Danaos Corp (DAC) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Danaos Corporation conference call to discuss the financial results for the 3 months ending June 30, 2025. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. Hosting the call today is Dr. John Koustas, Chief Executive Officer of Danaos Corporation; and Mr. Evangelos Chatzis, Chief Financial Officer of Danaos Corporation. Dr. Koustas and Mr. Chatzis will be making some introductory comments, and then we will open the call to a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 Danaos Corporation 電話會議，討論截至 2025 年 6 月 30 日的 3 個月的財務業績。提醒一下，今天的通話正在錄音。今天主持電話會議的是 Danaos Corporation 執行長 John Koustas 博士和 Danaos Corporation 財務長 Evangelos Chatzis 先生。Koustas 博士和 Chatzis 先生將做一些介紹性評論，然後我們將進入問答環節。（操作員指示）請注意，此事件正在被記錄。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Evangelos Chatzis. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給 Evangelos Chatzis。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Before we begin, I quickly want to remind everyone that management's remarks this morning may contain certain forward-looking statements and that actual results could differ materially from those projected today. These forward-looking statements are made as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update them.

謝謝您，接線生。大家早安，感謝大家今天加入我們。在我們開始之前，我想快速提醒大家，管理階層今天上午的言論可能包含某些前瞻性陳述，實際結果可能與今天的預測有重大差異。這些前瞻性陳述是截至今天所做的，我們不承擔更新它們的義務。

Factors that might affect future results are discussed in our filings with the SEC, and we encourage you to review these detailed safe harbor and risk factor disclosures. Please also note that where we feel appropriate, we will continue to refer to non-GAAP financial measures such as EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, time charter equivalent revenues and time charter equivalent dollars per day to evaluate our business. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release, and accompanying materials.

我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中討論了可能影響未來結果的因素，我們鼓勵您查看這些詳細的安全港和風險因素揭露。另請注意，在我們認為適當的情況下，我們將繼續參考非 GAAP 財務指標（例如 EBITDA、調整後的 EBITDA、調整後的淨收入、定期租船等值收入和定期租船等值美元/天）來評估我們的業務。非 GAAP 財務指標與 GAAP 財務指標的對帳包含在我們的收益報告和隨附資料中。

With that, let me now turn the call over to Dr. John Koustas, who will provide the broad overview of the quarter. John?

現在，我將把電話轉給 John Koustas 博士，他將對本季的情況進行概述。約翰？

Thank you, Evangelos. Good morning, and thank you all for joining today's call to discuss our results for the second quarter of 2025. As we move through the second half of the year, some uncertainties around global trade are beginning to subside. In particular, there is increasing clarity about tariffs, many of which have been or are being finalized at much lower rates than feared.

謝謝你，埃萬傑洛斯。早安，感謝大家參加今天的電話會議，討論我們 2025 年第二季的業績。隨著進入下半年，全球貿易的一些不確定性開始消退。尤其是關稅問題日益明朗，許多關稅已經或即將以遠低於人們擔心的水平最終確定。

While tariffs on imports to the U.S. will be much higher than historic averages, the US economy is stable and the American consumer keeps purchasing foreign goods. As inventories normalize, we anticipate a gradual improvement in trade flows. Geopolitically, there have been no major shifts with the conflict in Ukraine and Gaza ongoing. The absence of further escalation is somewhat reassuring though the potential for volatility remains elevated. We continue to monitor developments closely, but we have not seen any new disruptions to global shipping routes in the past quarter.

儘管美國進口商品的關稅將遠高於歷史平均水平，但美國經濟穩定，美國消費者仍在繼續購買外國商品。隨著庫存恢復正常，我們預期貿易流量將逐步改善。地緣政治方面，烏克蘭和加薩衝突仍在繼續，沒有重大變化。儘管波動的可能性仍然很高，但局勢沒有進一步升級還是讓人感到安心。我們將繼續密切關注事態發展，但過去一個季度我們並未發現全球航運路線出現任何新的中斷。

Against this backdrop, we are maintaining our disciplined approach to capital allocation. We're not broadly participating in the current way of speculative ordering particularly in the feeder segment, where pricing appears disconnected from long-term fundamentals, and we're only pursuing investments that meet our return criteria.

