Danaos Corp (DAC) 2025 Q4 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 ended December 31, 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.

大家好，歡迎參加 Danaos 公司電話會議，討論截至 2025 年 12 月 31 日的三個月的財務業績。再次提醒，今天的通話將會被錄音。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。

Dr. Koustas and Mr. Chatzis will be making some introductory comments, and then we will open the call to a question-and-answer session.

Koustas 博士和 Chatzis 先生將作一些介紹性發言，然後我們將開放問答環節。

Thank you, operator, and good morning to everyone, and thank you for joining us today.

謝謝接線員，大家早安，謝謝各位今天收看我們的節目。

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.

在開始之前，我想快速提醒大家，管理階層今天早上的演講可能包含一些前瞻性陳述，實際結果可能與今天預測的結果有重大差異。

These forward-looking statements are made as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update them. Factors that might affect future results are discussed in our filings with the SEC, and we encourage you to review the detailed safe harbor and risk factor disclosures.

這些前瞻性聲明僅代表截至今日的觀點，我們不承擔更新這些聲明的義務。可能影響未來績效的因素已在提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中進行了討論，我們鼓勵您仔細閱讀詳細的安全港條款和風險因素揭露。

Please also note that where we feel appropriate, we will continue to refer to non-GAAP financial measures such as EBITDA, a trusted EBITDA, a trusted net income, time charter equivalent revenues, and time charter equivalent dollars per day to evaluate our business.

另請注意，在我們認為適當的情況下，我們將繼續參考非公認會計準則財務指標，例如 EBITDA、可信任 EBITDA、可信任淨收入、期租等效收入和每日期租等效美元，來評估我們的業務。

Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release and accompanying materials.

非GAAP財務指標與GAAP財務指標的調節表已包含在我們的獲利報告及隨附資料中。

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

接下來，我將把電話交給約翰·庫斯塔斯博士，他將對本季進行總體概述。

Thank you, Evangelos. Good morning, and thank you all for joining today's call to discuss our results for the fourth quarter of 2025. In this quarter, it became evident that the business community continues to adapt quickly to geopolitical disruptions. Despite concerns that tariff and geopolitical uncertainty would cause a US slowdown, it has not materialized.

謝謝你，埃萬傑洛斯。早安，感謝各位參加今天的電話會議，共同討論我們 2025 年第四季的業績。本季度，商業界繼續快速適應地緣政治動盪的趨勢已顯而易見。儘管人們擔心關稅和地緣政治的不確定性會導緻美國經濟放緩，但這種情況並未發生。

At the same time, the hype around AI-related investment has increased optimism. China's export continued to set new records and consequently, container volumes have reached record highs. With the Suez Canal still largely avoided by major liners and trade patterns increasingly transforming to multipolar, demand for midsized vessel has remained very strong. Against this background, we continued our strategy of securing long-term employment for our existing vessels through forward fixtures by either extending existing charters or by new charters even for late '27 deliveries. We also continue to invest in modern container vessels.

同時，圍繞人工智慧相關投資的熱潮也增強了人們的樂觀情緒。中國的出口持續創下新紀錄，因此，貨櫃吞吐量也達到了歷史新高。由於大型班輪仍大多避開蘇伊士運河，且貿易格局日益向多極化轉變，對中型船舶的需求依然非常強勁。在此背景下，我們繼續採取策略，透過遠期租約確保現有船舶的長期就業，包括延長現有租約或簽訂新的租約，甚至包括 2027 年底交付的船舶。我們也會繼續投資建造現代化貨櫃船。

We ordered six 1,800 TEU vessels, four 5,300 TEU vessels and two 211,000 deadweight Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels for deliveries in 2028 and 2029. We have secured 10-year charters for four of these vessels, and the company's total contract revenue increased to $4.3 billion as of the end of the quarter, giving us great earnings visibility into the future from which we derive comfort on our ability to manage any eventual future market developments.

