For the three months ended December 31, 2006, the Company reported net income of $3,212,000, or $0.10 per share, compared with net income of $28,090,000, or $1.00 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2005. The weighted average numbers of basic shares used in the computations were 32,288,205 and 28,020,990 for the fourth quarters of 2006 and 2005 respectively. The results for the fourth quarter of 2006 and 2005 include net charges of $281,000, or $0.01 per share and $3,366,000, or $0.12 per share, respectively, of special items(1) that affected the Company's net results for the period that are typically excluded by securities analysts in their published estimates of the Company's financial results, which are described in Appendix A of this release. For the three months ended December 31, 2006, operating income was $7,516,000, compared with $33,108,000 for the fourth quarter of 2005. EBITDA(1) for the fourth quarter of 2006 was $18,305,000, compared with $48,970,000 for the fourth quarter of 2005. Voyage revenues for the fourth quarter of 2006 were $67,794,000, compared to $90,592,000 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2005.
For the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company reported net income of $15,141,000, or $0.47 per share, compared to $68,684,000, or $2.46 per share, for the previous year. The weighted average numbers of basic shares used in the computations were 30,550,274 and 27,926,771 for the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The results for the year ended December 31, 2006 and 2005 include net charges of $8,227,000, or $0.27 per share and $9,481,000, or $0.34 per share, respectively, of special items that affected the Company's net income for the year that are typically excluded by securities analysts in their published estimates of the Company's financial results, which are described in Appendix A of this release. For the year ended December 31, 2006, operating income was $41,361,000, compared with $86,953,000 for the previous year. EBITDA for 2006 was $90,075,000, compared to $140,141,000 for the previous year. Voyage revenues for the year ended December 31, 2006, were $310,043,000, compared to $244,215,000 recorded in the previous year.
Evangelos J. Pistiolis, President and Chief Executive Officer of TOP Tankers Inc, commented, "This year was an especially challenging year for the Company. We completed a $550 million sale & lease back project, which generated significant return of $7.50 per share to our shareholders.
"We also sold 3,907,365 shares of common stock in 'at-the-market' offerings at an average net price of $6.91 per share.
"During the year we drydocked a total of 9 vessels and performed extensive upgrading of our fleet. The cost of recent and future upgrades will be in excess of $50 million and more than 60% of it has been completed as of year end. We have conducted extensive work on our tankers, closely supervised by our experienced technical team in order to upgrade the vessels to the highest possible standards. Once again, we would like to emphasize our commitment to provide the highest quality of service to our clients and to continue to operate and maintain our fleet with the utmost efficiency and professionalism.
"We believed that it was the right time to undertake such a large project, and expect that going forward this strategy will help to make 2007 a stronger year.
"In 2006, we also sold three Handymax tankers, one built in 1998 and two built in 1999. We believe that the aggregate sale price of $128 million was one of the highest prices ever achieved for such vessels in the industry.
"In addition, we have entered into an agreement to acquire six newbuilding Handymax product tankers for a purchase price of $285 million. Furthermore, we managed to arrange for the new vessels to be delivered in first and second quarters of 2009. We review this as a real achievement, since most shipyards were not offering tanker newbuilding deliveries prior to 2010 or 2011.
"We look forward to a very active year in 2007."
The following key indicators serve to highlight changes in the financial performance of the Company's fleet during the fourth quarters and years ended December 31, 2005 and 2006:
Suezmax Fleet
(In U.S. Dollars Three Months Ended Year Ended
unless otherwise December 31, December 31,
stated) 2005 2006 Change 2005 2006 Change
Total available
ship days 1,011 1,196 18.3% 3,046 4,745 55.8%
Total operating
days 943 979 3.8% 2,771 3,837 38.5%
Utilization 93.3% 81.9% -12.2% 91.0% 80.9% -11.1%
TCE(2) per ship
per day under
spot voyage
charter 61,447 37,652 -38.7% 46,014 45,328 -1.5%
TCE per ship
per day under
time charter 39,583 34,058 -14.0% 34,116 36,069 5.7%
Average TCE 52,660 36,503 -30.7% 41,622 41,887 0.6%
Vessel operating
expenses per
ship per day 7,662 8,277 8.0% 7,578 7,748 2.2%
