Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE: NAT) Announces Date for its 2014 Annual General Meeting of Sh (Seite 23) | Diskussion im Forum

[R-BgO]

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) - Expanded cooperation with a key client.

Hamilton, Bermuda, June 16, 2016

Nordic American Tankers Ltd. (NYSE:NAT) announced that it has entered into a 30 months charter contract with a subsidiary of ExxonMobil (EM) for one of the NAT suezmaxes. The firm period is 18 months with an option of further 12 months. The gross revenue from the contract of 30 months is about $25 million, reflecting a time charter rate between $25,000 and $30,000 per day. The charter is scheduled to commence in a few days. The cash breakeven level of NAT, including all G&A costs and financial items, is now about $11,000 per day per vessel, spread across 30 units.

This type of a solid employment base strengthens NAT and is sustaining our dividend distribution policy. This new contract supplements the contract of affreightment we already have with a subsidiary of EM.

Including the newbuildings to be delivered in August 2016 and in January 2017, from a Korean shipyard, and the four vessels recently acquired, the NAT suezmax fleet now stands at 30 units.

Commented the Chairman & CEO, Herbjørn Hansson: "The expanded cooperation secures increased flexibility and better customer service".

Mr. Hansson commented further: "At this time, we also change the name of our chartering department from Orion Tankers (which was initially established as a chartering pool with external participants) to NAT Chartering. All the suezmax tankers under our umbrella are now owned by NAT. We have no plans to invite other companies into the chartering arrangements of NAT. NAT Chartering is headed up by Erik Tomstad who is reporting to me".

NAT Chartering has been strengthened further with two persons who have relevant experience from London and Oslo. This is an indication that further expansion can be expected. Based on a fleet of 30 vessels, we do not plan to issue new equity.

[R-BgO]

heute deutlich aufgestockt

und so ein paar meiner MLP-Erlöse reinvestiert

[R-BgO]

Nordic American Tankers' 1Q2016 Report (NYSE:NAT) - NAT is very different from other tanker companies. Operating cash flow remains stable. Cash dividend declared for the 75th time.

Link to the complete 1st Quarter 2016 report: http://hugin.info/201/R/2010473/744153.pdf


Hamilton, Bermuda, May 9, 2016

Since its establishment in 1995, NAT has been pursuing a well-tested strategy that is producing high total return[1] and dividend yields. Thanks to a cash break-even rate below $12,000 per day per ship, a growing NAT Suezmax fleet and spot rates of about $36,000 per day, 1Q2016 produced good results with operating cash flow of $55.9m. For the full year 2015 operating cash flow[2] was $212m - the strongest year in NAT's history. For further details on the preceding quarters please see the table on page 3. The Company believes it is not meaningful to compare quarter on quarter as longer periods are required to gain a full picture. In 2Q2016 the tanker market is in a positive phase of development.

On May 2, 2016, NAT announced the acquisition of four existing Suezmax vessels which will be delivered to us during May, June and July. The fact that they are sister vessels is a positive factor of significance. Two were built in 2004, one in 2003 and one in 2000. Shipbuilding technology for crude oil tankers has not changed much over the last 20 years, so whether a ship has been around five years or fifteen years or longer does not matter anywhere near as much as the quality of the ship itself. Our vessels remain first-class, and these four additional tankers only enhance our fleet's reputation for safety and dependability. Members of NAT management, staff and board have comprehensive experience from Japan, having concluded business with several of its high quality shipbuilders over decades. We do not expect to issue stock in connection with these four ships.

Transparency is a key value for NAT. Communication with the public market must be correct, representing facts and the best judgement of the board of directors and management.

NAT has an excellent relationship with its demanding clients. The quality of the NAT fleet is at the top of the tanker industry as evidenced by our vetting statistics, that is, inspections of our ships by clients. In such vetting processes safety for our crew, the environment and our assets are main considerations.

There is a significant liquidity in the NAT stock, at the top in the tanker sector. It is important for investors to be able to buy and sell shares whenever they wish. In 1Q2016 about 1.9 million shares were traded daily with a value of more than $25m per day. The average volume for 2015 as a whole was about 1.8 million shares per day, an increase of almost 40% from 2014. The market capitalization of NAT is about $1.3 billion at this time. Net Asset Value (NAV), or the steel value of a vessel, is irrelevant when valuing NAT as a going concern traded on the stock exchange.

