Saturday, May 29, 2010

Diana Shipping Inc. - A Look Into Its Cape Size Fleet

Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX) operates a modern fleet of 22 dry cargo vessels, consisting of 14 panamax size vessels and 8 cape size vessels. All of the company’s cape size vessels are currently employed in medium to long-term time charters. Four time charters have options attached giving Charterers the right to extend the duration of each contract for an extra year at gross rates ranging between $48,500 to $52,000 per day. Three of those options are expiring (i.e. need to be declared) in May, October & December of 2010 respectively. Given that today the 12-month time charter rate for cape size vessels is approximately $35,000 per day, we do not expect Charterers to exercise the May option. But it will be interesting to see the fate of the October & December options.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Diana Shipping Inc. - Coverage Initiation & Earnings Estimate For 2010 Q1

We are initiating coverage on Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), a publicly traded bulk shipping company. As of March 31st, 2010, DSX was operating a modern diversified fleet of 22 dry cargo vessels, consisting of 14 panamax size vessels and 8 cape size vessels, and had a total capitalization of approximately $1.36 billion.

We estimate that for the quarter ending March 31st, 2010, DSX generated net income of $27.8 million, or $0.34 basic earnings per common share. We also estimate that as of March 31st, 2010 the company’s long-term debt was $329.8 million, representing a 24% debt to total capitalization ratio. DSX had an available credit line of $50.2 million and cash on hand of approximately $290 million to fund operations & future acquisitions.
 
Following the closing of the first quarter, the company announced a $118 million new-building order for two specialized cape size vessels, scheduled for delivery in 2012, and a $50 million investment in container ships.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. - Coverage Initiation & Earnings Estimate For 2010 Q1

We are initiating coverage of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc., (NASDAQ: EGLE), a publicly-traded bulk shipping company. As of March 31st, 2010, EGLE was operating a modern fleet of 33 Supramax Dry Cargo Vessels. EGLE will report earnings for the quarter ended March 31st, 2010 after the closing of markets today May 6th, 2010.

We estimate that for the first quarter of 2010 EGLE generated Revenues (Net of Commissions) in the amount of $51,225,000.

We also estimate that the daily average TCE (Net of Commissions) for the same period was $19,575.