Handymax Fleet
(In U.S. Dollars Three Months Ended Year Ended
unless otherwise December 31, December 31,
stated) 2005 2006 Change 2005 2006 Change
Total available
ship days 1,248 1,180 -5.4% 4,604 5,002 8.6%
Total operating
days 1,231 1,117 -9.3% 4,421 4,797 8.5%
Utilization 98.6% 94.7% -4.0% 96.0% 95.9% -0.1%
TCE per ship
per day under
spot voyage
charter -- -- -- 11,500 -- --
TCE per ship
per day under
time charter 22,262 17,082 -23.3% 20,500 19,590 -4.4%
Average TCE 22,262 17,082 -23.3% 20,411 19,590 -4.0%
Vessel operating
expenses per
ship per day 5,341 5,931 11.1% 5,085 5,862 15.3%
Total Fleet*
(In U.S. Dollars Three Months Ended Year Ended
unless otherwise December 31, December 31,
stated) 2005 2006 Change 2005 2006 Change
Total available
ship days 2,259 2,376 5.2% 7,905 9,747 23.3%
Total operating
days 2,174 2,096 -3.6% 7,436 8,634 16.1%
Utilization 96.2% 88.2% -8.3% 94.1% 88.6% -5.8%
TCE per ship
per day under
spot voyage
charter 61,433 37,652 -38.7% 43,713 45,328 3.7%
TCE per ship
per day under
time charter 26,339 20,798 -21.0% 22,566 23,366 3.5%
Average TCE 35,443 26,153 -26.2% 27,881 29,499 5.8%
Vessel operating
expenses per
ship per day 6,379 7,112 11.5% 5,985 6,780 13.3%
General and
administrative
expenses per
ship per day** 4,015 2,012 -49.9% 3,013 2,328 -22.7%
* Total Fleet information includes data for one Handysize tanker in 2005.
** The daily General and Administrative expenses include approximately
$2,134 and ($183) for the three-month period ended December 31, 2005
and 2006, respectively, and $1,389 and $564 for the year ended
December 31, 2005 and 2006 respectively, of non-cash restricted stock
expense, convertible offering issuance costs write-off, general
compensation provision and specific legal and auditing fees.
Fleet Report
As of December 31, 2006, the Company's fleet size was 24 vessels, or 2.5 million dwt (including 18 vessels sold and leased back for a period of 5 to 7 years) as compared to 27 vessels, or 2.6 million dwt (including 5 vessels sold and leased back for a period of 7 years) on December 31, 2005. The changes in the Company's fleet during 2006 are as follows:
In March 2006, the Company sold and leased-back the Handymax tankers M/T Faithful, M/T Spotless, M/T Vanguard and M/T Doubtless and the Suezmax tankers M/T Flawless, M/T Timeless, M/T Priceless and M/T Stopless for a period of five years.
In April 2006, the Company sold and leased-back the Suezmax tankers M/T Limitless, M/T Endless, M/T Stainless, M/T Faultless and M/T Noiseless for a period of seven years.
In September and October 2006, the Company sold the vessels M/T Taintless, M/T Soundless and M/T Topless for a total consideration of $127.5 million, resulted in a total book gain of $12.7 million, which was recognized in the fourth quarter of 2006. The M/T Taintless and M/T Soundless were delivered to their new owners in November 2006 and the M/T Topless was delivered to its new owners in December 2006.
In October 2006, the Company entered into an agreement with SPP Shipbuilding Co, Ltd of the Republic of Korea for the construction of six 50,000 dwt Product / Chemical tankers. The vessels will be delivered during the first and second quarters of 2009. The total investment for the Company will be approximately $285.4 million, which will be funded with secured credit lines and working capital.
Fleet Deployment
During the fourth quarter of 2006, the Company had approximately 68% of the fleet's operating days on long-term employment contracts. Fifteen of the Company's 24 tankers are on time charter contracts with an average term of over three years with all but three of the time charters including profit sharing agreements.
The Company has secured approximately 67% of the estimated operating days for 2007 under time charter contracts. At the same time, the nine Suezmaxes operating in the spot market, together with the profit sharing component of the time charter contracts, expose approximately 56% of the Company's estimated operating days for 2007 to spot rates, which may be potentially higher.
Suezmax Fleet:
During the fourth quarter of 2006, eight of the Company's Suezmax tankers operated in the spot market, earning on average $37,652 per vessel per day on a time charter equivalent (TCE) basis.
During the fourth quarter of 2006, four of the Company's Suezmax tankers operated in the spot market, earning on average $34,058 per vessel per day on a time charter equivalent (TCE) basis.
During the fourth quarter of 2006, one of the Company's Suezmax tankers was undergoing its special survey and was not operational.
As of the date of this release, the Company's Suezmax fleet for the first quarter of 2007 has been fixed as follows:
Spot: 74% of operating days at average daily TCE of $38,000
Total (Spot and time charter, including profit sharing): 82% of operating days at average daily TCE of $37,000.
