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Restructuring – Continuing Progress
Global Ship Lease LTV Waiver
Last week, Global Ship Lease Inc. reached agreement with its banks to waive until November 30, 2012 the requirement to conduct loan-to-value (“LTV”) tests. Under the terms of the agreement, the ratio of outstanding borrowings under the credit facility to the charter free market value of the vessels at this time was not to exceed 75%, which could not be met. The quid pro quo for the waiver was an increase in the margin to 3.50%, a restriction on dividends and the use of cash flow to prepay borrowings under the facility. With respect to the latter, cash in excess of $20 million will be the prepayment amount in December and with payments made quarterly thereafter.
Not an Easy Sale – TORM Equity Offering Gets More Challenging
Back in April, TORM announced a rights offering of $100 million. Subsequently, as part of the amendment of its revolving credit facility which extended the maturity from 2013 to 2015, the company agreed to inject the $100 million of cash equity by mid-December 2011 at the latest. If possible, the capital markets have become even more volatile making such an offering challenging at best.
Then it became even more complicated. This week the company announced that through a series of transactions, Ms. Eirini Nomikou gifted her interest in 14,564,704 shares, representing 20.01% of the shares of TORM to Alpha Trust, a trust whose beneficiaries are members of Gabriel Panayotides’ family. With the addition of these shares to the 38,020,804 shares, representing 32.22% of the outstanding capital, which it already controlled, the Trust now has voting power over 52.23% of the total share capital.
Plop-plop, Fizz-fizz, Oh What a Relief It Is” – TORM Extends
On Wednesday, TORM was able to announce an actual, as opposed to rumored, refinancing of its $900 million revolving credit facility with Danske Bank, BNP Paribas, HSH Nordbank, and SEB which was scheduled to mature in 2013 with a bullet payment of $630 million. Conditioned upon a cash equity raise of $100 million, likely a rights issue, to be completed by December 15th, the banks have agreed to extend the maturity to 2015, when it matures with a bullet payment of $480 million. The difference in the balloon payments of $150 million will be amortized during that two year period. The facility will retain the current covenant package and will include a market value test applicable from 2013 as well as dividend restrictions.
Environmental Policy Changes and Their Effect on Ship Owning
By Ole Chr. Schroder, General Manager, Environmental Compliance Management – SQE, TORM
New legislation has had a major influence on the cost of building and operating vessels, leading to a tremendous increase in capital investment, as well as employment resources far beyond what our forefathers would have ever considered for normal ship operation. Most requirements today are a direct result of either a major shipping incident, where political fallout resulted in the implementation of new legislation, or the acquisition of new and improved technology focusing on the Global Environmental impact arising from global transportation needs. With intense public pressure on government forcing ship owners to be more environmentally friendly and transparent, leading to stricter regulation through IMO or individual state initiatives, this sharp increase in new legislation imposed over decades has become a serious financial consideration and obligation on the ship owning community, and will continue to be felt for the foreseeable future.
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Pareto and Odin Products Confab
Last week, Pareto Securities and Odin Group hosted a seminar on the product market and the news was generally good. In the introductory presentation on the market, Pareto’s Martin Korsvold, highlighted the “Positive Delta”, the fact that rates are at an historic low levels and upside is likely as market balance recovers. This outlook is supported by:
• A manageable orderbook compared to other shipping sectors
• Demand to outstrip supply going forward
• The larger trend of more oil being refined closer to production areas
• Limited investor knowledge of products compared to crude shipping, thereby creating opportunities
• Oil demand trend gives a bullish backdrop as the oil market has tightened significantly in 2010 driven by strong demand growth, as evidenced by declining inventories.
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Bank of China in Action Again, What’s New
Bank of China has extended a USD 179.55 million buyer’s credit facility to STX Pan Ocean recently in relation to the South Korean shipper’s acquisition of three 17,600 DWT bulkers ordered at Jiangsu New Century Shipyard. Jiangsu New Century Shipyard is one of the largest private shipbuilding groups in China who has built over 100 ships for owners in Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. This successful transaction was initiated by Bank of China’s branch in Jiangsu province, upon news of STX Pan Ocean’s difficulty in securing finance for the ships. This year, STX Pan Ocean has earmarked USD 203 million to invest in 6 vessels. Continue Reading
ECA to the Rescue
Undeniably, export credit agencies (“ECAs”) has played an important role in satisfying part of the financing gap needed by the shipping industry. In China, China Exim Bank plays an instrumental role in supporting the maritime industry, having granted shipping/shipbuilding related loans of over RMB 102.5 billion (USD 15 billion) in the domestic currency and USD 7.45 billion in greenback at the end of 2008. In 2009, the policy bank extended a USD 389 million, 12 year secured facility to New York listed Overseas Shipholding Group (“OSG”), in its first ever loan facility to a US company. It would be nearly impossible to secure a 12 year ship finance loan today, let alone this quantum from a single financial institution. Continue Reading
Setting Sights on Overseas
Danish shipowner Torm has signed a ten year USD 167.3 million loan facility with a syndicate of banks led by Bank of China and Societe Generale. The funds will be used to cover 60% of the cost of six 53,000 dwt MR product tankers, each ordered at USD 46.5 million a piece from Guangzhou Shipyard International. Out of the USD 167.3 million facility, USD 83.7 million will be unsecured loans and the other USD 83.7 million in the form of buyer’s credit. This is also the very first time in a foreign syndicated loan that China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (“Sinosure”) will underwrite the country risk in relation to the buyer’s credit. Torm will have to fork out the remaining 40% equity. Continue Reading
Bigger, Better… Forever
We don’t know how they do it, but this year’s CMA’s shipping and trade conference and exposition, “Shipping 2009”, was not only the biggest ever but showed the resilience of the industry. The ladies of CMA, who run the conference like a well-oiled machine, tell us attendance exceeded 2,200. If sports arenas are named after corporations, it seems only fair that the Hilton be renamed the CMA during this annual event.
The success of this event is attributable to the fact that it reaches out to the whole industry and covers all of the issues it faces. This year the shipping markets and piracy got equal billing. While, naturally, our main focus is on the shipping markets, Professor Christopher Coker’s presentation on piracy highlighted its significance, permanence and far-reaching risks, if it becomes linked with terrorism. For us, the rude awakening was his statement that unlike the 19th century when piracy was eradicated, today the best we can hope for is to “manage risks.” And, if we are unsuccessful even in that, we will have far more serious issues. The speech is a must read for its realistic but unfortunately bleak perspective of our future.
From the extensive three day program our chairman puts together with the assistance of the CMA, we have selected the following as perhaps being of the greatest interest to our readers.
Third Quarter Earnings Season
The third quarter was of course an entire world ago, pre global economic meltdown, when China was still expected to roar back after its great Olympics before orders were cancelled and charterers began handing back ships and FFA settlement days loomed like an executioner. So it may come as no surprise to our readers that company after company has reported earnings and dividends in line with financial analysts predictions. We tip our hat to the stewards of these companies, especially OSG and Eagle where earnings and then subsequent conference calls accomplished what we had hoped for, clear, confident and distinguishing attributes. Companies like Torm and OSG are on their way to their best years ever and Eagle has earnings visibility stretching way forward while DRYS is selling at a .69 P/E in other words for less than its ‘08 earnings.
The Official Guide To Marine Finance Providers
Shipping Index
