Star Bulk Carriers Corp (SBLK) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Star Bulk Carriers Conference Call on the Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results. We have with us Mr. Petros Pappas, Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Hamish Norton President, Mr. Simos Spyrou and Mr. Christos Begleris, co-Chief Financial Officers; Mr. Nicos Rescos, Chief Operating Officer; and Mr. Charis Plakantonaki, Chief Strategy Officer of the company.

女士們、先生們，感謝大家的耐心等待，歡迎參加關於 2024 年第二季財務業績的 Star Bulk Carriers 電話會議。與我們在一起的還有執行長 Petros Pappas 先生；總裁 Hamish Norton 先生、聯合財務長 Simos Spyrou 先生及 Christos Begleris 先生； Nicos Rescos 先生，營運長；以及公司首席策略長 Charis Plakantonaki 先生。

At this time, all participants listen on the mode. (Operator Instructions) I must advise you that this conference may be recorded today. We now pass the floor to one of your speakers today, Mr. Spyrou. Please go ahead, sir.

此時，所有參與者都在收聽該模式。（操作員指示）我必須通知您，今天的會議可能會被錄製。現在請今天的發言者之一斯皮魯先生發言。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, operator. I'm Simo Spyrou Co-Chief Financial Officer of Star Bulk Carriers, and I would like to welcome you to our conference call regarding our financial results for the second quarter of 2024. Before we begin, I kindly ask you to take a moment to read the safe harbor statement on Slide number 2 of our presentation.

謝謝你，接線生。我是 Star Bulk Carriers 聯合財務長 Simo Spyrou，歡迎您參加我們關於 2024 年第二季財務業績的電話會議。在我們開始之前，我懇請您花點時間閱讀我們簡報第 2 號投影片上的安全港聲明。

In today's presentation, we will go through our second quarter results, cash evolution during the quarter, actions taken to create value for our shareholders an update on our Eagle Bulk integration, vessel operations, fleet update, the latest on the ESG front and our views on industry fundamentals before we open up for questions.

在今天的演講中，我們將介紹第二季度業績、本季現金演變、為股東創造價值所採取的行動、Eagle Bulk 整合的最新情況、船舶運營、船隊更新、ESG 方面的最新情況以及我們的觀點在我們提出問題之前，請先了解產業基本面。

Let us now turn to Slide number 3 of the presentation for a summary of our second quarter 2024 highlights. For the second quarter 2024, the company reported the following. Net income amounted to $106 million with adjusted net income of $89 million or $0.81 per share adjusted earnings. Adjusted EBITDA was at $153 million for the quarter. For the second quarter, as per our existing dividend policy, we declared a dividend per share of $0.70, payable on September 6, 2024. Since 2021, dividend distributions are over $1.25 billion or $12.20 per share and share buybacks of over $420 million.

現在讓我們轉向簡報的第 3 張投影片，總結 2024 年第二季的亮點。對於 2024 年第二季度，該公司報告如下。淨利潤為 1.06 億美元，調整後淨利為 8,900 萬美元，即調整後每股收益 0.81 美元。該季度調整後 EBITDA 為 1.53 億美元。對於第二季度，根據我們現有的股息政策，我們宣布每股股息為 0.70 美元，並將於 2024 年 9 月 6 日支付。自 2021 年以來，股息分配超過 12.5 億美元，即每股 12.20 美元，股票回購超過 4.2 億美元。

Our total liquidity today stands strong at $516 million. Meanwhile, our total debt stands at $1.38 billion.

目前，我們的總流動性強勁，達到 5.16 億美元。同時，我們的總債務為 13.8 億美元。

On the top right of the page, you will see our daily figures per vessel for the quarter. Our time charter equivalent rate was $19,268 per vessel per day. Our combined daily OpEx and net cash G&A expenses per vessel per day amounted to $6,690. Therefore, our TCE less OpEx and less cash G&A is around $12,578 per day per vessel. The Eagle Bulk transaction was completed on April 9, and the Eagle Bulk vessels contributed 83 days each during the second quarter. Cash received from the Eagle Bulk merger amounted to $104.3 million.

