• Underlying Profit: USD44 million for the first half of 2024.

• Net Profit: USD58 million for the first half of 2024.

• EBITDA: USD158 million for the first half of 2024.

• Return on Equity: 6% annualized.

• Earnings Per Share: HKD8.7 basic earnings per share.

• Cash and Committed Liquidity: USD537 million.

• Net Borrowings: USD32 million.

• Interim Dividend: HKD4.1 per share, totaling USD28 million.

• Share Buyback Program: USD40 million planned, USD14.6 million spent so far.

• Handysize TCE Earnings: USD11,810 per day, a 9% decrease from the first half of 2023.

• Supramax TCE Earnings: USD13,690 per day, flat compared to the first half of 2023.

• Operating Cash Inflow: USD103 million for the period.

• CapEx Spending: USD48 million for the first half of 2024.

• Dividend Payout: USD38 million for 2023 final basic and special dividend.

• Fleet Growth: 29% increase in operating days year over year.

• Owned Fleet Cash Breakeven Level: USD4,620 per day for Handysize, USD5,120 per day for Supramax.

• New Building Orders Decline: 13% decrease for Handysize and Supramax vessels.

• Global Dry Bulk Loading Volumes: 2% year-on-year growth.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Sign with PCFBF.

Release Date: August 08, 2024

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd (PCFBF) reported a net profit of USD58 million for the first half of 2024, with an EBITDA of USD158 million.

• The company declared an interim dividend of HKD4.1 per share, amounting to USD28 million, representing 50% of net profit for the period.

• Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd (PCFBF) has a strong financial position with USD537 million in committed liquidity and net borrowings of just USD32 million.

• The company has launched a share buyback program of up to USD40 million, with approximately 42.7 million shares repurchased and canceled for USD14.6 million.

• The company outperformed the Baltic Exchange Handysize Index and Supramax Index by $840 and $410 per day, respectively, in the first half of 2024.

Negative Points

• Despite the rise in daily TCE earnings, both underlying profit and EBITDA have declined due to increased chartered vessel costs and higher expenses related to bunkers and port disbursements.

• The company's Supramax outperformance was negatively impacted by increased costs associated with chartering short-term core vessels in the Pacific.

• Handysize and Supramax daily TCE earnings decreased by 9% and remained flat compared to the first half of 2023.

• The company anticipates limited upside potential if market freight rates continue to strengthen due to Supramax/Ultramax scrubber limitations.

• Higher depreciation costs were reported due to increased dry docking costs and investments in fuel-efficiency technology.