In addition, as of the date of this release, we had a total of 65 off-hire Suezmax days in the first quarter of 2007, associated with the dry-docking of the M/T Stopless and the ballast tank cleaning process of the M/T Faultless.
Handymax Fleet:
All of the Company's Handymax tankers operate under long term employment agreements that provide for a base rate and additional profit-sharing.
During the fourth quarter of 2006, including the profit-sharing allocated to the Company from these profit-sharing agreements, the Handymax fleet earned on average $17,082 per vessel per day on a time charter equivalent (TCE) basis.
As of the date of this release, the Company's Handymax fleet for the first quarter of 2007 has been fixed for 70% of its operating days at average daily TCE of $20,500.
In addition, as of the date of this release, we had a total of 48 off-hire Handymax days in the first quarter of 2007, associated with the dry-docking of the M/T Vanguard.
The following table presents the Company's current fleet list and
employment:
Daily Profit Sharing
Year Charter Base Above Base
Dwt Built Type Expiry Rate Rate (2006)
13 Suezmax
Tankers
Timeless(C) 154,970 1991 Spot
Flawless(C) 154,970 1991 Spot
Stopless(C) 154,970 1991 Spot
Time 50%
Priceless(C) 154,970 1991 Charter Q3/2008 $35,000 thereafter
Faultless(B) 154,970 1992 Spot
Time
Noiseless(B) 149,554 1992 Charter Q2/2010 $37,000(1) None
Stainless(B) 149,599 1992 Spot
Time
Endless(B) 135,915 1992 Charter Q4/2008(A) $36,500 None
Limitless(B) 136,055 1993 Spot
Time
Stormless 150,038 1993 Charter Q4/2009 $36,900 None
Ellen P. 146,286 1996 Spot
Errorless 147,048 1993 Spot
Edgeless 147,048 1994 Spot
11 Handymax
Tankers
Time 50%
Victorious(B) 47,084 1991 Charter Q3/2009 $14,000 thereafter
Time 50%
Sovereign(B) 47,084 1992 Charter Q3/2009 $14,000 thereafter
Time 50%
Invincible(B) 47,084 1992 Charter Q3/2009 $14,000 thereafter
Time 50%
Relentless(B) 47,084 1992 Charter Q3/2009 $14,000 thereafter
Time 50%
Vanguard(C) 47,084 1992 Charter Q1/2010 $15,250 thereafter
Time 50%
Restless(B) 47,084 1991 Charter Q4/2009 $15,250 thereafter
Time 50%
Spotless(C) 47,094 1991 Charter Q1/2010 $15,250 thereafter
Time 50%
Doubtless(C) 47,076 1991 Charter Q1/2010 $15,250 thereafter
100% first
Time $500 + 50%
Faithful(C) 45,720 1992 Charter Q2/2010 $14,500 thereafter
100% first
Time $1,000 + 50%
Dauntless 46,168 1999 Charter Q1/2010 $16,250 thereafter
100% first
Time $1,000 + 50%
Ioannis P. 46,346 2003 Charter Q4/2010 $18,000 thereafter
Total
Tanker
DWT 2,451,301
A. Charterers have option to extend contract for an additional four-year
period
B. Vessels sold and leased back for a period of 7 years.
C. Vessels sold and leased back for a period of 5 years.
1. Base rate will change to $36,000 in Q2 2007 and $35,000 in Q2 2008
until expiration.
Credit Facility
As of December 31, 2006, TOP Tankers had total indebtedness under senior secured credit facilities of $220 million with its lenders, the Royal Bank of Scotland ("RBS") and HSH Nordbank ("HSH"), maturing in 2015 and 2013 respectively. As of the date of this release, and after giving effect to the payment of first installment of the two remaining newbuildings, the Company's total indebtedness under the senior secured credit facilities was $230 million.
As of December 31, 2006, the Company has three interest rate swap agreements with RBS for the amounts of $31.7 million, $10 million and $10 million for a period of four, seven and seven years, respectively. Under these agreements the interest rate is fixed at an effective annual rate of 4.66%, 4.23% and 4.11%, respectively, in addition to the applicable margin. The Company also has one interest rate swap agreement with HSH for the amount of $41.2 million for a period of five years, at a fixed interest rate of 4.80% in addition to the applicable margin. In addition, the Company has two interest rate swap agreements with Deutsche Bank and Egnatia Bank for the amounts of $50 million and $10 million for a period of seven and seven years, respectively. Under these agreements the interest rate is fixed at an effective annual rate of 4.45% and 4.76%, respectively, in addition to the applicable margin. The above swaps of $10 million, $10 million, $50 million and $10 million, include steepening terms based on the 2 and 10 year swap difference, which is calculated quarterly in arrears. The interest rate for the remaining balance of the loans is LIBOR, plus the margin.