我們訂購了六艘 1800 TEU 的船舶、四艘 5300 TEU 的船舶和兩艘 211,000 載重噸的紐卡斯爾型乾散貨船，將於 2028 年和 2029 年交付。我們已為其中四艘船舶簽訂了 10 年租約，截至本季度末，公司總合約收入增至 43 億美元，這使我們對未來的盈利前景有了清晰的了解，也讓我們有信心應對未來可能出現的任何市場變化。

On the financing front, we completed a seven-year $500 million unsecured bond offering at 6.875% coupon, one of the most competitively priced deals ever achieved in the shipping industry for an unsecured bond of such tenor, further diversifying the capital structure and reaffirming our access to the deep and liquid international debt capital markets. Our liquidity at year-end reached $1.4 billion. Backed by a strong financial profile, we have begun exploring selective investments in the energy sector to broaden revenue sources and expand the LNG business.

在融資方面，我們完成了一筆為期七年、金額為 5 億美元的無擔保債券發行，票面利率為 6.875%，這是航運業迄今為止此類期限無擔保債券中最具競爭力的價格交易之一，進一步實現了資本結構的多元化，並重申了我們進入流動性強、規模龐大的國際債務資本市場的管道。截至年底，我們的流動資金達到14億美元。憑藉著雄厚的財務實力，我們已開始探索在能源領域進行選擇性投資，以擴大收入來源並擴大液化天然氣業務。

In this context, Danaos became a strategic investor in the Alaska LNG project, providing access to LNG transportation opportunities associated with a facility planned to produce 20 million tons per annum. The company remains focused on positioning itself at the forefront of shipping and energy growth areas for the benefit of our shareholders. With that, I'll hand the call over back to Evangelos, who will take you through the financials for the quarter.

在此背景下，達納奧斯成為阿拉斯加液化天然氣項目的戰略投資者，為該項目提供了與計劃年產量為 2000 萬噸的設施相關的液化天然氣運輸機會。公司將繼續專注於在航運和能源成長領域保持領先地位，以造福股東。接下來，我將把電話轉回給埃萬傑洛斯，他將為大家介紹本季的財務狀況。

Thank you, John, and good morning again. I will briefly review the results for the quarter and then open up the call to Q&A. We are reporting adjusted EPS for the fourth quarter of 2025 of $7.14 per share or adjusted net income of $131.2 million compared to adjusted EPS of $6.93 per share or adjusted net income of $133.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2024.

謝謝你，約翰，再次祝你早安。我將簡要回顧本季業績，然後開放問答環節。我們報告稱，2025 年第四季調整後每股收益為 7.14 美元，或調整後淨收入為 1.312 億美元，而 2024 年第四季調整後每股收益為 6.93 美元，或調整後淨收入為 1.333 億美元。

This $2.1 million decrease in adjusted net income between the two quarters is the combined result of a $6.6 million increase in total operating costs, mainly due to the increase in the average number of vessels in our fleet, a $2.1 million legacy claim receipt that was booked in the fourth quarter of last year with no such booking in the current quarter.

這兩個季度之間調整後的淨收入減少了 210 萬美元，這是由於總營運成本增加了 660 萬美元（主要是由於船隊平均船舶數量增加）以及去年第四季度確認的 210 萬美元歷史索賠收入（本季度沒有確認）共同造成的。

A $1.8 million decrease in dividend income, together with a $0.1 million increase in equity loss on investments, all of those partially offset by an increase of $8.1 million in operating revenues and a $0.4 million decrease in net finance expenses.

股息收入減少了 180 萬美元，投資權益損失增加了 10 萬美元，但這些都被營業收入增加了 810 萬美元和淨財務費用減少了 40 萬美元部分抵消。

The increase in our containership fleet produced $5.2 million of incremental operating revenues that were supplemented by an extra $10.5 million of incremental revenues as a result of higher fleet utilization between the two periods and $2.2 million in additional revenues as a result of higher charter income of our dry bulk fleet.

我們貨櫃船隊的增加帶來了 520 萬美元的額外營運收入，由於兩個時期之間船隊利用率的提高，又增加了 1050 萬美元的額外收入，此外，由於乾散貨船隊的租船收入增加，還增加了 220 萬美元的額外收入。

Those were partially offset by a decrease of $7.8 million in revenues of our container segment as a result of lower contracted charter rates and $2 million lower noncash US GAAP revenue recognition. Vessel operating expenses increased by $2.8 million to $48.4 million in the current quarter from $54.6 million in the corresponding fourth 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 $6,377 per vessel per day for the current quarter compared to $6,135 per vessel per day in the fourth quarter of 2024.

