Global Ship Lease Inc (GSL) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Dee and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Global Ship Lease second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the call over to Tom Lister, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

謝謝你的支持。我叫 Dee，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。此時此刻，我歡迎大家參加 Global Ship Lease 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）我現在想將電話轉給執行長 Tom Lister。請繼續。

Thank you very much. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Global Ship Lease second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. You can find the slides that accompany today's presentation on our website at www.globalshiplease.com.

非常感謝。大家好，歡迎參加 Global Ship Lease 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。您可以在我們的網站 www.globalshiplease.com 上找到今天簡報附帶的幻燈片。

As usual, slides 2 and 3 remind you that today's call may include forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and assumptions and are, by their nature, inherently uncertain and outside of the company's control. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to many factors, including those described in the Safe Harbor section of the slide presentation.

像往常一樣，投影片 2 和 3 提醒您，今天的電話會議可能包括基於當前預期和假設的前瞻性陳述，並且就其性質而言，本質上是不確定的，並且不在公司的控制範圍內。由於許多因素，包括幻燈片演示的安全港部分中描述的因素，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性聲明有重大差異。

We would also like to direct your attention to the risk factors section of our most recent Annual Report on our 2023 Form 20-F, which was filed in March 2024. You can find the form on our website or on the SEC's. All of our statements are qualified by these and other disclosures in our reports filed with the SEC. We do not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements.

我們也希望您注意到我們於 2024 年 3 月提交的 2023 年 20-F 表格最新年度報告中的風險因素部分。您可以在我們的網站或 SEC 網站上找到該表格。我們的所有聲明均符合我們向 SEC 提交的報告中揭露的這些內容和其他內容。我們不承擔任何更新前瞻性陳述的責任。

The reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to which we will refer during this call to the most directly comparable measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP usually refer to the earnings release that we issued this morning, which is also available on our website.

我們在本次電話會議中將提到的非公認會計原則財務指標與根據公認會計原則計算和提出的最直接可比較指標的對帳通常指的是我們今天早上發布的收益報告，該報告也可以在在我們的網站上找到。

I'm joined today by our Executive Chairman, George Youroukos; and our Chief Financial Officer, Tassos Psaropoulos. George will begin the call with a high-level commentary on GSL and our industry, and then Tassos and I will take you through our recent activity, quarterly results and financials, and the current market environment. After that, we'll be pleased to answer your questions.

今天我們的執行主席喬治·尤魯科斯 (George Youroukos) 也加入了我的行列。以及我們的財務長 Tassos Psaropoulos。George 將首先對 GSL 和我們的行業進行高級評論，然後我和塔索斯將向您介紹我們最近的活動、季度業績和財務狀況以及當前的市場環境。之後，我們將很樂意回答您的問題。

So with that and turning to slide 4, I will pass the call over to George.

因此，轉到幻燈片 4，我將把電話轉給喬治。

Thank you, Tom. Good morning, afternoon, or evening to all of you joining us today.

謝謝你，湯姆。今天加入我們的大家早安、下午好、晚上好。

So far in 2024, it is safe to say that macro and geopolitical uncertainty have persisted and arguably increased. Most notably, through the continued disruption in the Red Sea and the resulting large-scale rerouting away from Suez Canal and around the Cape of Good Hope, this uncertainty has added a significant layer of ton-mile demand to an already strong containership charter market.

2024 年到目前為止，可以肯定地說，宏觀和地緣政治的不確定性持續存在，並且可以說有所增加。最值得注意的是，由於紅海的持續混亂以及由此導致的大規模改道，遠離蘇伊士運河並繞過好望角，這種不確定性為本已強勁的貨櫃船租賃市場增加了顯著的噸英里需求。

While I'm not going to make a prediction about when or how the conflict in the Middle East ultimately resolves, it is clear that the liner operators, our customers, have been increasingly willing to commit to multi-year charters, suggesting a growing industry consensus that the Red Sea security situation and its numerous knock-on effects in the supply chain may not resolve for some time.

雖然我不會預測中東衝突何時或如何最終解決，但很明顯，班輪運營商，我們的客戶，越來越願意承諾多年期包機，這表明該行業正在不斷發展人們普遍認為，紅海安全局勢及其對供應鏈的眾多連鎖反應可能在一段時間內無法解決。

At GSL, we're capitalizing on these supportive conditions to increase our contractual cash flows at firm and rising charter rates. We added over $400 million of contracted revenue in the first half of the year, more than 85% of which during the second quarter, and are continuing to do so.

在 GSL，我們正在利用這些支援性條件，以穩定且不斷上漲的租船費率增加我們的合約現金流。今年上半年，我們的合約收入增加了超過 4 億美元，其中超過 85% 是在第二季度實現的，並將繼續這樣做。

And by the way, this includes vessels coming open in the market in the near term and also on a forward basis, including into 2025. We continue to deliver, to grow our equity value, to reduce our break-evens, and to benefit from floating interest rate exposure capped at 0.64% of SOFR through 2026.

