HAMILTON, BERMUDA -- (Marketwire) -- 05/06/09 -- TBS International Limited (NASDAQ: TBSI)
announced today its financial and operating results for the first quarter
ended March 31, 2009.
First Quarter Ended March 31, 2009 highlights:
Metric Q1 2009 Q1 2008
---------- -----------
Revenue (thousands) $ 71,158 $ 131,576
Net (Loss) Income (thousands) $ (21,288) $ 45,378
EPS (basic and diluted) $ (0.71) $ 1.61
Weighted Average Number of Shares (basic and
diluted) 29,817,405 28,044,310
EBITDA (thousands)(1) $ 4,853 $ 64,300
Drydock Days 154 147
Freight Voyages
Average Daily Voyage TCE $ 11,685 $ 28,513
Freight Voyage Days 3,116 2,375
Tons of Cargo Shipped (thousands) 2,148 2,044
Average Freight Rate for All Cargoes $ 30.04 $ 48.02
Average Freight Rate excluding Aggregates $ 44.78 $ 86.32
Bunker Cost/Voyage Day $ 4,533 $ 6,233
Time Charter out Voyages
Average Daily Time Charter TCE $ 5,947 $ 30,339
Time Charter Days 887 1,030
(1) EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. Please refer to "Non-GAAP
Reconciliations-EBITDA" following the financial statements included in this
press release for a reconciliation of EBITDA to Net (Loss) Income.
Management Commentary:
Joseph E. Royce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and President,
stated: "We are in the midst of very challenging times for TBS and the Dry
Cargo Shipping Industry. Since the last quarter of 2008, we have been
experiencing a dramatic decline in the global economy, and we now operate
in a completely different financial and economic environment, without clear
visibility as to when the turmoil will end.
"The near term effects of this dramatic decline have been devastating on
the dry cargo shipping industry. The freezing of the credit markets, the
diminished availability of letters of credit which are the traditional
financing mechanism of global trade and the resulting severe global
recession have caused a significant decrease in the volume of cargo
transported thereby affecting freight rates, vessel utilization and asset
values. As a result:
-- Freight rates collapsed, as indicated by the Baltic Dry Index, which
declined by 95% from its high value of 11,793 on May 20, 2008 to a low of
663 by December 5, 2008. Since then, the Index has modestly recovered to
1,897 as of May 5, 2009.
-- Asset values in the sale and purchase market have dropped substantially
from their spring/summer 2008 highs.
-- Revenues, earnings and cash flows for the shipping industry are under
significant pressure and are expected to continue to suffer during 2009.
"TBS has not been immune to these conditions and, as noted above, for the
first three months of 2009, our revenues and EBITDA declined significantly
and we experienced a Net Loss of $21.3 million or $0.71 per share. We
expect that for the second quarter of 2009 there will be a slight upward
moderation of these conditions as stimulus packages begin to take effect.
"Our view of the dry cargo market environment for the second half of 2009
remains extremely cloudy. Despite this lack of visibility, we are
cautiously optimistic for a gradual return to more normalized market
conditions. Urbanization and core economic development, which have been the
prevalent trends in developing economies around the world, and especially
in China and India, may temporarily slow down but we believe they are
irreversible. The concerted efforts of governments around the world to
inject liquidity into the credit markets and to implement stimulus programs
aimed mainly at infrastructure development should eventually result in
increased dry cargo movement. Accordingly, we are positioning TBS to move
quickly to participate in any economic recovery and to take advantage of
new opportunities that may arise.
"At TBS, our strongest asset is our worldwide team of shipping
professionals. We have fully staffed affiliate agencies and representative
offices on five continents. We offer a unique Five-Star Service consisting
of Ocean Transportation, Logistics, Port Services, Operations and Strategic
Planning.
"We implement this Five Star Service with our Fleet of 47 owned or
controlled vessels consisting of 23 handymax and handysize bulk carriers
and 24 multipurpose (MPP) tweendeckers, one of which (the M.V. Zia Belle)
has two 150 ton cranes combinable to 300 tons. MPP Tweendeckers are an
important segment of the TBS Fleet, and we are proceeding with our plans to
complete construction of the six Roymar Class 34,000 dwt MPP tweendeckers
that were contracted in February 2007. We expect to receive delivery of
the M.V. Rockaway Belle, the first vessel in this series, in June.
"With our Five Star Service and our team of approximately 300 dedicated
employees throughout the world, we are able to provide complete logistics
and transportation solutions for our customers. We believe that this
value-added approach combined with our efficient and reliable service will
serve TBS well through the challenging times we will face in 2009."
Ferdinand V. Lepere, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer,
commented: "At the end of March 2009, our net debt to capitalization ratio
was 32.4% which is a moderate level for industry standards and our cash
balance was $51.9 million. In addition, we have $20.0 million on deposit
which is to be used for our payments to the shipyard on our newbuildings.
As we have announced, our excellent relationship with our lenders has led
us to obtain waivers to the financial covenants. In connection with the
credit facility waivers, we prepaid all principal installments that would
have become due under our term loan facilities during 2009.
"Our newbuilding program for the six Roymar Class tweendeckers is
progressing and we have in place financing with a syndicate of lenders led
by The Royal Bank of Scotland for all remaining installments to the
shipyard including the delivery of the vessels.
"In the first quarter of 2009, we drydocked nine vessels, including one
that entered into drydock during the fourth quarter of 2008, for 154
drydocking days in total. Given the current market conditions, we have
decided to scale back on the accelerated steel renewal and reinforcement
program, and make only necessary maintenance-related capital expenditures
in 2009."
First Quarter 2009 Results:
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2009, total revenues were $71.2
million, a decrease of 45.9% compared to $131.6 million for the same period
in 2008. Net loss for the first quarter 2009 was $21.3 million, a decrease
of 146.9% compared to $45.4 million profit for the same period in 2008.
Earnings per share on a basic and diluted basis were $(0.71) for the three
months ended March 31, 2009, calculated based on 29,817,405 shares,
compared to $1.61 for the same period in 2008, calculated based on
28,044,310 shares.
EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP measure, decreased by 92.4% to $4.9 million for
the first quarter 2009 from $64.3 million in 2008. Please see "Non-GAAP
Reconciliations - EBITDA" following the financial statements included in
this press release for a reconciliation of EBITDA to Net (Loss) Income.
Revenues:
Total revenues of $71.2 million for the first quarter 2009 include voyage
revenues of $64.5 million, time charter revenues of $6.2 million and
logistics and other revenues of $0.5 million.
An average of 44 vessels (excluding off-hire) were operated during the
first quarter 2009 compared to 37 vessels (excluding off-hire) during the
same period of 2008.
Voyage Revenues:
Voyage revenues for the first quarter 2009 were $64.5 million, a decrease
of $33.7 million or 34.3% from the $98.2 million during the same period in
2008.
Total cargo volume (including aggregates) increased 103,959 tons or 5.1% to
2,147,911 tons for the first quarter 2009 from 2,043,952 for the same
period in 2008. The increase in cargo volume is attributed to an increase
of non-aggregate tons carried.
Cargo volume (excluding aggregates) increased 158,685 tons or 16.0% to
1,152,514 tons for the first quarter 2009 from 993,829 tons for the same
period in 2008.