這些損失部分被貨櫃業務收入減少 780 萬美元（由於合約租船費率降低）和美國通用會計準則非現金收入確認減少 200 萬美元所抵銷。本季船舶營運費用從 2024 年第四季的 5,460 萬美元增加 280 萬美元至 4,840 萬美元，主要原因是船隊平均船舶數量增加；同時，本季每日營運成本從 2024 年第四季的 6135 美元增加至每艘船舶每天 6,377 美元。

Our operating costs continue to remain among the most competitive in the industry. G&A expenses increased by $6.7 million to $28.4 million in the current quarter compared to $21.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, and this is mainly attributed to incremental stock and cash bonus awards of $6.6 million. Interest expense, excluding finance cost amortization, increased by $4.2 million to $13.4 million in the current quarter compared to $9.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

我們的營運成本持續保持在業界最具競爭力的水平。本季一般及行政費用增加 670 萬美元，達到 2,840 萬美元，而 2024 年第四季為 2,170 萬美元，主要歸因於新增股票和現金獎金 660 萬美元。本季利息支出（不包括融資成本攤提）比 2024 年第四季的 920 萬美元增加了 420 萬美元，達到 1,340 萬美元。

This increase is the combined result of a $5.8 million increase in interest expense due to an increase in our average indebtedness of around $400 million between the two periods, partially offset by a reduction in the cost of debt service by approximately 50 basis points, mainly as a result of a decrease in software costs between the two periods. This was partially offset by a $1.6 million decrease in interest expense due to higher capitalized interest on vessels under construction between the two periods.

這一增長是由於兩個時期內平均債務增加約 4 億美元，導致利息支出增加 580 萬美元，部分被債務償還成本降低約 50 個基點所抵消，這主要是由於兩個時期內軟體成本下降所致。但這部分被利息支出減少 160 萬美元所抵消，因為這兩個時期之間在建船舶的資本化利息較高。

At the same time, interest income came in at $8.5 million in the current quarter versus $3.9 million of interest income for the fourth quarter of 2024 due to the increased average cash balances, partially offset by lower interest rates.

同時，由於平均現金餘額增加，本季利息收入為 850 萬美元，而 2024 年第四季利息收入為 390 萬美元，但部分被較低的利率所抵銷。

Adjusted EBITDA increased by 0.2% or $0.3 million to $190 million in the current quarter from $189.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 for reasons that have already been outlined earlier on this call. We also encourage you to review our updated investor presentation that is posted on our website as well as subsequent event disclosures. Let me lay out a few of the highlights.

由於先前已在本電話會議上概述的原因，本季調整後 EBITDA 成長 0.2% 或 0.3 百萬美元，達到 1.9 億美元，而 2024 年第四季為 1.897 億美元。我們也鼓勵您查看我們網站上發布的最新投資者簡報以及後續事件揭露資訊。讓我概括一下其中的幾個要點。

Since the date of our last earnings release, we have added $428 million to our contracted revenue backlog. As a result, our contract backlog from containerships has considerably improved and now stands at $4.3 billion with a 4.3-year average charter duration.

自我們上次發布收益報告以來，我們的合約收入積壓增加了 4.28 億美元。因此，我們的貨櫃船合約積壓情況已大幅改善，目前已達 43 億美元，平均租期為 4.3 年。

Contract coverage is already at 100% for 2026, stands at 87% for 2027, while even for 2028, we are already 64% contracted in terms of operating days. Our investor presentation has analytical disclosure on our contracted charter book. As of December 31, 2025, our net debt stood at $141 million, and this translates to a ratio of net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 0.2 times while 61 out of our 85 vessel fleet are unencumbered and debt-free with an extra 16 vessels that are encumbered as being secured into our revolving credit facility, but are also debt-free since we haven't made any drawdowns under this facility.