順便說一句，這包括近期和遠期（包括 2025 年）在市場上開放的船舶。到 2026 年，我們將繼續實現目標，增加我們的股權價值，減少盈虧平衡，並從上限為 SOFR 0.64% 的浮動利率風險中受益。

With all of this highly supportive context and reflecting our positive momentum across the board, we decided during the quarter to introduce a supplemental dividend in addition to a fixed quarterly dividend, effectively increasing our quarterly dividend by 20% for as long as market conditions and cash flows remain so extraordinarily strong.

在所有這些高度支持的背景下，並反映了我們全面的積極勢頭，我們決定在本季度除了固定季度股息之外還引入補充股息，只要市場狀況和現金有效，我們的季度股息就會有效地增加20%資金流動依然異常強勁。

In addition to the dividend and our opportunistic use of buybacks, our disciplined capital allocation policy remains focused on building our resilience, taking advantage of counter-cyclical opportunities and maximizing value for our shareholders throughout the cycle.

除了股利和我們利用回購的機會外，我們嚴格的資本配置政策仍然專注於增強我們的韌性，利用反週期機會並在整個週期中為股東創造最大價值。

Now with that, I will turn the call back to Tom.

現在，我將把電話轉回給湯姆。

Thank you, George. Please turn to slide 5. Here we highlight our well-diversified charter portfolio. As of June 30, we had $1.8 billion in contracted revenues over a TEU-weighted contract duration of 2.2 years. We signed 24 new charters in the first half and added $403 million of contracted revenues. It's worth emphasizing that, while we continue to keep our eyes peeled for the right investment opportunities, all of this revenue and cash flow growth comes from sweating our existing fleet assets.

謝謝你，喬治。請翻到投影片 5。在此，我們將重點放在我們多元化的包機投資組合。截至 6 月 30 日，我們在 2.2 年的 TEU 加權合約期限內獲得了 18 億美元的合約收入。上半年，我們簽署了 24 份新合同，合約收入增加了 4.03 億美元。值得強調的是，雖然我們繼續密切關注正確的投資機會，但所有這些收入和現金流的成長都來自於我們現有機隊資產的消耗。

And we still have some ships coming open in 2024 for which as George has already said, we're seeing appetite from lines, even, in fact to fix off positions in 2025.

我們仍然有一些船舶將在 2024 年開放，正如喬治已經說過的那樣，我們看到了航線的需求，甚至實際上會在 2025 年確定位置。

On to slide 6, where we recap our capital allocation strategy, which is value-driven, risk-adjusted, under constant review and guides everything we do. The first thing to keep in mind is that we operate in a cyclical and volatile industry and that cyclicality is key as it involves risks to be managed, but also very importantly, value-generating opportunities to capture.

在幻燈片 6 中，我們回顧了我們的資本配置策略，該策略是價值驅動的、風險調整的，經過不斷的審查並指導我們所做的一切。首先要記住的是，我們身處在一個週期性和波動性的行業，週期性是關鍵，因為它涉及需要管理的風險，但也非常重要的是，需要捕捉創造價值的機會。

In short, we look to allocate capital in ways that, number one, reinforce our resilience through the cycle and sharpen our cost competitiveness.

簡而言之，我們希望透過以下方式分配資本：第一，增強我們在整個週期中的韌性並提高我們的成本競爭力。

Number two, support our ability to sustain; in other words, renew and when conditions are supportive, selectively expand our fleet to build long-term value.

第二，支持我們的維持能力；換句話說，更新並在條件支援時有選擇地擴大我們的機隊以建立長期價值。

Number three, ensure sufficient CapEx to meet the evolving regulatory and commercial needs of decarbonization.

第三，確保足夠的資本支出，以滿足脫碳不斷變化的監管和商業需求。

And importantly, number four, sustainably return capital to our shareholders through a combination of dividends and share buybacks.

重要的是，第四，透過股利和股票回購的結合，可持續地向股東返還資本。

On this last point and in the context of physical market conditions that have dramatically improved, we have introduced a supplemental dividend that effectively increases our quarterly dividend payments by 20% for as long as market conditions remain supportive.

關於最後一點，在實體市場狀況顯著改善的背景下，我們引入了補充股息，只要市場狀況保持支持，我們的季度股息支付實際上就增加了 20%。

Slide 7, shows the long-term development of charter rates and asset values and here I would point out three things in particular. The first goes to my earlier comment. There is opportunity in the shipping cycle. The second is that to capture those opportunities, you need to be selective, stay disciplined and have the funds available to move fast. Buy at the right time, buy the right assets and then sweat those assets for all they're worth.

