[230220.EN.BIZ] Seaspan 2019 Profit Up 77.3pc to US$368 Million As Revenue Rises 3.6pc

SEASPAN, Hong Kong's non-operating containership owner, posted a 77.3 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to US$368 million, drawn on revenues of $1.13 billion, up 3.6 per cent.

Seaspan's fourth quarter posted a 20.3 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to $53.9 million, drawn on revenues of $288 million, down two per cent.

Seaspan executed agreements to acquire three 10,700-TEU and three 9,200-TEU ships on long-term charters; increasing, on a fully delivered fleet basis, Seaspan's contracted revenue to $4.3 billion and average remaining contract term to 4.2 years.

The company achieved vessel utilisation of 99.1 per cent for the fourth quarter and 98.9 per cent for the full year, its highest level since 2014.

Seaspan CEO Bing Chen said 2019 had been another year of achievement and transformation.

"We focused on relentless execution of priorities, building a strong team with core competencies to continue growing the franchise. The proposed holding company reorganisation to form Atlas Corp is expected to provide a solid foundation to expand our power via the acquisition of APR Energy while augmenting our commitment to container shipping customers," he said.

Said chief financial officer Ryan Courson: "We have made improvements across our capital structure adding $500 million of equity, restructuring nearly $2 billion of secured debt into an innovative portfolio financing programme, and increasing our balance sheet flexibility by adding a total of $450 million of liquid revolving credit capacity - with the long-term goal of achieving an investment grade credit rating."

Last November, Seaspan agreed to buy six containerships for $380 million in cash. This means the Seaspan fleet stands at 119 vessels of 975,000 TEU, a global market share of 7.7 per cent.

Source : HKSG.