Earnings Call Transcripts
Operator: Thank you for standing by, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Costamare Bulkers Holdings Limited Conference Call on the First Quarter 2026 Financial Results. We will have with us Mr. Gregory Zikos, Chief Executive Officer of the company. [Operator Instructions] I must advise you that this conference is being recorded today, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. We would like to remind you that this conference call contains forward-looking statements. Please take a moment to read Slide #2 of the presentation, which contains the forward-looking statements. And I will now pass the floor to your speaker today, Mr. Zikos. Please go ahead.
Gregory Zikos: Thank you, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. During the first quarter of the year, Costamare Bulkers generated an adjusted net income of $12.4 million. As of today, we have successfully transferred a majority of the company's legacy trading portfolio pursuant to our deal with Cargill, effectively derisking our balance sheet. We expect that our trading platform will be free of the remaining legacy trades by year-end. As part of our fleet renewal program, we recently concluded the sale of 2011-built Capesize vessel and the acquisition of 2018-built Ultramax. At the same time, we accepted delivery of newbuilding Kamsarmax chartered in for a minimum period of 5 years. The vessel has been chartered out at a profitable rate for a minimum period of 11 months. With total cash of about $270 million and debt of circa $140 million, the company is net cash positive, positioning us favorably to grow countercyclically in a lower asset value environment. Regarding the market, during the first 4 months of the year, the market exhibited elevated volatility relative to historical averages, driven by increased activity and inefficiencies, while geopolitical instability contributed additional uncertainty. Capesize earnings were supported by robust iron ore and bauxite volumes, coupled with limited fleet growth. Ton-mile demand was further reinforced by the expansion of the West Africa-China trade flows across both commodities. Alongside the firm Capesize market and broadly positive dry bulk sentiment, the Panamax Index was further supported by a record soybean harvest in Brazil as well as the U.S.-China agreement reached at the end of '25, which drove long-haul soybean shipments during the first quarter. Finally, the Supramax segment recorded a solid start to the year as increased grain and minor bulk flows offset the negative impact of the Strait of Hormuz closure, which reduced Persian Gulf export volumes by approximately 50%. Moving now to the slide presentation. On Slide 3, you can see our Q1 results. Net income for the period was $9.9 million or $0.41 per share. Adjusted net income was $12.4 million or $0.51 per share. By the end of Q1, total cash exceeded debt by approximately $127 million. As part of our fleet renewal strategy, we concluded the acquisition of 2018-built Ultramax vessel and took delivery of a newbuilding Kamsarmax. This newbuilding is chartered in for a minimum 5-year period with extension and purchase options and has already been chartered out for 1 year at profitable levels. Another newbuilding Kamsarmax is expected to be delivered under a long-term chartering agreement with similar options. Finally, we have concluded the sale of one Capesize vessel with capital gains of approximately $7 million. Slide 5. The transfer of the trading book to Cargill is substantially complete with only 1 vessel remaining to be novated. We have derisked to a large extent our balance sheet and expect that by year-end, we will not have any remaining legacy positions. Our operating platform is currently focused on the Kamsarmax segment and consists of 20 third-party-owned dry bulk vessels. Slide 6. Regarding the owned vessels, most of the fleet is employed on index-linked period charter agreements with the option to convert to a fixed rate. And finally, moving to Slide 7. Charter rates strengthened during Q1 '26 with further upside momentum since April. The vessel -- the new vessel order book stands at 13.5%. With that, we conclude our presentation, and we can now take questions. Thank you. Operator, we can take questions now.
Operator: There are no questions at this time. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Zikos for any closing remarks.
Gregory Zikos: Thank you for dialing in, in today's quarterly results call. We're looking forward to speaking with you again during the second quarter 2026 results. Thank you.
Operator: You may now disconnect.