幻燈片 7 顯示了租船費率和資產價值的長期發展，在這裡我要特別指出三件事。第一個是我之前的評論。運輸週期中有機會。其次，要抓住這些機會，您需要有選擇性、保持紀律並擁有可用於快速行動的資金。在正確的時間購買，購買正確的資產，然後充分利用這些資產的價值。

And as you can see from the chart, that's exactly what we do. While our balance sheet and market reach enable us to move quickly and decisively to make acquisitions when the time is right, you can see in the orange portion of the chart that we didn't chase asset prices into the stratosphere during COVID, instead opting to redirect capital to share buybacks.

正如您從圖表中看到的，這正是我們所做的。雖然我們的資產負債表和市場覆蓋範圍使我們能夠在時機成熟時迅速果斷地進行收購，但您可以從圖表的橙色部分看到，在新冠疫情期間，我們並沒有將資產價格推向最高水平，而是選擇了將資本重新導向至股票回購。

And thirdly, in the first half of 2024, there has been a sharp market upturn that arrested and reversed the post-COVID downward normalisation trend and that has driven rates and asset values sharply upwards. Not coincidentally, we have not been active buyers in recent times, instead focusing on locking in earnings from the buoyant charter market. But we certainly continue to assess possibilities with a view to moving quickly if the right risk-adjusted investment opportunities arise.

第三，2024年上半年，市場急劇好轉，遏止並扭轉了新冠疫情後下行正常化趨勢，推動利率和資產價值大幅上漲。並非巧合的是，我們最近一段時間並不是積極的買家，而是專注於鎖定活躍的包機市場的收入。但我們當然會繼續評估可能性，以便在出現正確的風險調整投資機會時迅速採取行動。

With that, I'll pass the call to Tassos to further discuss our financials.

這樣，我將把電話轉給塔索斯，進一步討論我們的財務狀況。

Thank you, Tom. Slide 8 is an overview of our second quarter financials. I would like to highlight a few key takeaways.

謝謝你，湯姆。投影片 8 概述了我們第二季的財務狀況。我想強調一些關鍵要點。

Earnings and cash flow were up materially from the already increased prior year. We have continued to lower our gross debt and financial leverage, and we still have more headroom under our 64-basepoint SOFR interest rate caps that mature in 2026. Our cash position increased to $350 million, with $126 million of that being restricted.

獲利和現金流較上年大幅成長。我們繼續降低總債務和財務槓桿，並且在 2026 年到期的 64 基點 SOFR 利率上限下仍有更多空間。我們的現金部位增加至 3.5 億美元，其中 1.26 億美元受到限制。

The balance covers working capital needs, CapEx investment, and covenant requirements, with some space to act selectively on the right purchase opportunities. We continue to return capital to shareholders in multiple forms, most recently with the addition of the supplemental dividend.

餘額涵蓋了營運資金需求、資本支出投資和契約要求，並有一定的空間來選擇性地採取正確的購買機會。我們繼續以多種形式向股東返還資本，最近增加了補充股利。

We continue to deliver and build equity value and our recent corporate credit rating upgrades to Ba2 from Moody's and BB+ from both of S&P and KBRA acknowledge this positive momentum.

我們繼續創造和建立股權價值，最近穆迪將我們的企業信用評級提升至 Ba2，標準普爾和 KBRA 將我們的企業信用評級提升至 BB+，這充分體現了這一積極勢頭。

Now, slide 9 illustrates our progress in delivering and de-risking our balance sheet. On the left, you can see our aggressive amortization schedule, on which we are on track to reduce our debt outstanding to $630 million at the end of this year and another $500 million at the end of next year.

現在，投影片 9 展示了我們在交付和降低資產負債表風險方面的進展。在左側，您可以看到我們積極的攤銷計劃，根據該計劃，我們預計在今年年底將未償債務減少至 6.3 億美元，並在明年年底再減少 5 億美元。

On the right, our financial leverage, adjusted net debt divided by adjusted EBITDA, has reduced from 8.4 times at year-end 2018 to now just 0.9 times.

在右側，我們的財務槓桿（調整後的淨債務除以調整後的 EBITDA）已從 2018 年底的 8.4 倍降至目前的 0.9 倍。

This theme continues on slide 10, where you can see on the left that our cost of debt remains highly competitive at a blended rate of 4.75% (sic - see slide 10, "4.57%"). On the right, you can see how our breakeven rates have trended over time, with the impacts of inflation on operating costs heavily outweighed by reductions in interest expense.

這個主題在幻燈片 10 上繼續，您可以在左側看到我們的債務成本在 4.75% 的混合利率下仍然具有高度競爭力（原文如此 - 參見幻燈片 10，“4.57%”）。在右側，您可以看到我們的損益平衡率隨時間的變化趨勢，通貨膨脹對營運成本的影響遠遠超過了利息支出的減少。

Such low breakevens mean that we can minimize risk and maximize economic upside through the shipping cycle. Taken together, it is clear that we are not only in a much stronger position than we used to be or strong for this point in the cycle.

