Nordic American Tankers (NYSE 972 0 Kommentare NAT) - The 3rd Quarter 2017 report

Link to the complete 3rd Quarter 2017 report:
http://hugin.info/201/R/2147194/823452.pdf

Hamilton, Bermuda, November 3, 2017

Nordic American Tankers today reported unaudited results for the three months ended September 30, 2017:

Highlights:

On October 19, 2017, we announced our 81^st consecutive quarterly dividend distribution. As expected, the 3^rd quarter of 2017 proved challenging. As previously announced, earnings on our ships were lower than in the preceding quarters. The TCE (timecharter equivalent) for 3Q2017 was $10,600 per day per ship. During the quarter we had eight vessels in scheduled drydocking. This concludes our drydocking program for 2017. At this point in the 4^th quarter, we see a strengthening of tanker rates with recent fixtures at $20,000 per day. The tanker environment may change quickly and unexpectedly, up or down.
NAT is financially sound. We are in the process of making the capital structure of NAT even more efficient in order to retain our flexibility and to further grow the Company. Our net debt^[1] at the end of 3Q2017 stood at about $341.5m equal to about $11.4m per vessel, which is among the lowest in the industry.
We have signed the main terms with a major financial institution for a full financing arrangement of our three newbuildings for delivery in June, August and October 2018, respectively. We expect to be able to announce the final agreement later this month.
During the third quarter, we signed four Time Charter contracts with major oil companies. The contracts have various durations, up to two years, with floor rates above our cash break-even and profit sharing mechanisms, securing employment for these ships while maintaining potential upside benefits.
NAT enjoys a significant upside potential when the market improves. The historic average market rate for the last 25 years was about $30,000 per day per Suezmax vessel. Such earnings could give the basis for a dividend of about $2.00 per share per year, provided full pay-out. This would create a solid dividend yield. As of today, a $2.00 annual dividend would represent a yield north of 40%.
Recently, we have seen comprehensive discussions about the new sulphur requirements for bunker consumption on ships to be in effect from 2020. Our 33 Suezmax tankers are fully compliant to run on 0.10% sulphur content or less. Such low sulphur fuel is available in the market. Therefore, going forward we do not see that this new requirement is an issue for NAT.
The Net result for 3Q2017, (after depreciation and finance charges), was -$34.3m . In 2Q2017 the Net result was -$15.9m. The Adjusted Net Operating Loss^[2] was -$0.7m (Ebitda) for 3Q2017. In 2Q2017 the Adjusted Net Operating Earnings were $15.2m .