Nordic American Tankers Ltd (NYSE

NAT) – Report June 30, 2023 - First half 2023 – The direction of NAT is up

 

Monday, August 28, 2023

 

Dear Shareholders and Investors,

Please see HIGHLIGHTS and the enclosed report for first half of 2023.

Highlights: 
           

1. The net income for the first half of 2023 is in excess of $100 million higher than for the same period last year. The net income for the first six months of 2023 totaled $73.7 million compared to the net loss of -$30.9 million during the first six months of 2022. The direction of NAT is unquestionably on the upward path. The numbers for the second quarter of 2023 are included later in this report.
   
   
2. It has been decided that the dividend for the second quarter of 2023 will be 13 cents ($0.13) per share, up from a 3 cent dividend in  the same quarter last year. The dividend is payable October 5, 2023 to shareholders of record as of September 14, 2023. So far in 2023 NAT has declared 43 cents in dividends per share. Higher earnings will result in higher dividends.
   
   
3. The average Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) for our spot vessels (15) during the Second quarter of 2023 came in at $43,200 per day per ship. Including vessels on term contracts (4), the total average NAT TCE was $39,300 per day per ship. During the same quarter last year the TCE was $20,080 per day per ship. This is one of the strongest second quarter TCE’s ever achieved in NAT’s 28-year history.
   
   
4. Bookings for the third quarter are also on track, indicating a historically strong third quarter. About 57% of our spot voyage days for the third quarter of 2023 have now been booked at an average TCE of $34,800 per day per ship. There is a scarcity of our type of ships, leading to better results and higher dividend. 
   
   
5. Oil demand continues to be strong. Higher interest rates combined with higher oil prices have kept oil inventories low and leaves a limited buffer ahead of the winter. War,  Political uncertainty, a fragmented trade picture and a tight supply of ships offer a set of  interesting dynamics ahead for the NAT oil tankers.
   
   
6. NAT has one of the lowest debt levels among publicly listed tanker companies. Our net debt stood at $159.8 million equal to $8.4 million per ship at June 30, 2023. The objective of NAT clearly remains to become free of debt.
   
   
7. The NAT fleet of versatile suezmax tankers offers flexibility in loading and discharging ports. Through careful voyage planning and adjustment of speed of our vessels is reducing emissions. Irrespective of age, each individual ship in the NAT fleet is of excellent technical quality, as demonstrated in the vetting statistics.