Monday, August 30, 2021
Dear Shareholders and Investors and other contacts,
Please see below HIGHLIGHTS and enclosed report.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- These are challenging times for any business. The actions we take today will position NAT for rapid growth once life settles down again. A good sailor always keeps his eye on the horizon as well as on his boat, and we are looking at that horizon and preparing ourselves for what the market will be like in the coming year or two.
- Demand for oil is going up. OPEC is raising its output. Current high oil, gas and electricity prices are a sign of an energy market in need for more. With ample spare capacity of oil, it is only a matter of time before even more oil will hit the energy markets. This is good news for NAT.
- Our asset values are continuing to increase on back of increased prices for steel, copper and other raw materials. The value of our high quality asset base and excellent relationships with our customers and lenders give NAT flexibility.
- We have recently announced that we are planning to sell a few of our vessels in combination with purchase of a similar number of more recent vintage ships. We had more than 30 suezmax tankers a few years ago when we slimmed our fleet to 25 ships. Now we believe it is the right time to expand for the future.
- The pandemic has lasted longer than we anticipated in early 2020.
The changing of crews on our ships takes place at normal intervals. We have managed these processes as well as possible, always with a view to providing safety for our crews.
- History has repeatedly shown that when tanker markets turn, they do so quickly and forcefully. NAT is well positioned for that moment.
- The average time charter equivalent (TCE) for our fleet during 2Q 2021 came in at $7,800 per day per ship – this was down from 1Q 2021 at $9,400. As an illustration of the potential, the same quarter last year gave a TCE for our fleet of $48,400 per day per vessel. The market during the first half of 2020 was good. In the same period this year, rates were down. The upside is significant.
- The second quarter of 2021 produced a net loss of $28.7 million or earnings per share (EPS) of -$0.18. This compares to the previous quarter, that came in at a net loss of $25 million or an EPS of -$0.16. The second quarter last year gave a net profit of $49.2 million and an EPS of $0.33.
- Dividend is a priority for NAT. The dividend for 2Q 2021 is 1 cent ($0.01) per share, payable on Thursday October 14, 2021, to shareholders on record Friday September 24, 2021. This is our 96th consecutive quarterly dividend payment. When earnings improve, higher dividends can be expected.
- Our industry network and close customer relationships with major oil companies and traders are based on trust, fleet quality and on our people. We are proud of the excellent vetting record of our vessels, perhaps the best sign of a tanker company’s reliability. Vetting is the scorecard provided by our customers.
NAT has sound corporate governance principles. The Company has zero tolerance for corruption. Our policy is to underpromise and overdeliver.
- Detailed financial information for the second quarter of 2021 and for other periods is included later in this report.
Herbjorn Hansson
Founder, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Ltd. www.nat.bm
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements 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 Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “pending” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe 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, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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 fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market, as a result of changes in OPEC’s petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the prospectus and related prospectus supplement, our Annual Report on Form 20-F, and our reports on Form 6-K.
NAT is a New York listed company based in Bermuda.
Contacts:
Gary J. Wolfe
Seward & Kissel LLP
New York, USA
Tel: +1 212 574 1223
Bjørn Giæver, CFO
Nordic American Tankers Ltd
Tel: +1 888 755 8391 or +47 91 35 00 91
Herbjørn Hansson, Founder, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Ltd
Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or +47 90 14 62 91
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