如此低的損益平衡點意味著我們可以在整個運輸週期中最大限度地降低風險並最大化經濟成長。綜上所述，很明顯，我們不僅比以前處於更有利的地位，而且在週期的這一點上也更強大。

We are in a very strong position, full stop. And by the way, it goes without saying that optimizing our balance sheet is a journey, rather than our destination and we will continue to explore and develop ways to further reduce our cost of debt and increase our financial flexibility going forward.

我們處於非常有利的位置，句點。順便說一句，不用說，優化我們的資產負債表是一個旅程，而不是我們的目的地，我們將繼續探索和開發進一步降低債務成本並提高未來財務靈活性的方法。

Tom will now discuss our market focus and SIP deployment. Tom?

Tom 現在將討論我們的市場重點和 SIP 部署。湯姆？

Thanks very much, Tassos. And before I move on to the next slide, just to correct a slight slip of the tongue. Our blended cost of debt is even slightly lower than the 4.75% mentioned by Tassos. It's actually 4.57%.

非常感謝，塔索斯。在我轉到下一張投影片之前，我想先修正一下輕微的口誤。我們的綜合債務成本甚至略低於塔索斯所提及的 4.75%。實際上是4.57%。

Anyway, with that said, on to slide 11. We re-emphasize our focus on mid-size and smaller container ships on this slide. And those sizes range from 2,000 TEU to about 10,000 TEU. With their flexibility and reach, these assets are the backbone of global trade, as highlighted in the top map.

無論如何，話雖如此，請轉到投影片 11。我們在這張幻燈片上再次強調我們對中型和小型貨櫃船的關注。這些尺寸範圍從 2,000 TEU 到約 10,000 TEU。憑藉其靈活性和影響力，這些資產成為全球貿易的支柱，如頂部地圖所示。

The lower map shows the deployment of larger ships at 10,000 TEU and higher, which require deep water port infrastructure limiting where they can go. Both maps incidentally show, quote-unquote, normal trade patterns before Red Sea and Suez transits were disrupted.

下圖顯示了 10,000 TEU 及以上的大型船舶的部署，這需要深水港口基礎設施來限制它們的航行範圍。這兩幅地圖都順便顯示了紅海和蘇伊士運河過境中斷之前的正常貿易模式。

We have also prioritized vessels in our fleet with higher-than-normal capacity to carry refrigerated cargoes which are the fastest growing and most lucrative cargo segment.

我們也優先考慮船隊中容量高於正常水平的船舶來運輸冷藏貨物，這是成長最快、利潤最高的貨運領域。

On to slide 12, which shows supply side trends namely idle capacity and ship recycling. Following the period of post-COVID normalization, idle capacity has trended down to 0.8% year-to-date 2024. Meanwhile, scrapping activity has once again slowed as owners are inclined to continue to make good money from ships that would be scrapping candidates in more normal market conditions.

投影片 12 顯示了供應方趨勢，即閒置產能和船舶回收。經過新冠疫情後的正常化時期，2024 年迄今閒置產能已下降至 0.8%。同時，拆船活動再次放緩，因為船東傾向於繼續從在更正常的市場條件下拆船候選船舶中賺大錢。

To the extent that markets loosen at some stage, there is now a significant backlog of vessels in the global fleet that we would expect to transition towards the breakers. So please keep that dynamic in mind as we move to slide 13 which shows the order book.

如果市場在某個階段放鬆，目前全球船隊中有大量積壓的船舶，我們預計這些船舶將轉向拆船。因此，當我們轉到顯示訂單簿的幻燈片 13 時，請記住這一動態。

It's well known that the order book has expanded in recent years, but the specifics matter here and so we would note that those orders remain heavily skewed towards the larger container ships where GSL does not participate. For the mid-size segments where GSL does compete the order book to fleet ratio is 10.8% which is smaller, but still meaningful.

眾所周知，近年來訂單量有所擴大，但具體情況很重要，因此我們注意到，這些訂單仍然嚴重偏向 GSL 不參與的大型貨櫃船。對於 GSL 參與競爭的中型細分市場，訂單與機隊比率為 10.8%，雖然較小，但仍有意義。

However, it is also important to highlight the older age profile of the ships in our market peer group. To illustrate, if we were to assume that all ships over 25 years old were scrapped and set that number against the order book delivering for mid-sized and smaller container ships through 2027 our peer group fleet segments would actually contract. In other words, they would shrink by 4.2%.

然而，同樣重要的是要強調我們市場同行中船舶年齡較大的情況。舉例來說，如果我們假設所有船齡超過25 年的船舶都被報廢，並將該數字與到2027 年交付的中型和小型貨櫃船的訂單簿相比較，我們的同行集團船隊部分實際上會收縮。換句話說，它們將萎縮 4.2%。

Slide 14 showcases the impact on the industry of disruptions in the Red Sea. Before these disruptions, around 20% of global containerized trade volumes, the boxes themselves, went through the Suez Canal at the Northern end of the Red Sea.

