MPC Container Ships ASA (MPCC) on Tuesday (31 January) said it has acquired two boxships, Rio Centaurus (2010-built 3,400 TEU) and TRF Kaya (2007-built 2,800 TEU) for a total of USD 33.9 million.
The company said both vessels are scrubber-fitted, benefitting from the current high fuel price spread.
“Moreover, both vessels come with existing charters attached with renewal in Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, respectively. The acquisitions will be funded via bank financing and cash at hand,” it said in its announcement of further measures for portfolio optimisation and capital allocation.
MPCC also said it has agreed to sell AS Carinthia (2003-built, 2,800 TEU) ahead of the vessel’s 20-year class renewal scheduled for Q1 2023, for USD 7.6 million.
“The vessel was acquired in 2017 for USD 5.2 million and has since generated free cash flow from operations of USD 11.2 million. Upon completion of the sale, MPCC has reduced the number of joint venture vessels from 8 to 2 since Q4 2021. The completion of the transaction is subject to the successful handover of the vessel,” it said.
Commenting on the dividend and portfolio measures, CEO Constantin Baack, said: “Following the successful execution of the portfolio measures communicated in December, we are happy to declare another event-driven dividend, confirming our ongoing commitment to return capital to our investors.”
“We are also pleased to announce a new set of accretive measures in line with our strategy for portfolio optimization and rational capital allocation. With these transactions we further simplify and strengthen our corporate structure and improve our fleet composition in terms of vessel size, age and design. The acquisitions increase the earnings and distribution potential of the company already in 2023 and onwards, without any impact on the expected distributions from our existing fleet.”
“MPC Container Ships is in a favorable position given the strong charter backlog and a very healthy balance sheet. Under the current market conditions, we will continue to optimize our fleet through potential vessel sales, accretive acquisitions, or retrofit investments. At the same time, we will remain committed to our ambition for reliable shareholder distributions.”
Photo credit: MPC Container Ships
Published: 2 February, 2023
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