在頁面右上角，您將看到本季每艘船的每日數據。我們的期租等效費率為每艘船每天 19,268 美元。每艘船每天的每日營運支出和淨現金管理費用總計為 6,690 美元。因此，在扣除營運支出和現金管理費用後，我們的 TCE 約為每艘船每天 12,578 美元。Eagle Bulk交易於4月9日完成，Eagle Bulk船舶在第二季每艘船舶貢獻了83天。Eagle Bulk 合併收到的現金達 1.043 億美元。

Eagle Bulks convertible notes, which matured on August 1, 2024, converted to 5,971290 shares of total common stock. 1,341,584 shares of Starbucks have been loaned out as part of a share lending agreement with Jefferies Capital Services in connection with Eagle Bulk convertible notes and have been returned to Star Bulk and canceled. The fully diluted share count as of today stands at 118,825,307 shares.

Eagle Bulks 可轉換票據於 2024 年 8 月 1 日到期，轉換為 5,971290 股普通股。作為與 Jefferies Capital Services 就 Eagle Bulk 可轉換票據有關的股票借貸協議的一部分，星巴克的 1,341,584 股股票已被借出，並已歸還給 Star Bulk 並註銷。截至今日，完全稀釋後的股數為 118,825,307 股。

Currently, we had 159 vessels on a fully delivered basis, including the fivenewbuilding Kamsarmax vessels we have announced. During 2024, we have sold 10 vessels for a total gross proceeds of $180 million. Two of these vessels, namely start Iris and Star Hydrus are expected to be delivered during the third quarter to their new owners.

目前，我們有 159 艘船舶已完全交付，其中包括我們已宣布的 5 艘新造 Kamsarmax 型船舶。2024 年，我們出售了 10 艘船舶，總收益達 1.8 億美元。其中兩艘船，即start Iris 和Star Hydrus 預計將在第三季交付給新主人。

As of June 30, 2024, the equity left aside from vessel sales and the ATM after the share buybacks and $18 million of newbuilding installments stands at $74 million. During the third quarter, the above equity will increase by $24 million from the sale of the two sold vessels and will be reduced by $8 million of new building down payments.

截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日，股票回購和 1,800 萬美元的新造船分期付款後，除去船舶銷售和 ATM 之外的股權為 7,400 萬美元。第三季度，上述權益將因出售兩艘已售船舶而增加2,400萬美元，並因新建築首付而減少800萬美元。

Slide number 4 graphically illustrates the changes in the company's cash balance during the second quarter. We started the quarter with $373 million in cash, out of which $104 million were received from the Eagle Bulk transaction. We generated positive cash flow from operating activities of $143 million. After including debt proceeds and repayments, CapEx payments for ESD and ballast water treatment installations and the first quarter dividend payment, we are at a cash balance of $486 million at the end of the second quarter.

第 4 張投影片以圖形方式說明了公司第二季現金餘額的變化。本季開始時，我們擁有 3.73 億美元現金，其中 1.04 億美元來自 Eagle Bulk 交易。我們的經營活動產生了 1.43 億美元的正現金流。在計入債務收益和償還、ESD 和壓載水處理裝置的資本支出以及第一季股息支付後，第二季末我們的現金餘額為 4.86 億美元。

Slide number 5 provides an overview of the company's capital allocation policy over the last three years and the various levels we have used to create shareholder value. On the top left, we show our net debt evolution. Since 2021, we have reduced leverage in the company by approximately 34%. Our average net debt per vessel has decreased from $11 million to $6 million per vessel. Starbucks has been creating value for its shareholders through consecutive fleet buyouts by issuing shares at or above NAV.

第 5 張投影片概述了公司過去三年的資本配置政策以及我們用於創造股東價值的各個層級。在左上角，我們顯示了我們的淨債務演變。自2021年以來，我們已將公司槓桿率降低了約34%。我們每艘船的平均淨債務已從每艘船 1,100 萬美元減少到 600 萬美元。星巴克一直以等於或高於資產淨值的價格發行股票來連續收購車隊，為其股東創造價值。

Over the same period, we have declared consecutive quarterly dividends of over $1.25 billion. We have taken advantage of historically elevated S&P values to sell some of our older and less efficient vessels using equity proceeds to buy back our shares at attractive valuations.

同期，我們連續宣布季度股息超過 12.5 億美元。我們利用歷史上較高的標準普爾價值來出售一些舊的和效率較低的船舶，並利用股權收益以有吸引力的估值回購我們的股票。

Since 2022, we have bought back $423 million worth of Star Bulks stock. Combining all of the above, we see that we have focused on returning capital to our shareholders, while at the same time, deleveraging the balance sheet and buying back shares when there are opportunities to do so accretively. In total, since 2021, we have taken actions of $2.3 billion to create value for our shareholders.

