Global Ship Lease Reports Results for the First Quarter of 2018

LONDON, April 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) (the “Company”), a containership charter owner, announced today its unaudited results for the three months ended March 31, 2018.

First Quarter Highlights

- Reported operating revenues of $36.1 million for the first quarter 2018

- Reported net income for common shareholders for the first quarter 2018 of $4.2 million, the same as normalized net income

- Generated $23.6 million of Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ for the first quarter 2018

- On February 20, 2018, announced agreement to an extension of our charter with OOCL for the OOCL Qingdao, a 2004-built, 8,063 TEU containership.  The extension commences in direct continuation of the current charter with effect from March 11, 2018, at a fixed rate of $14,000 per day.  Earliest redelivery is now January 1, 2019, with latest redelivery March 15, 2019 (at charterer's option)

- On March 1, 2018, announced agreement to acquire a 2005-built, 2,800 TEU containership for $11.3 million.  Following delivery, which is expected to be during the second quarter of 2018, once the existing charter terminates, the vessel will commence charter employment with CMA CGM for a period of 12 months at a fixed rate of $9,000 per day. 

Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, stated, “In the first quarter, we continued to maximize the value of our contract coverage with top-tier counterparties by maintaining full employment across our fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships. As we have successfully extended charters that support our strong cashflows, we are beginning to capture the benefits of a marked strengthening that is underway in the market for mid-sized and smaller vessels. We have also returned to growth with our recently agreed acquisition of a 2,800 TEU feeder vessel at an attractive price with a pre-arranged charter to CMA CGM, demonstrating both the value of our close relationship with an industry leader and our confidence in the long-term dynamics of the mid-sized and smaller vessel classes."

Mr. Webber continued, “The long-term market trends driving the appreciation in mid-sized and smaller containerships continue to be robust, with limited vessel ordering, a strong global economy, and idle capacity of the global fleet at a very low level of less than 1.5%. As we continue to pursue attractive growth opportunities, we remain confident that Global Ship Lease’s track record of high-quality operations, our strong contracted charter coverage, and our stable balance sheet put us in an excellent position to create lasting shareholder value in a strengthening market.”

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA – UNAUDITED

(thousands of U.S. dollars)

(1) Adjusted EBITDA and Normalized net income are non-US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) measures, as explained further in this press release, and are considered by Global Ship Lease to be useful measures of its performance.  Reconciliations of such non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable US GAAP measure are provided in this Earnings Release.

Operating Revenues and Utilization

The fleet generated operating revenues from fixed-rate time charters of $36.1 million in the three months ended March 31, 2018, down $3.5 million or 8.9% on operating revenues of $39.6 million for the comparative quarter in 2017.  The reduction in revenue is mainly due to lower rates on the renewals of the charters of (i) the 2002-built Julie Delmas and the 2003-built Delmas Keta, effective September 2017, (ii) the 2005-built GSL Tianjin effective October 2017 and January 2018 and (iii) the 2004-built OOCL Qingdao effective March 2018, offset by 33 days less offhire, due mainly to fewer drydockings. There were 1,620 ownership days in the quarter, the same as in the comparative quarter. In the first quarter 2018, there were 17 days offhire, of which 13 were for a scheduled drydocking, giving an overall utilization of 99.0%.  In the first quarter 2017, there were 50 days offhire, 47 of which were for three scheduled drydockings, giving an overall utilization of 96.9%.  

The table below shows fleet utilization for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, and for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

There was one regulatory drydocking in the three months ended March 31, 2018; one further regulatory drydocking is planned for the year.  There were four regulatory drydockings in 2017, three of which were in the first quarter.

Vessel Operating Expenses

Vessel operating expenses, which include costs of crew, lubricating oil, spares and insurance, were $10.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018, up 1.1% from $10.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017.  The average cost per ownership day for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $6,498, an increase of $72 per day, or 1.1%, from $6,426 in the three months ended March 31, 2017. The increase is due to higher crew costs from a larger than normal number of crew changes offset by lower costs for insurance premiums and claim deductibles.