On April 25, 2016, NAT declared a cash dividend of $0.43 per share payable to shareholders of record as of May 12, 2016. Payment of the dividend is expected to take place on or about May 27, 2016. Since NAT commenced operations in the fall of 1997, the Company has paid a dividend 75 times, with total dividend payments over the period amounting to $47.40 per share, including the dividend to be paid on May 27, 2016.

The low oil price is an important factor for the tanker market. This has positively affected the tanker market through increased transportation requirements and lower fuel costs.


Key points to consider:

The tanker market has been more or less at the same level the last few quarters. The average for 1Q2016, 4Q2015 and 1Q2015 has been about $36,000, $39,800 and $37,000 per day per ship, respectively.

Operating cash flow per share has been as follows: $0.62 for 1Q2016, $0.64 for 4Q2015 and $0.57 for 1Q2015

Dividend payments per share have been as follows: $0.43 for 1Q2016, $0.43 for 4Q2015 and $0.38 for 1Q2015.

The balance sheet was strengthened in 1Q2016 as we retained about $17.5m of operating cash flow during the quarter to finance future commitments, including our newbuildings.

In December 2015 NAT announced an expanded credit facility up to $500m, maturing in December 2020.

The undrawn part of our credit facility plus net working capital stood at about $282m at the time of this report. At the end of 1Q2016, the Company had net debt of about $8.9m per vessel.

Including the four newly acquired vessels, NAT will have 28 vessels on the water and two newbuildings. No equity offerings are planned in conjunction with this 30 vessel fleet.

The construction of the two newbuildings for delivery in 3Q2016 and 1Q2017 is on schedule.


For further accounting information, please see below. Our Annual Report 2015 on Form 20-F contains a large amount of information about NAT. This report was filed with the SEC March 23, 2016 and can be found on our web site www.nat.bm


Nordic American Tankers is very different from other tanker companies.

For a variety of reasons, NAT has an operating model that has proven itself to be sustainable in both a weak and a strong tanker market. Accretive fleet growth, low net debt per vessel and quarterly dividend payments are central elements of the strategy. NAT has one type of vessel - the Suezmax vessel - that can carry one million barrels of oil. A homogenous fleet reduces our operating costs, which helps to keep our cash-breakeven below $12,000 per day per vessel.


Financial Information

The Company declared a cash dividend of $0.43 on April 25, 2016, which is expected to be paid about May 27, 2016 to shareholders of record as of May 12, 2016. The number of NAT shares outstanding at the time of this report is 89,319,666. At this time the market capitalization of NAT is about $1.3 billion.

The Company's operating cash flow in 1Q2016 was $55.9m. In 4Q2015 and 1Q2015 operating cash flow was $57.2m and $51.0m, respectively.

Earnings per share (EPS) in 1Q2016 were $0.33. In 4Q2015 and 1Q2015 the EPS were $0.34 and $0.31, respectively. EPS does not take into account risk and as such, it could be a deceptive measure.

We had a total of 46 days offhire during the quarter, of which 28 days were planned offhire, related to a drydocking which commenced in December 2015. Of the 18 days of unplanned offhire, six days were due to technical reasons. The offhire includes positioning time to and from the ship yard. For the rest of 2016 eight vessels are expected to undergo drydocking.

As a matter of policy and in particular because of high volatility in the tanker market, NAT maintains a strong balance sheet with low net debt and is focusing on keeping low financial risk. At the end of 1Q2016, the Company had net debt of about $232m or about $8.9m per vessel.

The table on the right shows our net operating cash flow, stock liquidity and dividend over the last eight quarters. During 2015 and into 2016, the Company had significantly stronger cashflow than during the preceding years. Liquidity in the stock is high compared with other tanker companies.

Link to the graph: http://hugin.info/201/R/2010473/744153.pdf

Our primary objective is to enhance total return for our shareholders, including paying a quarterly dividend.