自 2022 年以來，我們已回購了價值 4.23 億美元的 Star Bulks 股票。綜合上述所有因素，我們發現我們一直專注於向股東返還資本，同時去槓桿化資產負債表，並在有機會時回購股票。自 2021 年以來，我們總共採取了 23 億美元的行動，為股東創造價值。

I will now pass the floor to our COO, Nicos Rescos, for an update on Eagle Bulk transaction, integration and our operational performance.

現在我將請我們的營運長 Nicos Rescos 介紹 Eagle Bulk 交易、整合和營運績效的最新情況。

Thank you, Simos. Slide 6 illustrates a summary of the go back transaction integration. The integration with Eagle Bulk is underway. And upon completion, it will allow us to leverage our strong global presence of the combined entity with offices in Singapore, the US, Greece, Denmark and Cyprus. The respective Singapore offices operations have merged into one entity and continue as a commercial and technical management hub, aligning ship management practices covering the Asia Pacific.

謝謝你，西莫斯。投影片 6 說明了回溯事務整合的摘要。與 Eagle Bulk 的整合正在進行中。完成後，它將使我們能夠利用合併後實體在新加坡、美國、希臘、丹麥和塞浦路斯設有辦事處的強大全球影響力。各自的新加坡辦事處業務已合併為一個實體，並繼續作為商業和技術管理中心，協調覆蓋亞太地區的船舶管理實踐。

The Stamford office, continuous operations, both on commercial and technical management covered the Atlantic in the US. Together with the Athens corporate headquarters in Europe, we maintained presence in Copenhagen for chartering operations currently Atlantic in the continent. We are nearing completion of the integration of our commercial teams for the Supramax and Ultramax vessels, managing the second largest Ultramax Supramax fleet globally, combining our trading capabilities aiming to improve our TCE performance.

斯坦福辦事處持續運營，商業和技術管理覆蓋美國大西洋。我們與歐洲的雅典公司總部一起，繼續在哥本哈根開展租船業務，目前在該大陸的大西洋開展租船業務。我們即將完成超靈便型和超靈便型船舶商業團隊的整合，管理全球第二大超靈便型超靈便型船隊，結合我們的貿易能力，旨在提高我們的 TCE 績效。

We are further rebalancing our sector employment strategy to include both the business and optimizing our fleet distribution between the Atlantic and the Pacific Basin. We have introduced our planned maintenance, procurement and cost control processes across Singapore and Stamford offices and towards realizing operational and cost reduction synergies. Significant synergies are expected from the centralization of the procurement of all stores, spare parts, bunkers and lubricants for the combined fleet.

我們正在進一步重新平衡我們的行業就業策略，以納入業務並優化我們在大西洋和太平洋盆地之間的機隊分佈。我們在新加坡和史丹佛辦事處引入了計劃維護、採購和成本控制流程，以實現營運和成本降低的協同效應。集中採購聯合船隊的所有物資、備件、燃油和潤滑油預計將產生顯著的協同效應。

Fleet is gradually taken in-house with the expected cost reduction of $600 per vessel per day to be realized by Q2 2025. Dry docks of 12 ex-Eagle Bulk vessels are planned following the merger and benefiting from Star Bulk competitive pricing agreements with service providers and shipyards globally. Marine safety, quality and technical maintenance standards, processes, policies and systems are being applied across the combined fleet, aligning with the Star Bulk flagship safety score and port state control performance.

船隊逐漸內部化，預計到 2025 年第二季將實現每艘船每天 600 美元的成本降低。合併後，計劃建造 12 艘前 Eagle Bulk 船舶的乾船塢，並受益於 Star Bulk 與全球服務提供商和造船廠簽訂的有競爭力的定價協議。海上安全、品質和技術維護標準、流程、政策和系統正在整個聯合船隊中應用，與 Star Bulk 旗艦安全評分和港口國控制績效保持一致。

Please turn to Slide 7, where we provide an operational update. Operating expenses was at $5,319 for Q2 2024. Net cash G&A expenses at $1,371 per vessel per day for the same period. In addition, we continue to rate at the top amongst our listed peers in terms of rides safety score.

請參閱投影片 7，我們在其中提供了最新的營運情況。2024 年第二季的營運費用為 5,319 美元。同期每艘船每天的淨現金管理費用為 1,371 美元。此外，我們在遊樂設施安全評分方面繼續在上市同行中名列前茅。

Slide 8 provides a fleet update and some guidance around of use dry dock and the relevant total of high days. On the top right of the page, we provide our expected drive of expense schedule, which will remain in 2024 is estimated at $34.8 million for the dry docking of 38 vessels. In total, we expect to have approximately 966 off-hire days for the same period.