在此背景下，我們將繼續保持嚴謹的資本配置方式。我們並沒有廣泛參與目前的投機性訂購方式，特別是在饋線部分，其中定價似乎與長期基本面脫節，我們只追求符合我們回報標準的投資。

In the second quarter, we added one additional 6,000 TEU vessels to our order book at a figure with which we have an existing relationship. Importantly, this vessel has already been fixed on a five-year charter to a long-standing client locking in visibility and attractive returns. Our chartering strategy continues to deliver results.

在第二季度，我們又在訂單簿上增加了一艘 6,000 TEU 船舶，該船舶與我們已有合作關係。重要的是，該船已與一位長期客戶簽訂了為期五年的租約，以鎖定可見性和可觀的回報。我們的租船策略繼續取得成果。

We added approximately $113 million to our contracted revenue backlog since the previous earnings release and our $3.6 billion total contracted revenue base provides meaningful installation from short-term market fluctuations. Our contracted charter coverage stands at 99% for 2025 and 88% for 2026, including new buildings scheduled for delivery during this period.

自上次發布收益報告以來，我們的合約收入積壓增加了約 1.13 億美元，而我們 36 億美元的總合約收入基礎為短期市場波動提供了有意義的安裝。我們的合約租船覆蓋率在 2025 年為 99%，在 2026 年為 88%，其中包括計劃在此期間交付的新建築。

On the Drybulk side, we saw some seasonal firming in the market, but broader weakness persists, largely due to deflationary conditions in China. While we continue to evaluate opportunities in the sector, asset value for modern tonnage remain elevated, and we are in no rush to commit capital in an uncertain macroeconomic environment.

在乾散貨方面，我們看到市場出現了一些季節性的走強，但整體疲軟態勢依然存在，這主要是由於中國的通貨緊縮狀況。雖然我們繼續評估該行業的機會，但現代噸位的資產價值仍然很高，而且我們並不急於在不確定的宏觀經濟環境中投入資本。

From a financial perspective, we remain in an enviable position. With minimal leverage and the growing base of contracted earnings, we have the luxury of patients. Our strong balance sheet and cash generation capacity provide ample firepower to support our strategic priorities and position Danaos for long-term success.

從財務角度來看，我們仍然處於令人羨慕的地位。憑藉最小的槓桿和不斷增長的合約收入基礎，我們擁有了獲得患者所需的奢侈。我們強大的資產負債表和現金創造能力提供了充足的火力來支持我們的戰略重點，並為 Danaos 的長期成功奠定基礎。

We continue to focus on disciplined execution, operational excellence and valued creation for our shareholders.

我們將繼續專注於嚴謹的執行、卓越的營運和為股東創造價值。

With that, I'll hand the call over back to Evangelos, who will take you through the financials for the quarter. Evangelos?

說完這些，我將把電話交還給 Evangelos，他將向您介紹本季的財務狀況。埃萬傑洛斯？

Thank you, John, and again, good morning to everyone, and thank you for joining this morning. I will briefly review the results for the quarter, and then we will open up the call to Q&A. We are reporting adjusted EPS for this quarter of $6.36 per share or $117 million compared to adjusted EPS of $6.78 per share or $132.3 million for the second quarter of 2024.

謝謝你，約翰，再次向大家問好，謝謝你們今天早上的參加。我將簡要回顧本季度的業績，然後我們將開始問答環節。我們報告本季調整後每股收益為 6.36 美元或 1.17 億美元，而 2024 年第二季調整後每股收益為 6.78 美元或 1.323 億美元。

This $15.3 million decrease in adjusted net income between the two quarters is mainly the combined result of a $24.7 million increase in total operating costs, mainly due to the increase in the average number of vessels in our fleet, a $3.6 million increase in net finance costs and a $2.7 million decrease in dividend income from investments, partially offset by a $15.9 million increase in operating revenues.