On December 31, 2006, the Company's ratio of indebtedness to total capital was approximately 52.4%.
Restatement of Interim Financial Statements
On December 7, 2006, the Company announced that it had restated its interim financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 and June 30, 2006, to reflect a change of treatment of the sellers' credits that were part of the sale leasebacks mentioned above. These transactions were entered into during 2006 and do not affect the Company's results from the year ended December 31, 2005. The revised treatment of the sellers' credits has been reflected in the Company's results for the full year ended December 31, 2006.
Litigation
The Company and certain of its executive officers were named as defendants in a putative class action securities law suit brought in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. As of the date of this release, none of the defendants has been served in this action, which has been consolidated with nine additional putative class action lawsuits. The Court is currently considering a motion for the appointment of a lead plaintiff.
The Company has also been named as a nominal defendant in a derivative suit seeking damages from certain individual officers and directors of the Company, on behalf of the Company, for alleged breaches of fiduciary duties and violations of the Exchange Act. The Company has not been served in this action as of this date of this release.
The Company intends to defend these suits vigorously.
Conference Call and Webcast
TOP Tankers' management team will host a conference call to review the results and discuss other corporate news and its outlook on Thursday, March 8, 2007 at 11:00 AM EST, which will be broadcast live over the Internet. Those interested in listening to the live webcast may do so by going to the Company's website at www.toptankers.com, or by going to www.investorcalendar.com. Web participants are encouraged to go to either website at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. The online archive will be available shortly after the conclusion of the call and continue for seven days.
The telephonic replay of the conference call will be available by dialing 877 660-6853 (from the US and Canada) or +1 201 612-7415 (from outside the US and Canada) and by entering account number 286 and conference ID number 232792. An online archive will also be available immediately following the call at the sites noted above. Both are available for one week, through March 15, 2007.
About TOP Tankers Inc
TOP Tankers Inc is an international provider of worldwide seaborne crude oil and petroleum products transportation services. The Company operates a fleet of 24 tankers, consisting of 13 double-hull Suezmax tankers and 11 double-hull Handymax tankers, with a total carrying capacity of approximately 2.5 million dwt, of which 88.2% are sister ships. Fifteen of the Company's 24 tankers are on time charter contracts with an average term of over three years with all but three of the time charters including profit sharing agreements.
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance and may include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although TOP Tankers believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, TOP Tankers cannot assure you that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.
Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including changes in charterhire rates and vessel values, failure of a seller to deliver one or more vessels, failure of a buyer to accept delivery of a vessel, inability to procure acquisition financing, changes in demand for oil and petroleum products, the effect of changes in OPEC's petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, changes in demand that may affect attitudes of time charterers, scheduled and unscheduled drydocking, changes in our voyage and operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, changes in governmental rules and regulations including requirements for double-hull tankers or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents and political events or acts by terrorists.
Risks and uncertainties are further described in reports filed by TOP Tankers with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact: Michael Mason (investors) Stamatis Tsantanis, CFO
Allen & Caron Inc TOP Tankers Inc
212 691 8087 011 30 210 812 8199
michaelm@allencaron.com snt@toptankers.com
TOP TANKERS INC.
CONSOLIDATED UNAUDITED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. Dollars
- except for share and per share data)
Three Months Ended Year Ended
December 31, December 31,
2005 2006 2005 2006
REVENUES:
Voyage revenues 90,592 67,794 244,215 310,043
EXPENSES:
Voyage expenses 13,538 12,977 36,889 55,351
Charter hire expense 5,308 29,848 7,206 96,302
Vessel operating
expenses 14,410 16,898 47,315 66,082
Depreciation and
amortization 15,780 10,910 53,054 48,781
General and
administrative
expenses 9,070 4,780 23,818 22,688
Amortization of
deferred income (612) (2,433) (837) (8,110)
(Gain) on sale of
vessels -- (12,667) (10,115) (12,667)
Foreign currency
(gains) / losses, net (10) (35) (68) 255
Operating income 33,108 7,516 86,953 41,361
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSES):
Interest and finance
costs (5,493) (5,086) (20,177) (29,175)
Interest income 393 903 1,774 3,022
Other, net 82 (121) 134 (67)
Total other expenses,
net (5,018) (4,304) (18,269) (26,220)
Net Income 28,090 3,212 68,684 15,141
Earnings per share,
basic and diluted 1.00 0.10 2.46 0.47
Weighted average common
shares outstanding,
basic 28,020,990 32,288,205 27,926,771 30,550,274
TOP TANKERS INC.