The Company has in place a non-amortizing credit facility of $500m maturing in December 2020, of which $315m has been drawn at the time of this report, and cash on hand is about $66m. Net working capital and undrawn amounts of the credit facility amount to about $282m.

For further details on our financial position for 1Q2016, 4Q2015 and 1Q2015, please see later in this release.

The G&A costs of NAT benefit from resource sharing with Nordic American Offshore Ltd. (NAO). As our respective fleets grow, both companies benefit. Further growth should result in lower costs on a per vessel basis. NAT's investment in NAO is accounted for using the equity method. The reduced level of the oil price has impacted the operations of NAO negatively. Currently, NAT's ownership in NAO is about 29%. The market value on the stock exchange of NAT's share in NAO is lower than the book value. We expect this to be temporary.


The Fleet

The Company will have a fleet of 30 vessels of which two are under construction. By way of comparison, in the autumn of 2004, the Company had three vessels. Our vessels are in excellent technical condition.

NAT is focused on maintaining top technical quality of the fleet. Our operational performance remains at the forefront of the industry. 1Q2016 inspections had an average of 2.1 observations which we consider an excellent result. NAT's performance can be considered industry best practice.

As reported earlier, in the arbitration case against Gulf Navigation Holding PJSC (GNH) regarding the Suezmax vessel Gulf Scandic (now named Nordic Harrier) NAT was awarded $10.2m plus interest and costs. GNH is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) stock exchange in Dubai.


World Economy and the Tanker Market

The development of the world economy affects the tanker industry. Seaborne imports of crude oil into the US have increased over the recent past. Imports to the Far East are steadily increasing. A low oil price is stimulating the world economy which is positive for the tanker market.

The Suezmax fleet (excl. shuttle tankers) counts 458 vessels at the end of 1Q2016, following an increase of three vessels so far this year.

A number of orders have been placed with the shipbuilders in the past year. The current orderbook stands at 96 vessels from now to late 2017. This represents about 21% of the Suezmax fleet. In 2009, the orderbook was at over 50% of the existing fleet. At the time of this report, the orderbook for 2016 counts 37 Suezmax vessels, with 32 vessels scheduled to be delivered in the second half of the year. However, we expect the real number of deliveries for 2016 to be lower.

Link to the graph: http://hugin.info/201/R/2010473/744153.pdf

The graph above shows the average yearly spot rates since 2000 as reported by R.S. Platou Economic Research a.s. The daily rates as reported by shipbrokers may vary significantly from the actual rates we achieve in the market, but these rates are in general an indication of the level of the market and its direction.


Corporate Governance/Conflict of Interests

It is vital for NAT to ensure that there is no conflict of interests among shareholders, management, affiliates and related parties. Interests must be aligned. From time to time in the shipping industry, we see that questionable transactions take place which are not in harmony with sound corporate governance principles, both as to transparency and related party aspects.


Strategy going forward

Our objective is to have a strategy that is flexible and has benefits in both a strong tanker market and a weak one. In an improved market, higher earnings and dividends can be expected. The Company is in a position to reap the benefits of strong markets. Over the last year the Company has improved its relative position. After an acquisition of vessels or other forms of expansion, our objective is for the Company to pay a higher dividend per share and produce higher earnings per share than had such an acquisition not taken place. In an opportunistic way NAT is assessing investments that can further build the Company.

Our dividend policy will continue to enable us to achieve a competitive, risk adjusted cash yield over time compared with that of other tanker companies.

NAT is firmly committed to protecting its underlying earnings and dividend potential. We shall endeavor to safeguard and further strengthen this position for our shareholders in a deliberate, predictable and transparent way.

We encourage prospective investors interested in the crude tanker sector to consider buying shares in NAT.

[R-BgO]

Hamilton, Bermuda, April 5, 2016

Dear Shareholder,

Nordic American Tankers continues to build on its strengths. 2015 was a great year for NAT, with the highest operating cash flow since we started in 1997. We achieved about $212 million in cash flow, or about one sixth of our current market cap. NAT is in a solid financial position, we have a strong balance sheet and we are positioning ourselves to grow and refresh the fleet.

We recently released our annual report for 2015 on Form 20-F. As with everything else at NAT, we try to keep our report simple and transparent. I would urge those with an interest in our company to read the report, since it contains far more information than we can include in our regular updates. Please see www.nat.bm for the report.