Depreciation

Depreciation for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $8.2 million, compared to $9.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2017, with the reduction due to the effect of lower book values for a number of vessels following impairment write downs in 2017.

Impairment

The Company’s accounting policies require that tangible fixed assets such as vessels are reviewed individually for impairment in case of trigger events or changes in circumstances to assess whether their carrying amounts are recoverable.

In January 2018, the Company agreed with CMA CGM to extend the charter on GSL Tianjin by eight to 12 months (at the charterer’s option) at a fixed rate of $11,900 per day, commencing January 26, 2018.  In February 2018, the Company agreed with OOCL to extend the charter of OOCL Qingdao to between January 1, 2019 and March 15, 2019 (at the charterer’s option) at a fixed rate of $14,000 per day, commencing March 11, 2018.  These extensions triggered the performance of an impairment test on the two vessels. No impairment was identified.

General and Administrative Costs

General and administrative costs incurred were $1.9 million in the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared to $1.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2017.  The increase is mainly due to higher staff costs and professional fees.

Other Operating Income

Other operating income in the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $6,000, compared to $42,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2017. 

Adjusted EBITDA

As a result of the above, Adjusted EBITDA was $23.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018, down from $28.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017.

Interest Expense

Debt at March 31, 2018 totaled $414.8 million, comprising $360.0 million outstanding on our 9.875% notes due 2022 and $54.8 million under the new secured term loan, both of which were closed in October 2017 as part of a re-financing.  The net proceeds, together with cash on hand, were used to refinance our previous 10.000% notes due 2019.  In addition, all outstanding borrowings under both the previous revolving credit facility and the previous secured term loan were repaid and terminated.

Debt at March 31, 2017 totaled $426.4 million, comprising $365.8 million outstanding on our previous 10.000% Notes, $39.2 million on the revolving credit facility and $21.4 million on the secured term loan.

Interest expense for the three months ended March 31, 2018, was $10.8 million, down $0.2 million on the interest expense for the three months ended March 31, 2017 of $11.0 million, mainly due to a slightly lower amount of bond outstanding and a slightly lower interest rate.   

Interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $0.3 million and was $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017.

Taxation

Taxation for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was not material. 

Earnings Allocated to Preferred Shares

The Series B preferred shares, issued on August 20, 2014, carry a coupon of 8.75%, the cost of which for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $0.8 million, the same as in the comparative quarter. 

Net Income Available to Common Shareholders and Normalized Net Income

Net income available to common shareholders for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $4.2 million.  For the three months ended March 31, 2017, net income was $6.8 million. This year-over-year decrease is mainly due to lower revenue following charter renewals, offset by lower depreciation. 

Normalized net income for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was the same as that reported.

Fleet

The following table provides information about the on-the-water fleet of 18 vessels as at March 31, 2018.  16 vessels are chartered to CMA CGM, and two to OOCL.

Conference Call and Webcast

Global Ship Lease will hold a conference call to discuss the Company's results for the three months ended March 31, 2018 today, Monday April 30, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. There are two ways to access the conference call:

If you are unable to participate at this time, a replay of the call will be available through Wednesday, May 16, 2018 at (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406. Enter the code 1597213 to access the audio replay. The webcast will also be archived on the Company's website: http://www.globalshiplease.com.

Annual Report on Form 20-F

Global Ship Lease, Inc has filed its Annual Report for 2017 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  A copy of the report can be found under the Investor Relations section (Annual Reports) of the Company’s website at http://www.globalshiplease.com.  Shareholders may request a hard copy of the audited financial statements free of charge by contacting the Company at info@globalshiplease.com or by writing to Global Ship Lease, Inc, care of Global Ship Lease Services Limited, Portland House, Stag Place, London SW1E 5RS or by telephoning +44 (0) 207 869 8006.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease is a containership charter owner. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under long-term, fixed rate charters to top tier container liner companies.