2026 年的合約覆蓋率已達 100%，2027 年為 87%，而 2028 年的營運天數也已達 64%。我們的投資者簡報中包含有關我們已簽訂包機合約的分析揭露資訊。截至 2025 年 12 月 31 日，我們的淨負債為 1.41 億美元，淨負債與調整後 EBITDA 的比率為 0.2 倍。我們 85 艘船隊中有 61 艘沒有抵押物且無債務，另有 16 艘船因已作為抵押物納入我們的循環信貸安排而受到抵押，但由於我們尚未從該安排中提取任何資金，因此這些船舶也沒有債務。

We have declared a dividend of $0.90 per share for this quarter. We continue to execute under our share repurchase program, and we currently have $65 million remaining authority to repurchase stock under our $300 million share repurchase program.

本季我們宣布派發每股 0.90 美元的股息。我們將繼續執行股票回購計劃，目前我們還有 6,500 萬美元的股票回購授權，該計劃總額為 3 億美元。

Finally, as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, cash stood at $1 billion, while total liquidity, and that includes availability under our revolving credit facility and marketable securities stood at $1.4 billion, giving us ample flexibility to pursue accretive capital deployment opportunities. With that, I would like to thank you for listening to this first part of our call.

最後，截至 2025 年第四季末，現金為 10 億美元，而總流動性（包括循環信貸額度和有價證券下的可用資金）為 14 億美元，這使我們能夠靈活地尋求增值資本部署機會。最後，感謝各位收聽我們通話的第一部分。

Operator, we are now ready to open the call to Q&A.

接線員，我們現在可以開始問答環節了。

(Operator Instructions).

（操作說明）

Omar Nokta, Clarksons Platou Securities.

Omar Nokta，克拉克森普拉圖證券公司。

Thank you. Hey, John Evangelios, another solid update--

謝謝。嘿，約翰·埃萬傑利奧斯，又收到一份可靠的更新——

Congratulations on your, the continuation of your career.

恭喜你職涯的繼續。

Yes. So I just wanted to just ask about the business is obviously on solid footing. And with the backlog expanding, continuing to have plenty of flexibility. And just wanted to ask maybe if you could just touch a little bit more on the Alaska LNG project. As we understand it, they now will be the provider of choice of ships for the project.

是的。所以我只是想問一下，這家公司顯然根基穩固。隨著積壓案件的增加，我們需要繼續保持足夠的彈性。我只是想問一下，您能否再稍微談談阿拉斯加液化天然氣計畫？據我們了解，他們現在將成為該項目船舶的首選供應商。

What do you expect in terms of project timing of when a decision is made, the number of ships that you'd be able to bring to the project? And then maybe a sense of duration of the charters if those come about?

就專案進度而言，您預計何時做出決定，以及能夠為該專案投入多少艘船舶？然後，如果真的有包機的話，或許還能了解一下包機的持續時間？

Well the current time line is for completion of the projects in 2030. In terms of number of ships, there's going to be between 6 and 10 ships required for these volumes. It depends a bit also on the exact routing where these ships are going to be employed, but it's going to be definitely from Alaska to the Far East. But of course, it's different if it's, let's say, North in Korea or a bit more south towards Thailand area.

目前計劃的項目完成時間為 2030 年。就船舶數量而言，這些貨量需要 6 到 10 艘船。這在一定程度上也取決於這些船隻的具體航線，但可以肯定的是，航線是從阿拉斯加到遠東。當然，如果是在北韓北部，或者更南邊的泰國地區，情況就不同了。

So all that will play out a bit later. And we'll need to start really placing orders practically in about a couple of years' time. In terms of duration, this project is -- really it's a very long-term project. We're talking about employment 10, 20 years, something like.

所以這一切稍後才會揭曉。大約兩年後，我們需要真正開始實際下訂單了。就持續時間而言，這個計畫確實是一個非常長期的計畫。我們說的是10年、20年左右的就業。

Okay. That's helpful. So we'll see how things develop on that front. And then just a second question, and I'll pass it back. The Newcastlemax orders are interesting, and they come here after two years or three years of you having invested in the existing Cape fleet.