We have not conducted equity offerings in the past two years. During this period we have strengthened our position and the stock price has moved up. Further expansion will be more profitable to our shareholders when the time is right for new acquisitions.

The current fleet counts 26 vessels, including two newbuildings to be delivered in August this year and January 2017. These vessels will be funded via internal NAT resources. We are constantly assessing vessels offered to us, and you can rest assured we only move to grow when we feel the time is right. Our management does not have a fee incentive to grow indiscriminately. Some companies engage in such practices but at NAT we have always felt such conduct causes a misalignment between management and shareholders.

In the coming weeks we will release dividend information for the first quarter 2016. Dividends are a core part of the NAT strategy. We have paid dividends for the past 74 quarters and we aim at paying out many more dividends in the years to come. Our dividend policy has always been to have a floating dividend reflecting the performance of the company in the volatile shipping market.

Nordic American is proud to have an outstanding Board of Directors who determine the level of the dividend on a quarterly basis depending on our situation and our needs going forward, but with a focus on maximizing total return to shareholders. The facts speak for themselves, since we have created more shareholder value over time than any other company in the tanker industry.

Since the summer of 2014, the price of oil has dropped significantly. Many investors think this is bad news for the energy sector. We are not in the energy sector - a distinction that sometimes appears lost for investors who are looking at dozens or even hundreds of companies.

Investors must ask themselves "Why is the oil price low?" The simple answer is that there is too much oil. When there is too much oil, it must be shipped or stored, creating demand for oil tankers which is one key to understanding the strong results achieved in 2015.

We believe that some of the concern shown by investors revolves around what happens if the price of oil rebounds. A production cut seems unlikely at this point, and the driver behind an oil price recovery will be the growth in demand that we are seeing. This in turn keeps tanker demand high. It is true that the number of ships is expected to increase over the next couple of years. There is still plenty of work for tankers and the entry of new vessels into the fleet does not alter our general belief that the fundamentals remain positive going forward.

NAT has a cash break-even level of less than $12,000 a day per ship. This tells two stories. The first is that we are highly cost efficient and our solid balance sheet keeps interest payments to a minimum. The second is that our model is strong enough to sustain the volatility of the business we are in. Many others failed to take this into consideration and shareholders in such companies got badly hurt during weak tanker markets.

We are not concerned with discussions surrounding the age of some of our vessels. We are not in the business of constantly acquiring shiny new toys, because that really is not in the interest of shareholders. It is the difference between owning and maintaining a durable and dependable car and buying a new car every year just for the sake of showing off the latest model to your neighbors. Making money and generating returns, however, is what we always focus on. The question of age is brought up by those people who have never owned or operated a tanker.

It's a simple choice for us. We could sell two or three older tankers and use the proceeds to buy a new shiny one, which may earn a little more in the spot market. The problem is that we then have one ship instead of two or three. As the market stands today, and given the quality of our vessels and our relationships with our customers, there is nothing to suggest this would be right for our shareholders.

There is a point where the vessels become too costly to maintain or unattractive to customers, but that is not the reality we are dealing with. When considering an expansion, we always consider the expected lifetime return or unlevered IRR (Internal Rate of Return) of that ship. Sometimes markets are such that it would make sense to order a new ship from a shipyard, but that is not the situation we face today.

I hope that this letter serves to help investors better appreciate our thinking. Sometimes we have been told we are doing things wrong, uttered by people who in no quantifiable way are doing it better. Facts are facts, and the facts say we are the best in our industry when it comes to return on your investment.

I would like to personally thank all those investors who support us and take the time to write to us with their questions and feedback. Shareholder communication is an important part of what we do, and as always I welcome your comments at [e-mail]

Kind regards,
Herbjorn Hansson
Chairman & CEO

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 51.308.871 von R-BgO am 15.12.15 14:38:33

ups, der war falsch, es ging um NA offshore; dafür stimmt der hier wieder:

Hamilton, Bermuda, December 18, 2015.

In response to several questions to us, we wish to stress that Nordic American Tankers Limited (NAT) is a corporation with a large shareholder base. It is not a Master Limited Partnership (MLP).