兩個季度之間調整後淨收入減少 1,530 萬美元，主要是由於總營運成本增加 2,470 萬美元所致，這主要是由於我們船隊中船舶平均數量增加、淨財務成本增加 360 萬美元以及投資股息收入減少 270 萬美元，但營運收入增加 1,590 萬美元部分抵消了這一影響。

On the revenue side, as analyzed in our earnings release, the increase in our fleet produced a combined $26.6 million of incremental operating revenues quarter-on-quarter, but was supplemented by an extra $2.8 million in higher operating revenues as a result of higher fleet utilization. Those were partially offset by an $8.2 million decrease in revenues on our container segment as a result of lower contracted charter rates between the 2 periods and $5.3 million lower noncash US GAAP revenue recognition accounting.

在收入方面，正如我們在收益報告中所分析的那樣，我們機隊的增加使季度環比營業收入增加了 2660 萬美元，但由於機隊利用率提高，營業收入又增加了 280 萬美元。由於兩個期間的合約租船費率較低，導致貨櫃部門收入減少 820 萬美元，且非現金美國 GAAP 收入確認會計減少 530 萬美元，因此部分抵銷了上述影響。

Vessel operating expenses increased by $9.3 million to $56.4 million in the current quarter from $47.1 million in the second quarter of 2024 mainly as a result of the increase in the average number of vessels in our fleet, while our daily operating cost increased to 7,556 per vessel per day for the current quarter compared to 6,961 per vessel per day in the second quarter of 2024.

本季船舶營運費用從 2024 年第二季的 4,710 萬美元增加 930 萬美元至 5,640 萬美元，主要原因是我們船隊中船舶的平均數量增加，而我們的每日營運成本從 2024 年第二季的每艘船每天 6,961 美元增加至本季每艘船每天 7,556 美元。

Our operating costs, however, we continue to remain among the most competitive in the industry. G&A expenses came in lower, slightly lower, decreased by $0.1 million to $11.2 million in the current quarter compared to $11.3 million in the second quarter of 2024. Interest expense, excluding finance cost amortization went up by $4.3 million to $8.9 million in the coming quarter compared to $4.6 million in the second quarter of 2024.

然而，我們的營運成本仍然保持著業界中最具競爭力的地位。本季的 G&A 費用略有下降，為 1,120 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季為 1,130 萬美元，減少了 10 萬美元。不包括財務成本攤銷的利息支出在下一季增加了 430 萬美元，達到 890 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季為 460 萬美元。

This increase is a combined result of an increase in our average indebtedness by $265 million between the two periods, that produced $3.5 million of incremental interest expense and that was partially offset by a reduction in the cost of debt service by approximately 90 basis points, 0.9%, mainly as a result of a decrease in sulfur costs between the two periods. We also had a $0.8 million increase in interest expense due to lower capitalized interest on vessels under construction between the two periods. At the same time, as a result of increased average cash balances, our interest income came in at $3.7 million in the current quarter, largely offsetting interest expense.

這一增長是由於兩個期間我們的平均債務增加了 2.65 億美元，產生了 350 萬美元的增量利息支出，但部分被債務服務成本的減少所抵消，減少了約 90 個基點，即 0.9%，這主要是由於兩個期間硫磺成本的下降。由於兩個時期內建造中的船舶的資本化利息較低，我們的利息支出也增加了 80 萬美元。同時，由於平均現金餘額增加，本季我們的利息收入達到 370 萬美元，基本上抵銷了利息支出。

Our adjusted EBITDA decreased by 0.5% or $0.8 million and came out to $176 million in the current quarter compared to $176.8 million in the second quarter of 2024 for reasons that have been already outlined earlier on this call.