At March 31, 2018, Global Ship Lease owned 18 vessels with a total capacity of 82,312 TEU and an average age, weighted by TEU capacity, of 13.3 years. All vessels are currently fixed on time charters, 16 with CMA CGM. The average remaining term of the charters is 2.6 years or 2.9 years on a weighted basis.

Reconciliation of Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Measure

A. ADJUSTED EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA represents net income before interest income and expense including amortization of deferred finance costs, earnings allocated to preferred shares, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and impairment.  Adjusted EBITDA is a non-US GAAP quantitative measure used to assist in the assessment of the Company's ability to generate cash from its operations.  We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors because it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry.  Adjusted EBITDA is not defined in US GAAP and should not be considered to be an alternate to Net income or any other financial metric required by such accounting principles.  Our use of Adjusted EBITDA may vary from the use of similarly titled measures by others in our industry.

ADJUSTED EBITDA - UNAUDITED

B. Normalized net income

Normalized net income represents net income adjusted for the premium paid on the tender offer for the Notes and the gain made on open market purchases of the Notes, together with the related accelerated amortization of deferred financing costs and original issue discount, and for impairment charges. Normalized net income is a non-GAAP quantitative measure which we believe will assist investors and analysts who often adjust reported net income for non-operating items that do not affect operating performance or operating cash generated. Normalized net income is not defined in US GAAP and should not be considered to be an alternate to net income or any other financial metric required by such accounting principles.   Our use of Normalized net income may vary from the use of similarly titled measures by others in our industry.

There are no differences between Reported Net Income and Normalized Net Income for the quarters ended March 31, 2017 and 2018.

Safe Harbor Statement

This communication contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide Global Ship Lease's current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about Global Ship Lease's expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "will" or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and Global Ship Lease cannot assure you that these projections included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.

The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to:

• future operating or financial results;
• expectations regarding the strength of future growth of the container shipping industry, including the rates of annual demand and supply growth;
• the financial condition of CMA CGM (the company’s principal charterer and main source of operating revenues) and other charterers and their ability to pay charterhire in accordance with the charters;
• the overall health and condition of the U.S. and global financial markets;
• Global Ship Lease’s financial condition and liquidity, including its ability to obtain additional financing to fund capital expenditures, vessel acquisitions and for other general corporate purposes and its ability to meet its financial covenants and repay its borrowings;
• Global Ship Lease’s  expectations relating to dividend payments and forecasts of its ability to make such payments including the availability of cash and the impact of constraints under its first priority secured notes;
• future acquisitions, business strategy and expected capital spending;
• operating expenses, availability of key employees, crew, number of off-hire days, drydocking and survey requirements, costs of regulatory compliance, insurance costs and general and administrative costs;
• general market conditions and shipping industry trends, including charter rates and factors affecting supply and demand;
• assumptions regarding interest rates and inflation;
• change in the rate of growth of global and various regional economies;
• risks incidental to vessel operation, including piracy, discharge of pollutants and vessel accidents and damage including total or constructive total loss;
• estimated future capital expenditures needed to preserve Global Ship Lease’s capital base;
• Global Ship Lease’s expectations about the availability of vessels to purchase, the time that it may take to construct new vessels, or the useful lives of its vessels;
• Global Ship Lease’s continued ability to enter into or renew charters including the re-chartering of vessels on the expiry of existing charters, or to secure profitable employment for its vessels in the spot market;
• the continued performance of existing charters;
• Global Ship Lease’s ability to capitalize on management’s and directors’ relationships and reputations in the containership industry to its advantage;
• changes in governmental and classification societies’ rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities;
• expectations about the availability of insurance on commercially reasonable terms;
• unanticipated changes in laws and regulations; and
• potential liability from future litigation.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Global Ship Lease's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements for many reasons specifically as described in Global Ship Lease's filings with the SEC.  Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this communication. Global Ship Lease undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this communication or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should, however, review the factors and risks Global Ship Lease describes in the reports it will file from time to time with the SEC after the date of this communication.

Investor and Media Contacts:
The IGB Group
Bryan Degnan
646-673-9701
or
Leon Berman
212-477-8438