Star Bulk Secures USD 80 Mn Refinancing

Greece-based dry bulk shipping firm Star Bulk Carriers unveiled an agreement for a new loan of USD 80 million.

Namely, in July, the company entered into a committed term‐sheet with HSBC Bank plc for the loan which will be used to refinance the full amounts outstanding under the HSBC USD 86,600 facility and the HSH USD 64,500 facility.

Star Bulk informed that the loan will be secured by a first priority mortgage on the vessels previously pledged under the two refinanced facilities. The company expects to draw down the loan amount of USD 80 million in the third quarter of 2018.

The loan will be repayable in 20 equal quarterly installments of USD 2.4 million and a balloon payment along with the last installment in an amount of USD 32.4 million.

Additionally, the company informed that it paid an aggregate amount of USD 22.7 million in total to all parties under its Supplemental Agreements on July 27, 2018.

Star Bulk revealed the developments as part of its second quarter of 2018 financial report. During the period, which was the company’s third consecutive profitable quarter, Star Bulk achieved a net income of USD 10.7 million, compared to a net loss of USD 10.2 million reported in the same period a year earlier.

Voyage revenues for the quarter surged to USD 132.6 million from USD 78.6 million seen in the second quarter of 2017, while TCE revenues climbed to USD 89.9 million from USD 61 million for the quarter.

During the period, the company closed three vessel acquisitions, adding 34 high quality vessels with an average age of 5.2 years and average size of 119,105 dwt.

“We are optimistic about market fundamentals of the industry given the strengthening rate and asset value environment. Dry bulk supply is presently expanding at the lowest pace of the last decade while demand is supported by healthy ton‐mile growth due to continued Chinese demand for higher quality raw materials. Our
company is positioning itself to take advantage of a firming market and deliver value to its shareholders,” Petros Pappas, Chief Executive Officer of Star Bulk, said.