幻燈片 14 展示了紅海中斷對產業的影響。在這些中斷之前，全球約 20% 的貨櫃貿易量（即貨櫃本身）是透過紅海北端的蘇伊士運河運輸的。

Furthermore, much of this trade is long haul meaning that over a third of global containership fleet capacity, the ships in other words, transited the Suez Canal. The majority of this traffic is now being forced to take a much longer route around the Southern tip of Africa effectively tightening vessel supply by as much as 10%, which is in turn driving up charter rates.

此外，大部分貿易都是長途運輸，這意味著全球超過三分之一的貨櫃船船隊運力（換句話說，這些船舶）經過蘇伊士運河。目前，大部分運輸量被迫繞行非洲南端更長的航線，導致船舶供應緊張達 10%，進而推高了租船費率。

Now, of course, trying to predict how geopolitics will evolve in the Middle East is anybody's guess, but at this moment, there is little to suggest that the security situation at least in the Red Sea is improving.

當然，現在試圖預測中東地緣政治將如何演變是任何人的猜測，但目前幾乎沒有跡象表明至少紅海的安全局勢正在改善。

This brings us to slide 15 where we take a closer look at the charter market. We have already mentioned the overall phenomenon and drivers, but I would point you to two items here.

這讓我們看到幻燈片 15，我們在其中仔細研究了包機市場。我們已經提到了總體現象和驅動因素，但我想在這裡向您指出兩點。

First, you can see on the right side of the slide the current indicative rates which are quite healthy and trending positively.

首先，您可以在投影片右側看到當前的指示性利率，該利率非常健康且呈現正面趨勢。

And relatedly, second, that is especially true when you consider that our breakeven rates is a highly competitive $9,300 or so per day per vessel. As you would imagine we're working hard to lock in as much charter cover as we can in these conditions.

與此相關的是，第二，當您考慮到我們的盈虧平衡費率是極具競爭力的每艘船每天 9,300 美元左右時，這一點尤其正確。正如您所想像的那樣，我們正在努力在這種情況下鎖定盡可能多的包機保障。

And with that, I'll turn the call back to George to conclude our prepared remarks on slide 16.

接下來，我將把電話轉回給喬治，以結束我們在投影片 16 上準備好的演講。

Thank you, Tom. So to briefly summarize, first and foremost we have capitalized on supportive market conditions throughout the first half of this year to add over $400 million of contracted revenues growing our forward contract cover to $1.8 billion over 2.2 years.

謝謝你，湯姆。簡而言之，首先也是最重要的是，我們利用今年上半年有利的市場條件，增加了超過 4 億美元的合約收入，在 2.2 年內將我們的遠期合約覆蓋額增加到 18 億美元。

So in fact we are continuing to milk the cash cows that we already have. This activity is in the context of heightened macro and geopolitical uncertainty and as we have all seen disruptions to the supply chain tend to be supportive of earnings in container shipping.

所以事實上我們正在繼續榨取我們已經擁有的搖錢樹。這項活動是在宏觀和地緣政治不確定性加劇的背景下進行的，而且我們都看到供應鏈的中斷往往會支撐貨櫃運輸的利潤。

Now the situation in the Red Sea is a perfect example of this with longer voyages around Africa sucking up effective capacity and pushing a fair market into an extraordinary one. And we're focused on looking in as much contract cover as we can at strong rates both on a prompt and forward basis and we continue to make good progress on that.

現在紅海的情況就是一個完美的例子，繞非洲航行的距離更長，消耗了有效運力，並將公平的市場推向非凡的市場。我們專注於在即時和遠期的基礎上以高利率尋找盡可能多的合約保障，並且我們將繼續在這方面取得良好進展。

The leveraging has brought down our break-evens to a point where we're resilient throughout the cycle, but exceptionally profitable in conditions like these. We benefit from 0.64% SOFR caps through 2026 and we have additional headroom to use them if we have occasion to do so. And in the meantime, we continue to explore ways to further optimize or balance it.

槓桿作用使我們的損益平衡點降低到了在整個週期中都具有彈性的程度，但在這種情況下卻能獲得異常豐厚的利潤。到 2026 年，我們將受益於 0.64% 的 SOFR 上限，如果有機會的話，我們還有額外的空間來使用它們。同時，我們繼續探索進一步優化或平衡它的方法。

Now, our robust cash flow position positions us as well for both opportunistic investments and to return significant capital to shareholders, as evidenced by the recent addition of our supplementary quarterly dividend.

現在，我們強勁的現金流狀況使我們能夠進行機會性投資，並向股東返還大量資本，最近增加的補充季度股息就證明了這一點。

We remain razor-focused on building our through-cycle resilience, building and protecting shareholder value over the long term, and ensuring that we're poised and ready when the right counter-cyclical opportunities become available. Just as importantly, we are disciplined and will not chase growth for growth's sake.