幻燈片 8 提供了船隊更新以及有關使用乾船塢和相關高天數的一些指導。在頁面右上角，我們提供了預計的費用計劃，到 2024 年，預計 38 艘船的干塢費用將保持在 3,480 萬美元。總的來說，我們預計同期停租天數約為 966 天。

On the bottom of the page, we have our CapEx schedule, illustrating a new building CapEx and investment energy efficiency upgrade expenses with 100% of our fleet by now being ballast wood treatment fitted. Based on our latest construction schedule, our new building investors are expected to be delivered in Q4 2025, Q2 and Q3 2026.

在頁面底部，我們有我們的資本支出時間表，說明了新建築的資本支出和投資能源效率升級費用，我們的船隊現在 100% 都安裝了壓載木處理裝置。根據我們最新的施工計劃，我們的新建築投資者預計將於 2025 年第四季、2026 年第二季和第三季交付。

In line with the XI and CII regulations, we continue investing in upgrading our fleet with the latest operational technologies available, aimed in improving our fuel consumption and reducing our environmental footprint, further enhancing the commercial attractiveness of the Star Bulk fleet. Regarding our energy saving devices program, we have completed 36 installations with 11 more vessels planned for retrofit by the end of the year. The above numbers are based on current estimates around dry dock, retrofit planning, vessel employment and yard capacity.

根據 XI 和 CII 法規，我們繼續投資使用最新的營運技術升級我們的船隊，旨在改善我們的燃油消耗並減少我們的環境足跡，進一步增強 Star Bulk 船隊的商業吸引力。關於我們的節能裝置計劃，我們已完成 36 項安裝，並計劃在年底前對另外 11 艘船舶進行改造。上述數字是根據目前對乾船塢、改造規劃、船舶使用和堆場容量的估計。

Please turn to Slide 9 for an update on our fleet sales. On the vessel sales front, we'll continue disposing of vessels opportunistically at historically attractive levels, having agreed during Q2 to sell two vessels for total gross proceeds of $30 million, reducing our average fleet age and improving overall fleet efficiency. Following the rollover of the Go back existing chartering contracts, we now have a total of 10 chartering vessels.

請參閱投影片 9 以了解我們車隊銷售的最新資訊。在船舶銷售方面，我們將繼續以具有歷史吸引力的水平機會性地處置船舶，我們已在第二季度同意出售兩艘船舶，總收益為3000 萬美元，從而降低我們的平均船隊年齡並提高整體船隊效率。現有租船合約展期後，我們現在共有10艘租船。

We have had five firm ship building contracts with Qingdao shipyard with the construction of 82,000 Kamsarmax ship building vessels and with the first vessel delivering during Q4 next year. Considering the aforementioned change in our fleet mix, we operate one of the largest dry bulk fleet amongst US and European listed peers with 159 vessels on a fully delivered basis and an average age of 11.3 years.

我們與青島造船廠簽訂了五份固定造船合同，建造 82,000 艘卡姆薩爾型造船船，首艘船將於明年第四季交付。考慮到我們船隊結構的上述變化，我們運營著美國和歐洲上市同行中最大的干散貨船隊之一，已交付船舶 159 艘，平均船齡為 11.3 年。

I will now pass the floor to our Chief Strategy Officer, Charis Plakantonaki for our ESG update. Thank you, Nicos.

現在我將請我們的首席策略長 Charis Plakantonaki 介紹我們的 ESG 最新情況。謝謝你，尼科斯。

Please turn to Slide 10, where we highlight our continued leadership on the ESG front. During the second quarter of 2024, we completed the measurement of the company's 2023 greenhouse emissions. Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions were increased by approximately 4%, while the respective CII of our fleet reduced by approximately 5.7% compared to 2022. Scope 3 emissions measured for consecutive years were approximately 9.5% lower than the previous year. This performance will be top in our new year report during the third quarter of 2024.

請參閱投影片 10，我們在其中強調了我們在 ESG 方面的持續領導地位。2024年第二季度，我們完成了公司2023年溫室氣體排放量的計算。與 2022 年相比，範圍 1 溫室氣體排放量增加了約 4%，而我們機隊各自的 CII 減少了約 5.7%。連續幾年測量的範圍 3 排放量比前一年減少約 9.5%。這項業績將在我們 2024 年第三季的新年報告中名列前茅。

Moving forward, we are working on setting Science-Based Targets for the company to have clearly define the box to further use our fixed carbon footprint in line with the Paris agreement rules. On the regulatory front, we are preparing for compliance with Fuel EU Maritime regulation coming into force on January 1, 2025, Mediterranean Sea Emission Control Area for sulfur oxides in particular matter, taking effect from May 1, 2025.

