Danaos Reaps the Fruit of Challenging Container Market

Athens-based containership owner Danaos Corporation reported a net income of USD 6.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2015, compared to a net loss of USD 51.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014.

For the full year of 2015 Danaos said it reached a net income of USD 117 million, compared to a net loss of USD 3.9 million recorded in 2014.

According to the company, the results were impacted by an impairment loss of USD 39 million, related to Danaos’ twelve older vessels, and an additional USD 2.1 million for a vessel which was on sale as of December 31, 2015. The impairment charge was at USD 41 million for 2015, compared to the higher impairment loss of USD 75.7 million for 2014.

Furthermore, the company’s quarterly operating revenues increased by 1.8 percent to USD 143.3 million from USD 140.7 million recorded in the quarter ended December 31, 2014.

Danaos said that this increase reflects a USD 1.5 million of additional revenues related to vessel acquisitions from 2014, USD 1.3 million of higher revenues coming from improved re-chartering of some vessels at higher rates, and a USD 0.2 million decrease in revenues due to fleet utilization.

Taking advantage of a slow market and the low vessel prices, Danaos decided to ink a joint venture agreement with its largest stockholder to form Gemini Shipholdings Corporation in order to acquire assets. Gemini has already bought four containerships, the 6,422 TEU vessel NYK Lodestar, the 5,610 TEU vessel Suez Canal, the 5,544 TEU vessel Genoa and the 6,422 TEU containership NYK Leo, built in 2001 and 2002, respectively.

“Danaos has very limited exposure to the current weakness in the market. As of the end of 2015, the average charter duration of our fleet was 7.2 years, weighted by aggregate contracted charter hire, with our longest charters extending through 2028. This equates to contracted operating revenues of USD 3.2 billion and charter coverage of 95.2% in terms of operating revenues in 2016, assuming continued performance by our charterers on existing contracted terms. We are also fortunate that our USD 5,571 daily operating cost for the 4th quarter clearly positions us as one of the most efficient operators in the industry,” Danaos’ CEO, John Coustas, said.

“Amidst this challenging economic environment we will remain singularly focused on improving earnings, de-levering our balance sheet, managing our fleet efficiently and capitalizing on the resilience of our business model in order to create value for our shareholders,” Coustas added.

Compared to 2014, when the company sold five vessels, namely, the Marathonas, the Commodore, the Duka, the Mytilini and the Messologi, and gained USD 5.7 million, Danaos said that there were no vessel sales during 2015.

From the beginning of 2016 the company sold its 1994-built vessel Federal for USD 7.2 million.