我們仍然專注於建立我們的跨週期彈性，長​​期建立和保護股東價值，並確保我們在合適的反週期機會出現時做好準備。同樣重要的是，我們遵守紀律，不會為了成長而追求成長。

Now, we're ready to take your questions.

現在，我們準備好回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Omar Nokta, Jefferies.

（操作員說明）Omar Nokta，Jefferies。

Thank you. Hi, guys. Good afternoon. I have a couple of questions. I guess, first off, as Tom you mentioned and George you've been adding a good amount of revenue backlog and securing cover, I wanted to ask how would you characterize the pace of liners, say, over the past several weeks relative to how it had been?

謝謝。嗨，大家好。午安.我有幾個問題。我想，首先，正如您提到的湯姆和喬治，您已經增加了大量的收入積壓並確保了保障，我想問您如何描述班輪的節奏，比如說，在過去幾週相對於如何曾經是嗎？

We had the big surge in container freight rates, back in, say, May, June. Things seem to have kind of levelled off, although they're high. But just in general here over the past maybe month or so, how would you say the appetite for capacity on the part of liners is and if it's maintained the same pace or not?

早在五月、六月，我們就經歷了貨櫃運費的大幅上漲。儘管價格很高，但情況似乎已經趨於平穩。但總的來說，在過去一個月左右的時間裡，您認為班輪公司對運能的需求如何？

Hi, Omar. You mentioned a second question. Are you going to follow up with that or shall I address this first one right now?

嗨，奧馬爾。你提到了第二個問題。您要跟進這個問題還是我現在就解決第一個問題？

Sure. I mean, let's address this one maybe, and then I'll follow up with the second one. Make it easy.

當然。我的意思是，也許我們先解決這個問題，然後我會跟進第二個問題。讓一切變得簡單。

Sure. Okay. So I would say that the pace of chartering activity has slowed a little bit, but to a very significant extent, that's because the availability of charter tonnage in the market has also come down. So there was a frenzy of chartering during the second quarter, and, you know, we were lucky to jump on that and capitalize upon that.

當然。好的。因此，我想說，租船活動的步伐有所放緩，但在很大程度上，這是因為市場上可用的租船噸位也有所下降。因此，第二季度出現了一陣租船狂潮，而且，你知道，我們很幸運能夠抓住這一點並利用這一點。

And now the pace is slowing because, well, on the one hand, it is holiday period, but on the other hand, crucially, there's comparatively limited tonnage available to charter, which is why even 2025 positions are coming onto the table.

現在速度正在放緩，因為一方面，現在是假期，但另一方面，最重要的是，可供包租的噸位相對有限，這就是為什麼即使是 2025 年的位置也會出現在談判桌上。

Okay. Thanks, Tom. And I guess last time we had maybe a bit of a frenzy, perhaps, if you want to call it that, I would say three years ago, and a lot of the liners were looking to just scoop up ships themselves and buy them outright from the owners. Is that a dynamic that has shown itself here recently? Are there opportunities developing on that side?

好的。謝謝，湯姆。我想上次我們可能有點瘋狂，如果你想這樣稱呼的話，我會說三年前，很多班輪公司都想自己收購船隻並直接從那裡購買業主們。最近這裡出現了這種動態嗎？這方面有發展機會嗎？

We have seen some of the lines move to buy ships and generally speaking, that's a very good sign.

我們已經看到一些航運公司開始購買船舶，總的來說，這是一個非常好的跡象。

So if you're an owner and lessor of container ships as we are, if you see the liner operators themselves buying ships out of the second-hand market, that means that for them, charter rates are at such attractive levels from our perspective that it actually makes more sense for them to buy ships and that feeds into the -- the expression that George used, we've been milking the existing cows in the herd for all they're worth, because the earnings available in the market are extremely attractive, asset values are creeping up and there's quite a lot of money to be made from existing ships.

因此，如果您像我們一樣是貨櫃船的所有者和出租人，如果您看到班輪運營商自己從二手市場購買船舶，這意味著對他們來說，從我們的角度來看，租船費率處於如此有吸引力的水平，以至於對他們來說，購買船隻實際上更有意義，這也體現了喬治所用的表達方式，我們一直在榨取牛群中現有奶牛的全部價值，因為市場上的收入非常高有吸引力，資產價值正在攀升，現有船舶可以賺很多錢。

George, I don't know if you want to add to that.

喬治，我不知道你是否想補充這一點。

Yes. No, it's right what Tom said. We're very disciplined in what we do with the money that we have, and this is our most important focus. I mean, we want to sweat our assets, you know, take out every dollar that we can out of them before we see the opportunities to invest in other assets.