我們的調整後 EBITDA 下降了 0.5% 或 80 萬美元，本季為 1.76 億美元，而 2024 年第二季為 1.768 億美元，原因已在本次電話會議中概述。

We also encourage you to review our updated investor presentation that is posted on our website as well as subsequent events disclosures. I'd like to mention a few of the highlights. Since the date of our last earnings release, we have added $113 million to our contracted revenue backlog. As a result, our backlog remains strong and now stands at $3.6 billion, with a 3.8-year average charter duration while contract coverage is at 99% for 2025 and 88% for 2026.

我們也鼓勵您查看我們網站上發布的最新投資者介紹以及後續事件披露。我想提一下其中的幾個亮點。自我們上次發布收益報告以來，我們的合約收入積壓訂單已增加 1.13 億美元。因此，我們的積壓訂單依然強勁，目前已達 36 億美元，平均租船期限為 3.8 年，而 2025 年的合約覆蓋率為 99%，2026 年的合約覆蓋率為 88%。

Within our investor presentation, you will find analytical disclosures on our contracted charter book. As of June 30, 2025, our net debt stood at $224 million. And in the current interest rate environment, this position changes from high interest costs. Additionally, the company's net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio stood at 0.3x, while 53 out of our 84 vessels in the water are currently unencumbered and debt free. We have declared a dividend of $0.85 per share for this quarter, and we continue to have $94.3 million remaining authority to repurchase stock under our $300 million share repurchase program.

在我們的投資者介紹中，您將找到有關我們合約章程的分析揭露。截至 2025 年 6 月 30 日，我們的淨債務為 2.24 億美元。而在目前的利率環境下，這一立場因高利率成本而改變。此外，該公司的淨負債與調整後 EBITDA 比率為 0.3 倍，而我們在水中的 84 艘船隻中，目前有 53 艘沒有抵押品和債務。我們已宣布本季每股派息 0.85 美元，根據我們 3 億美元的股票回購計劃，我們仍擁有 9,430 萬美元的剩餘股票回購權。

Finally, as of the end of the second quarter, cash stood at $546 million, while total liquidity, including availability under our revolving credit facility and multiple securities stood at $924 million, giving us ample flexibility to pursue accretive capital deployment opportunities.

最後，截至第二季末，現金為 5.46 億美元，而包括循環信貸額度和多種證券下的可用流動性在內的總流動性為 9.24 億美元，這為我們提供了充足的靈活性來尋求增值資本部署機會。

With that, I would like to thank you for listening to this first part of our call. Operator, we are now ready to open the call to Q&A.

最後，我要感謝大家收聽我們通話的第一部分。接線員，我們現在準備開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Omar Nokta of Jefferies.

傑富瑞的奧馬爾諾克塔。

Thank you. Hi, good afternoon, John and Evangelo.

謝謝。嗨，下午好，約翰和埃萬傑洛。

Thank you for the update. I just have a few questions. Perhaps maybe just first a bit on sort of the charter market. Clearly, you've added backlog here during the second quarter. It's obviously nice to see the backlog grow, although maybe the pace hasn't been as aggressive as we saw in the preceding 2 or 3 quarters. Just wanted to get a sense of how are you seeing the market now in terms of your charter demand. Has the pace of forward fixing slowed from your perspective? And then also, you do have a couple of ships that roll off charter. I think the one the CMA, the 6,500 TEU, they're rolling off in the next several months. I think there's options embedded. Is there -- are those being marketed? Or do you think those are going to be exercised?