We also wish to make it absolutely clear that NAT has no financial or operational relationships with MLPs.

Our dividend policy remains in place. NAT has paid dividend for 73 consecutive quarters since the autumn of 1997. The financial position of NAT is solid. The net debt stood at $6.8 million per ship at the end of the third quarter 2015.

The 4th quarter 2015 is progressing well. The tanker market is strong now, impacting the 4Q2015 results for NAT positively.

[R-BgO]

Hamilton, Bermuda, December 14, 2015

Dear shareholder,

It is good news for our platform supply vessels (PSV) in Nordic American Offshore that the short term spot market has improved in the last few weeks. All our ships operate in the spot market, where rates have hovered around $5,000 per day. As an example, this week we negotiated a rate for one of our PSVs about four times that level for a short voyage. There are fewer PSVs available right now because many of them have been laid-up given the market. Our modern and efficient ships have been operating all the time in this market.

We are always looking for bright spots on the horizon and this example of a strong improvement in rates is such a bright spot. It would be too optimistic to expect rates to continue to be this strong, but we welcome every contract we sign at these levels.

During the last few days I have personally bought about $500,000 worth of stock in NAO, which reflects my attitude about the company's prospects. Nordic American Tankers (NAT), where I am the Chairman and one of the largest shareholders, now owns about 26% of the shares in NAO, after NAT increased its holding from about 19% November 12, 2015.

Along with focus on dividend, it is a priority to ensure that NAO is in a solid financial position with low net debt.

I wish you all the best for Christmas and for the New Year!

Herbjorn Hansson
Executive Chairman
Nordic American Offshore Ltd.

[R-BgO]

Hamilton, Bermuda, August 26, 2015

Dear Shareholder,

Although not much time has passed since we released our 2Q2015 report, I would like to share a few points with you at this time. As we pointed out in our message to you in November 2014, a low oil price is good for the tanker industry. There is one main reason why the price of oil is down - and that is increased production and supply of crude oil. As it stands, demand is strong but high OPEC production has resulted in increased supply of oil. The strong tanker market in the last year or so reflects that reality, and thus we have experienced both an increase in the demand for our vessels and in the rates we are able to charge for our services. As of now, we expect the significant volumes of oil being transported to continue.

As we mentioned in our 2Q2015 report, the third quarter is off to a strong start. At this time we expect the result for the third quarter to be about in line with the results of the first and second quarter of 2015.

In the second quarter 2015, NAT generated $0.61 per share in net operating cashflow and declared a $0.40 per share dividend. Recent fluctuations in tanker rates seen in reports by brokers should be taken with a grain of salt and do not at all represent a difficult situation for suezmax tanker owners.

Once again, we would also point out the quality of our fleet. From time to time some observers talk about the age of a vessel, but quality is the most important aspect. Our vessels are in excellent technical condition, which is reflected in our vetting statistics - these are the results of inspections by our customers. Research analysts and financial bloggers do not charter our vessels; the oil majors do and they are very satisfied with the quality of our fleet. Recently, we announced the acquisition of two modern suezmax tankers, and we reiterate that we do not plan an equity offering in conjunction with these vessels or the newbuildings delivering in 2016/2017.

In my view, there is no basis in the tanker business for the wild gyrations we have seen in the stock market recently. Our conservative attitude with low debt will continue.

Finally, I would like to point out that you and I remain, quite literally, in the same boat. Recently, a company owned by myself and my family made a significant further investment in NAT, reflecting our confidence in both the company and the outlook for the industry. This is a case of management eating its own cooking, and confidence cannot be expressed more clearly than that. We are one of the largest shareholders in NAT.

[werthaltig]

Sehr schöne Studie anhand welcher man sowohl das Aufwärts- als auch das Abwärtspotential erkennen kann:

http://blog.vesselsvalue.com/vv-press-room/seeking-alpha-nor…

[werthaltig]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 50.039.490 von R-BgO am 24.06.15 11:36:31

Rendite+Chart

Neben der interessanten Dividendenrendite auch ein Mehrjahreshoch beim Chart...sieht auf dem Langfristchart so aus, als ob die Aktie im Herbst in den 20ern notieren könnte. Übrigens hat NAT die Anzahl seiner Pötte seit 2008 verdoppelt...von 12 auf 24. Wenn die Tankerraten weiterhin stabil bleiben sieht es entsprechend fantastisch aus...insbesondere dürfte NAT mittelfristig auch vom Iran-Atom-deal profitieren.




Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) - Declaration of dividend for the 72nd consecutive quarter. The first time was in October 1997

Hamilton, Bermuda, July 15, 2015

In connection with today`s dividend announcement of $0.40 per share for 2Q2015 we would like to communicate as follows: As advised the investor market June 25, 2015, the record date is July 29, 2015 and payment date is expected to be August 12, 2015.

The 2Q2015 earnings report is expected to be released Monday August 10, 2015 before NYSE opening.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/nordic-american-tankers-limite…

[R-BgO]

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) - Mid-year Letter to Shareholders from the Chairman & CEO.

Hamilton, Bermuda June 24, 2015

Dear Shareholder,

As we approach the halfway point of 2015, I'd like to share with you some of my views on the current state of the tanker market and on our business in general. We are in the midst of an interesting period during which the tanker market is showing positive developments, a point we discussed in our first quarterly report earlier this year.

The decline of the price of oil coupled with minimal tanker fleet growth are among the factors behind this gratifying development for Nordic American. In our previous communications to investors, we have talked about the trends in tanker demand and supply, trends that have helped make this market such a solid one.

Our business is sustainable both in strong and weak markets based upon simplicity, transparency and predictability. NAT has a very high degree of liquidity in the stock; at this time about 1.5 million shares are bought and sold every day. We have achieved such good results by sticking to our strategy, which can be summarized as follows:

Expansion of a homogeneous fleet
The payment of dividend every quarter
Limited debt and a strong balance sheet
Maintenance of a top quality fleet
Aligned interests between shareholders and management
A low cash breakeven point through effective management.

For the second quarter of 2015, we believe that NAT will achieve rates generally at the same level as in the first quarter of 2015. This should result in a strong dividend for 2Q2015 too, a dividend which will be announced in mid-July. As you know, we have retained some cashflow in recent quarters - this reflects our strategy of effectively managing risk and working towards the long term benefit of shareholders. Cash held back will contribute to the financing of fleet expansion.

We have two newbuildings joining the fleet in 2016 and 2017, adding further to our dividend and earnings capacity. In addition, we continue to assess acquisition opportunities. At the same time, the operational record of our fleet is excellent. The high technical standard of our suezmax fleet is underscored by the good vetting statistics that emerge from the inspection of our ships by clients. Our vessels are performing very well - underlining that it is not age, but quality that matters. The major oil companies strongly demand quality vessels, which is what NAT stands for. The NAT established brand is linked to safety for assets and for crews while at the same time we have a strong focus on protection of the environment.

Our steady relationship with a subsidiary of the US based oil giant ExxonMobil is now in its fourth year. In early June this year the cooperation was extended for an additional year. It is the type of freight agreement that is good for our client and for Nordic American.

Our strategy of maintaining a strong balance sheet and focusing on the quality of our operations and vessels is quite literally paying dividends. The company is in an excellent position to grow the fleet. The two newbuildings will not require further equity from the capital markets. Based on our strategy, NAT has the financial capacity to increase the fleet beyond 24 units, by a ship or two, without issuing stock.

We are resisting the temptation to make large fleet acquisitions. Those who have followed the NAT story for some time, know we prefer to grow in a considered and deliberate way. We see that some other players, both public and private, have suffered as a result of what I like to call gigantomania. Our approach to risk management is to take one step at a time, always considering the many pitfalls of large and complicated transactions.

We also avoid mergers for the same reasons. NAT is, and has always been, vastly different from other tanker companies. We believe that our lean model and focus on shareholder value is far superior to "empire building", which is often more for the benefit of management than shareholders. As one of the largest shareholders myself, please rest assured that you and I are all literally in the same boat. We believe 2015 is shaping up to be a great year for Nordic American.

I wish you and your families all the best for the summer. As always, please feel free to communicate your views to me at [e-mail]

Kind regards,
Herbjørn Hansson
Chairman & CEO