是的。不，湯姆說的是對的。我們在使用我們擁有的資金方面非常自律，這是我們最重要的關注點。我的意思是，我們想要耗盡我們的資產，你知道，在我們看到投資其他資產的機會之前，我們可以從其中拿出每一塊錢。

So we are very careful in making sure that all the money that comes out of our assets goes down to a balance sheet. So this is $400 million of money that is coming from the existing assets without any investment. So it's real money into the balance sheet.

因此，我們非常謹慎地確保所有來自我們資產的資金都進入資產負債表。因此，這 4 億美元的資金來自現有資產，沒有任何投資。所以這是進入資產負債表的真實資金。

Yeah, and then maybe just a final point, given you're milking these cows for everything that they have, do you see an opportunity to sell some of these ships into strength? I guess you mentioned, Tom, that values are creeping up but perhaps is it enough to warrant you looking to sell or is it still more lucrative to just put these ships on charter given the active liners looking at secure capacity?

是的，然後也許只是最後一點，考慮到你正在榨取這些奶牛的一切，你是否認為有機會出售其中一些船隻以增強力量？湯姆，我猜你提到過，價值正在攀升，但也許這足以保證你想要出售，或者考慮到活躍的班輪公司正在尋求安全運力，將這些船舶租出去是否更有利可圖？

Sure. Generally speaking, when the liners are looking to buy it's because they feel that it's cheaper for them to own than it is for them to charter in. And the flip side of that coin is that it's better for us to hold on to the assets and continue to charter into strength to build our cash flows. However, this is not something we're dogmatic about.

當然。一般來說，班輪公司想要購買是因為他們覺得自己擁有比包租更便宜。而硬幣的另一面是，對我們來說，最好保留這些資產並繼續增強實力以建立我們的現金流。然而，這並不是我們教條主義的事。

So if someone makes us an offer on a ship that is too attractive to refuse and the economics work in our estimation better through the sale than they would through retaining and rechartering the asset, well then, we wouldn't refuse the offer.

因此，如果有人向我們提出了一艘太有吸引力而無法拒絕的船舶報價，並且我們估計通過出售比保留和重新租用資產的經濟效果更好，那麼我們就不會拒絕該報價。

Makes sense. Yes. Cool. Thanks, guys. I'll turn it over.

有道理。是的。涼爽的。謝謝，夥計們。我會把它翻過來。

Great. Thanks very much, Omar.

偉大的。非常感謝，奧馬爾。

(Operator Instructions) Liam Burke, B. Riley.

（操作員說明）Liam Burke，B. Riley。

Thank you. Hi, Tom, George, Tassos. How are you today?

謝謝。嗨，湯姆，喬治，塔索斯。你今天怎麼樣？

We're very well. Thanks, Liam. Hopefully, you too.

我們很好。謝謝，利亞姆。希望你也是。

I'm doing fine. Thank you. You have a high-class problem here. Your debt is slugging down pretty fairly quickly and at an almost accelerating pace. How are you looking at managing the balance sheet where you're looking at potentially being debt free over a relatively short period of time and more efficient capital structure where you do carry some debt?

我很好。謝謝。這裡有一個高級問題。你的債務正在以相當快的速度減少，而且速度幾乎在加速。您如何看待管理資產負債表（您希望在相對較短的時間內實現無債務）以及更有效的資本結構（您確實背負一些債務）？

Reality is that although it's very good to hear that it will take some time in order for us to reach at a zero-level debt. But the amortization and the fixed amortization has been built up like that, Liam, due to a purpose. It usually follows the age profile of the assets.

現實情況是，儘管很高興聽到我們需要一些時間才能達到零債務水平。但是，利亞姆，攤銷和固定攤銷是出於某種目的而建立的。它通常遵循資產的年齡概況。

Reality is that we're feeling very comfortable right now with the level of the leverage and how the amortization is being fixed and structured in our loan documents. We always explore the opportunity of making even better and we are seeking for that. But, yes, the reality is that we are kind of comfortable with that and how the amortization has been structured.

現實情況是，我們現在對貸款文件中的槓桿水平以及攤銷的固定和結構感到非常滿意。我們始終探索做得更好的機會，並且我們正在尋求這一點。但是，是的，現實是我們對此以及攤銷的結構感到滿意。

Great. And, Liam, just to add to that, obviously low leverage in a highly volatile macro, geopolitical, and sectoral environment gives optionality and that's valuable.

偉大的。而且，利亞姆，補充一點，在高度波動的宏觀、地緣政治和部門環境中，明顯的低槓桿率提供了選擇性，這是有價值的。

Sure. And you haven't made an acquisition in a while for good reason. You make good ones and they always generate nice returns. Are you seeing any deals at all or is that pipeline completely dried up?

當然。而且您已經有一段時間沒有進行收購了，這是有充分理由的。你做得很好，它們總是會產生豐厚的回報。您是否看到任何交易，或者管道是否完全枯竭？

No. I mean, it's not a pipeline that has dried up by any means, Liam, and we're looking at potential deals all of the time. So just because you don't see us executing deals doesn't mean we're not looking at deals, but it means we're looking at deals and deciding that we don't like the risk-reward metrics on those deals. So I think it's a symptom of continued discipline on our part rather than a lack of potential deal flow.