好的。那很有幫助。所以，我們將拭​​目以待，看看這方面的情況如何發展。最後一個問題，問完我就把問題轉回去。紐卡斯爾型船的訂單很有意思，它們是在你投資現有開普敦船隊兩到三年後到來的。

How should we think about further orders from here? Should we expect a series to come? And then how are you thinking about those vessels as they join your fleet? Are they additive to what you have currently? Or are you kind of thinking about them being replacement?

我們該如何考慮接下來的訂單安排？我們可以期待會有系列劇嗎？那麼，當這些艦艇加入您的艦隊時，您是如何看待它們的呢？它們能與您目前擁有的資源疊加使用嗎？或者你是不是在考慮把它們當作替代品？

Well, replacement, the fleet that we have now is, let's say, average, whatever the Capesize fleet around 14 years old. So okay, these ships, they can trade easily until 20 years and in some trades, even longer.

嗯，說到替換，我們現在的船隊，可以說是中等水平，大概是好望角型船隊，船齡約 14 年。好的，這些船隻可以輕鬆進行貿易長達 20 年，在某些貿易中，甚至更久。

On the other hand, we wanted to expand in this segment and secondhand prices have gone dramatically up. And we decided really to move into the new buildings because we believe it's a much better value proposition.

另一方面，我們想拓展這個領域，但二手商品價格卻大幅上漲。我們最終決定搬進新大樓，因為我們認為這更具性價比。

Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, well, very good. Thank, thanks, John. Thanks, Evangelos. I appreciate your comments. Great, I'll turn it back. Thank.

嗯，有道理。好的，很好。謝謝你，約翰。謝謝你，埃萬傑洛斯。感謝您的評論。太好了，我這就把它退回去。感謝。

Climent Molins, Value Investor's.

克萊門特·莫林斯，價值投資者。

I wanted to start by following up on Omar's question on the Newcastlemax orders. Delivery is still a few years away, but should we initially expect those vessels to trade on spot -- because there has reportedly been some interest in recent weeks for long-term contracts on the Newcastlemax side. Would there be any interest to fix these two vessels on those contracts?

我想先跟進一下奧馬爾關於紐卡斯爾麥克斯訂單的問題。交付還有幾年時間，但我們最初是否應該預期這些船舶會進行現貨交易——因為據報道，最近幾週紐卡斯爾型船方面出現了一些對長期合約的興趣。是否有人有興趣將這兩艘船的合約固定下來？

For the time being, no. I mean, these vessels will be chartered. I mean there are plenty of takers, but mainly charter them on index, and because of their characteristics they're going to have a pretty high kind of index which makes this investment attractive.

目前來看，還沒有。我的意思是，這些船隻將被租用。我的意思是，有很多投資者，但他們主要根據指數進行投資，而且由於他們的特性，他們的指數會相當高，這使得這項投資很有吸引力。

Makes sense. And following up on this, regarding your on the water cape sizes, time charter rates have gone quite well in recent months. And I was wondering, is there any appetite to fix some vessels on medium-term contracts? Or do you prefer to continue employing them on spot?

有道理。另外，關於您提到的水上海角尺寸，近幾個月來，定期租賃價格表現相當不錯。我想知道，是否有人願意簽訂一些中期合約來固定一些船舶？或者您更傾向於繼續在當地僱用他們？

I think that we will employ them mainly spot. If we find, let's say, some kind of extraordinary spike that we believe it's worth securing that, we can always secure it through FFAs or the vessels that we have on index, we can convert them on the same kind of basis. But overall, we want really to ride the spot market on these ships.

我認為我們會主要採用即興發揮的方式來僱用他們。如果我們發現，比如說，某種我們認為值得保障的特殊高峰，我們總是可以透過遠期外匯交易或我們指數上的船舶來保障它，我們可以按照同樣的原則進行轉換。但總的來說，我們真的很想利用這些船舶的現貨市場。

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

謝謝。目前看來我們沒有其他問題了。我想把電話轉回庫斯塔斯醫生，請他再補充一些意見或總結發言。

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

感謝您參加本次電話會議，也感謝您一直以來對我們故事的關注。期待在下次財報電話會議上與您見面。

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

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們衷心感謝各位的參與。祝您下午愉快。