -

For further information, please contact:

Goldenport Holdings Inc.

Christos Varsos, Chief Financial Officer  +30 210 8910500

John Dragnis, Commercial Director  +30 210 8910500

Investor Relations Coordinators

Capital Link

Annie Evangeli - London +44 (0) 203 206 1320

Nicolas Bornozis - New York +1 212 661 7566

E-mail: [email protected]

[email protected]

Further Information

Overview of Goldenport

Goldenport is an international shipping company that owns and operates a fleet of thirty container and dry bulk vessels that transport cargo worldwide. The fleet consists of sixteen container vessels (including two new-build vessels with deliveries scheduled for 2010 and 2011) and fourteen dry bulk carriers (including  seven new-build vessels with deliveries scheduled for 2009, 2010 and 2011). Goldenport is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker GPRT.

Website: www.goldenportholdings.com or www.goldenport.biz

ENDMSCUUVVRKWRVAAR

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Related Shares:

GPRT.L