不。我的意思是，利亞姆，無論如何，這並不是一個已經枯竭的管道，我們一直在尋找潛在的交易。因此，僅僅因為您沒有看到我們執行交易並不意味著我們沒有考慮交易，而是意味著我們正在考慮交易並決定我們不喜歡這些交易的風險回報指標。因此，我認為這是我們持續遵守紀律的表現，而不是缺乏潛在的交易流。

Great. Thank you, Tom.

偉大的。謝謝你，湯姆。

Pleasure. Thanks, Liam.

樂趣。謝謝，利亞姆。

Clement Mullins, Value Investors.

克萊門特·穆林斯，價值投資者。

Good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. Following up on Liam's question on the balance sheet, I wanted to ask about the preferred. You're now sitting on a very solid financial position, especially considering the swaps you locked in when rates were lower. Is there maybe any appetite to repurchase the preferred, or do you still like the optionality those provide despite their higher price?

早安.感謝您回答我的問題。繼利亞姆關於資產負債表的問題之後，我想問首選。您現在擁有非常穩固的財務狀況，特別是考慮到您在利率較低時鎖定的掉期。是否有興趣重新購買首選產品，或者儘管價格較高，但您仍然喜歡這些產品提供的選擇性？

We like that paper in the capital structure. It is, as you say, providing optionality. And if you contrast [eight and three quarters], which is the par coupon on that paper versus where, let's say, more meaningful debt is priced in the market, if you strip out the benefits of our 64 basis points SOFR cap, we see it as a useful paper with a lot of optionality, and we like it in the capital structure. But as with everything, we always review our overall capital stack, and we'll do what we believe is best over the long term when it comes to optimization.

我們喜歡資本結構中的那篇論文。正如你所說，它提供了選擇性。如果你比較[八又四分之三]，即該票據上的票面票面利率與市場上定價的更有意義的債務，如果你剔除我們 64 個基點 SOFR 上限的好處，我們會看到這是一篇有用的論文，有很多選擇性，我們喜歡它的資本結構。但與所有事情一樣，我們總是會審查我們的整體資本堆棧，並且在優化方面我們會做我們認為從長遠來看最好的事情。

Thanks for the color. I also wanted to ask about the supplemental dividend. You mentioned this is contingent on both market conditions and the company's underlying cash flows. How should we think about the supplemental dividend once rates decline from current levels? Contracted cash flows will obviously allow you to maintain it for a few more quarters.

謝謝你的顏色。我還想問一下補充股利的事。您提到這取決於市場狀況和公司的基本現金流。一旦利率從目前水準下降，我們應該如何考慮補充股息？合約現金流顯然可以讓你再維持幾個季度。

Yeah. So let's start by saying we've got $1.8 billion of contracted revenues over a weighted average term of 2.2 years, and so it was with a view to building that contracted revenue that we announced our intention – I think it was back in May, to introduce this supplemental dividend.

是的。首先，我們在 2.2 年的加權平均期限內獲得了 18 億美元的合約收入，因此，為了增加合約收入，我們宣布了我們的意圖 - 我認為是在 5 月份，引入本次補充股息。

Because we are generating more cash from the business than I think any of us anticipated, certainly in the fourth quarter of last year when we were looking forward on the market environment, we wanted to share some of the benefits of this highly supportive market with our investors, hence the introduction of this supplemental dividend.

因為我們從業務中產生的現金比我認為我們任何人預期的都要多，當然是在去年第四季度，當我們展望市場環境時，我們希望與我們的客戶分享這個高度支持的市場的一些好處。

Now, obviously, it's a very difficult thing to predict forwards, but again, I would point you back to that $1.8 billion of contracted revenues and 2.2 years of weighted average contract cover, which at least provides us with some comfort.

現在，顯然，預測遠期是一件非常困難的事情，但我想再次向您指出 18 億美元的合約收入和 2.2 年的加權平均合約保障，這至少為我們提供了一些安慰。

That's helpful. That's all from me. Thank you for taking my questions and congratulations for the quarter.

這很有幫助。這就是我的全部。感謝您回答我的問題並對本季表示祝賀。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

That concludes our Q&A session. I will now turn the conference back over to Tom Lister for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。現在我將把會議轉回湯姆·利斯特作閉幕詞。

Thank you very much, Dee, and thank you to everyone for joining our 2Q call, and we very much look forward to you joining again we hope for the third-quarter conference call, which will be in November. Thank you very much indeed.

非常感謝您，Dee，感謝大家參加我們的第二季電話會議，我們非常期待您再次加入，我們希望參加將於 11 月舉行的第三季電話會議。確實非常感謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。