CONSOLIDATED UNAUDITED BALANCE SHEETS
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. Dollars
- except for share and per share data)
December 31, December 31,
2005 2006
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents 17,462 29,992
Other current assets 50,112 42,807
Total current assets 67,574 72,799
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS 425 --
ADVANCES FOR VESSELS UNDER CONSTRUCTION -- 28,683
VESSELS, NET 886,754 306,418
RESTRICTED CASH 13,500 50,000
OTHER NON-CURRENT ASSETS 12,644 64,835
Total assets 980,897 522,735
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Current portion of long-term debt 45,329 16,588
Deferred income, current portion 2,451 9,731
Other current liabilities 30,814 24,021
Total current liabilities 78,594 50,340
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS -- 3,384
LONG-TERM DEBT, net of current portion 518,774 201,464
DEFERRED INCOME, net of current portion 13,871 69,692
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES -- --
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 369,658 197,855
Total liabilities and
stockholders' equity 980,897 522,735
APPENDIX A - SPECIFIC ITEMS AFFECTING NET INCOME AND RECONCILIATION OF
EBITDA
Set forth below are some of the significant items of income and expense
that affected the Company's net income for the fourth quarter and year
ended December 31, 2005 and 2006, all of which are items the Company
believes are typically excluded by securities analysts in their published
estimates of the Company's financial results:
(Expressed in thousands of U.S. Dollars
- except for share and per share data)
Three Months Ended Year Ended
December 31, December 31, December 31, December 31,
2005 2006 2005 2006
(unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited)
Per Per Per Per
Description $ Share $ Share $ Share $ Share
Reported
net
income 28,090 1.00 3,212 0.10 68,684 2.46 15,141 0.47
Restricted
share
plan to
officers
and
personnel 236 0.01 283 0.01 3,478 0.12 3,710 0.12
Issuance
costs for
preferred
stock -- -- -- -- 965 0.04 -- --
Gain from
termi-
nation of
interest
rate
swap (1,128) (0.04) -- -- (1,170) (0.04) (650) (0.02)
Change of
fair
value of
interest
rate
swaps (327) (0.01) 715 0.02 (327) (0.01) 3,384 0.11
Specific
legal and
auditing
fees -- -- 989 0.03 -- -- 989 0.03
Bonus
compensation
provision
to officers
and
personnel 4,585 0.16 (1,706) (0.05) 6,535 0.23 794 0.03
Total 3,366 0.12 281 0.01 9,481 0.34 8,227 0.27
Net income
after
specific
items 31,456 1.12 3,493 0.11 78,165 2.80 23,368 0.74
EBITDA RECONCILIATION(3)
(Expressed in Thousands of U.S. Dollars)
Three Months Ended Year Ended
December 31, December 31,
2005 2006 2005 2006
NET INCOME 28,090 3,212 68,684 15,141
DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION 15,780 10,910 53,054 48,781
INTEREST AND FINANCE COSTS, NET 5,100 4,183 18,403 26,153
EBITDA 48,970 18,305 140,141 90,075
_______________________________
(1) See Appendix A to this release for information about special items and
reconciliation of EBITDA to net income.
(2) Consistent with general practice in the tanker shipping industry,
time charter equivalent, or TCE, is a measure of the average daily
revenue performance of a vessel on a per voyage basis. Our method of
calculating TCE is consistent with industry standards and is
determined by dividing net voyage revenue by voyage days for the
relevant time period. Net voyage revenues are voyage revenues minus
voyage expenses. Voyage expenses primarily consist of port, canal and
fuel costs that are unique to a particular voyage, which would
otherwise be paid by the charterer under a time charter contract, as
well as commissions.
(3) EBITDA represents earnings before interest and finance costs, net,
taxes, depreciation and amortization. Interest and finance costs, net
include gain or loss from termination of swaps and swap fair value
changes. EBITDA is included in this release because we believe it
provides investors with an understanding of operating performance over
comparative periods. EBITDA should not be considered as a substitute
for income from operations, net income or cash flows from operating
activities (all as determined in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles) for the purpose of analyzing our operating
performance, financial position and cash flows, as EBITDA is not
defined by generally accepted accounting principles. We presented
EBITDA, however, because it is commonly used by certain investors and
analysts to analyze and compare companies on the basis of operating
performance and to determine a company's ability to service and/or
incur debt.
SOURCE TOP Tankers Inc
Investors, Michael Mason of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-212-691-8087,
michaelm@allencaron.com, for TOP Tankers Inc; or Stamatis Tsantanis, CFO of TOP
Tankers Inc, 011 30 210 812 8199, snt@toptankers.com
http://www.toptankers.com