感謝您的更新。我只是有幾個問題。或許首先我們來談談租船市場。顯然，您在第二季增加了積壓訂單。看到積壓訂單的成長顯然是件好事，儘管成長速度可能不像前 2 個或 3 個季度那麼快。我只是想了解一下，就包機需求而言，您如何看待目前的市場。從您的角度來看，前瞻性修復的步伐是否已經放緩？而且，您確實有幾艘船是租來的。我認為 CMA 的 6,500 TEU 輪將在未來幾個月內下水。我認為其中有嵌入的選項。有——這些正在行銷嗎？或者您認為這些將會被執行嗎？

Yeah. Omar, the market is pretty stable. Demand is there for all the ships. There are a number of ships that actually have options. So there's nothing much that we can do further. Most of the ships of this year are already being fixed. Minimal things for next year. And when we're talking about 2027, there is still interest for newer ships over there. That's why we fixed also this new building that latest one that we got for 2027 delivery. For the time being and bearing in mind that we don't foresee any change in the Red Sea passage at least for the second half of 2025. I don't expect any significant changes.

是的。奧馬爾，市場相當穩定。所有船舶都有需求。其實有很多船隻都有選擇。因此我們能做的不多了。今年的大部分船舶已在進行修理。明年的事情很少。當我們談論 2027 年時，那裡的人們仍然對新船感興趣。這就是為什麼我們也確定了這棟新建築，也就是我們計劃於 2027 年交付的最新建築。就目前而言，考慮到我們預計至少到 2025 年下半年紅海航道不會有任何變化。我並不期待任何重大變化。

Okay. And then maybe just in terms of capital allocation, clearly, as you mentioned, now as you are well positioned with a strong balance sheet, nice backlog, good amount of cash. As we think about just capital deployment from here, you're going to take you're not chasing anything. You have plenty of flexibility. In terms of the buyback, it looks like it's been put on pause to an extent at least since the last update. Is that a change in approach in terms of how you're looking at that? Or is it just simply perhaps be tactical just given how strong the share performance has been.

好的。然後也許只是在資本配置方面，顯然，正如您所提到的，現在您已經做好了準備，擁有強大的資產負債表、良好的積壓訂單和充足的現金。當我們從這裡考慮資本部署時，你不會追逐任何東西。您擁有足夠的靈活性。就回購而言，至少自上次更新以來，它似乎在一定程度上被暫停了。從您看待這個問題的角度來說，這是一種方法上的改變嗎？或者，考慮到股票表現如此強勁，這僅僅是戰術手段。

So it's just that when you see actually the stock appreciating really so much to continue buyback, would have shot the price up quite dramatically, which is not really to the interest of long-term shareholders. It would just be, let's say, used for flippers. And that is why we have paused the buyback. On the other hand, despite okay, the shipping being a kind of an independent market, we see that there is a lot of froth in the stock market all over the place. And everybody is talking about correction. So this is going to drag shipping companies as well during that correction. And that's why we are very cautious into just chasing the market upwards.

因此，當你看到股票真的會升值這麼多而繼續回購時，股價就會大幅上漲，這其實不符合長期股東的利益。可以說，它只是用來做鰭狀肢。這就是我們暫停回購的原因。另一方面，儘管航運是一個獨立的市場，但我們看到各地的股票市場都存在大量泡沫。每個人都在談論糾正。因此，這也將在調整期間拖累航運公司。這就是為什麼我們非常謹慎地追逐市場上漲。

Okay. Yes, that makes sense to understand. And then maybe just a final one, maybe perhaps Evangelos to you, you were talking about the higher cost as a result of having more ships. Also just the rate itself per day went up quarter-over-quarter. Is this kind of a new -- would you say is this a run rate going forward? Or should we assume kind of a bit more of a moderation towards prior averages?

好的。是的，這樣理解是有道理的。然後也許只是最後一個問題，也許埃萬傑洛斯 (Evangelos) 對您來說，您談論的是擁有更多船隻導致的成本更高。每日費率本身也比上一季上漲。這是一種新的——您認為這是未來的運行率嗎？或者我們應該假設與先前平均值相比有稍微緩和一點的趨勢？

Yeah. Thank you, Omar. To a great extent, it is a consumption because we had certain bulk orders placed within the second quarter. And obviously, you now see the quarterly figures shooting up, but this is going to normalize as we head towards 9 months of full year numbers.

是的。謝謝你，奧馬爾。很大程度上這是一種消耗，因為我們在第二季下達了一定批量的訂單。顯然，您現在看到季度數據飆升，但隨著我們接近 9 個月的全年數據，這種情況將會正常化。

Okay good alright well thank you guys. I'll turn it back.

好的，很好，謝謝大家。我會把它轉回去。

Climent Molins, Value Investor's Edge.

克萊門特·莫林斯，價值投資者的優勢。

Hi, good afternoon. Thank you for taking my questions. In the prepared remarks, you had a comment on feeder ships speculative orders. Your fleet renewal program has mostly focused on vessels above 6,000 TEU, where you could secure long-term contracts. But could you...

嗨，下午好。感謝您回答我的問題。在準備好的評論中，您對支線船投機性訂單發表了評論。您的船隊更新計劃主要集中在 6,000 TEU 以上的船舶上，您可以獲得長期合約。但你能...

Well, definitely a shortage of ship always provide a tailwind, but the thing is with feeders, it's very difficult to get long-term contracts unless you give pretty low rates. Because charterers can find the ships relatively easily, and they don't want to commit long term. On the other hand, there are lots of things happening. I mean, with all the new increased fuel costs, people will try to upsize services in order to get economies of scale and lower the cost per TEU mile on a larger ship and also bearing in mind that today, the new generation of ships is much shorter and can go in most of the ports that the feeder ships can go.

嗯，船舶短缺肯定總是會帶來順風，但問題是，對於支線船來說，除非你給出相當低的費率，否則很難獲得長期合約。因為租船人可以相對容易找到船隻，而且他們不想長期租船。另一方面，有很多事情正在發生。我的意思是，隨著燃料成本的不斷增加，人們將嘗試擴大服務規模，以獲得規模經濟並降低大型船舶每 TEU 英里的成本，同時還要記住，如今新一代船舶更短，可以停靠支線船舶可以停靠的大多數港口。

Will really reduce that kind of demand. That's why we don't want really to overextend at prices which are rather expensive.

確實會減少這種需求。這就是為什麼我們不想以過高的價格過度擴張。

Makes sense. That's very interesting color. I also wanted to ask about your most recent newbuild addition, which has a scheduled delivery in 2027. Could you talk a bit about how you managed to get such a prompt delivery? Is it a resell? Or was it a function of your relationship with the yard?

有道理。那顏色非常有趣。我還想詢問一下你們最近的新建船舶，預計在 2027 年交貨。您能否談談如何實現如此迅速的交貨？是轉售嗎？還是這是你與船廠關係的結果？

It was purely a relationship with the yard. They adjusted their kind of their schedules, and there was one available birth and of course, as we were building in this yard, we were the first ones that they approached. And we concluded practically within a day a new contract. And then, of course, we went out and we chartered the vessel. But we didn't tie the ordering of the ship with the charter, which is what most people are trying to do.

這純粹是與院子的關係。他們調整了自己的日程安排，並且有一個可以分娩的孩子，當然，當我們在這個院子裡建造時，我們是他們聯繫的第一個人。我們幾乎在一天之內就簽訂了一份新合約。然後，當然，我們就出去租了船。但我們並沒有將船舶訂購與租船聯繫起來，而大多數人都試圖這樣做。

Makes sense. That's helpful. That's all for me. Thank you for taking my questions.

有道理。這很有幫助。對我來說就這些了。感謝您回答我的問題。

It appears we have no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the call back over to Dr. Koustas for any further comments or closing remarks.

目前看來我們沒有其他問題。我想將電話轉回給 Koustas 博士，讓他發表進一步的評論或結束語。

Yeah. Thank you all for joining this conference call and your continued interest in our story. Look forward to hosting you on our next earnings call.

是的。感謝大家參加本次電話會議並持續關注我們的故事。期待在下次收益電話會議上接待您。

This concludes today's teleconference. We would like to thank everyone for their participation. Have a wonderful afternoon.

今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝大家的參與。祝您下午愉快。