展望未來，我們正在努力為公司設定基於科學的目標，以明確界定進一步使用我們的固定碳足跡，符合巴黎協議規則的範圍。在監管方面，我們正在準備遵守將於 2025 年 1 月 1 日生效的歐盟海事燃料法規，特別是地中海硫氧化物排放控制區，將於 2025 年 5 月 1 日生效。

The gap analysis related to the used corporate sensibility reporting directive is underway to identify and address different is to the directives and the company's ESG reporting processes. In July 2024, Star Bulk systems both in the office and on the vessels were affected by the Crowd Strike worldwide incident caused by bug during antivirus update, immediate action by the company restored systems in the office few hours later and on the vessels one to two days later.

與所使用的企業敏感度報告指令相關的差距分析正在進行中，以識別和解決指令和公司 ESG 報告流程的差異。2024 年 7 月，Star Bulk 辦公室和船上的系統受到防毒更新過程中的錯誤導致的全球人群罷工事件的影響，公司立即採取行動，幾小時後恢復了辦公室和一到兩艘船上的系統幾天後。

On the society front, the employment of female cadets on our vessels continue along the deployment of Starlink on board and the implementation of the CyberOwl technology with monitors vessel systems performance and security. Star Bulk was awarded sustainable development in the Maritime industry Credit awards, recognizing the company's continuous efforts lead by example, in sustainable development in the shipping industry.

在社會方面，隨著星鏈在船上的部署以及監控船舶系統性能和安全的 Cyber​​Owl 技術的實施，我們的船舶上繼續聘用女學員。 Star Bulk 榮獲海運業永續發展信用獎，表彰該公司在航運業永續發展方面以身作則的持續努力。

I will now pass the floor to our CEO, Petros Pappas for market tactics and (technical difficulty)

現在我將請我們的執行長 Petros Pappas 討論市場策略和（技術難度）

Thank you, Charis. Please turn to Slide 11 for a brief update of supply. During the first half of 2024, a total of 18.8 million deadweight was delivered and 2.1 million deadweight was sent to demolition for a net fleet growth of 16.7 million deadweight or 1.7% year-to-date and 3% over the last 12 months.

謝謝你，查里斯。請參閱投影片 11 以了解供應情況的簡要更新。2024年上半年，共交付1,880萬載重噸，拆除210萬載重噸，船隊淨增加1,670萬載重噸，今年迄今成長1.7%，過去12個月成長3%。

Uncertainty on future clean propulsion, high shipbuilding costs and limited CPR capacity until late 2026 due to increased competition from other vessel types have helped keep new orders under relative control. The order book has slightly increased during the last two years but still stands at a comparatively low level of 9.8% of the fleet.

由於其他船舶類型的競爭加劇，未來清潔推進的不確定性、造船成本高昂以及直到 2026 年末的 CPR 能力有限，這些都有助於將新訂單保持在相對控制之下。過去兩年訂單量略有增加，但仍處於相對較低的水平，佔船隊的 9.8%。

Furthermore, vessels above 20 and 15 years of age stand at 9% and 21.9% of the fleet, respectively, while scrap prices have stabilized at elevated levels and should induce stimulation of overage and energy inefficient tonnage during seasonal downturns over the next years. The average speed of the dry bulk fleet has stabilized at lower levels between 11.1 and 11.2 knots during the last 6 months due to inflated bunker costs and environmental regulations, including Xi and CII that increasingly incentivizes slow steaming and retrofits and should moderate supply over the next several years.

此外，船齡超過20 年和15 年的船舶分別佔船隊的9% 和21.9%，而廢鋼價格已穩定在較高水平，在未來幾年的季節性低迷期間，應該會刺激超齡和能源效率低的噸位。過去6 個月，由於燃油成本上漲和環境法規（包括Xi 和CII 越來越多地鼓勵慢速航行和改造，並應在接下來的時間內減少供應），幹散貨船隊的平均速度穩定在11.1 至11.2 節之間的較低水平幾年。

During the first half of 2024, global port congestion has fully normalized on all sizes, following a strong reduction over the last two years that gradually deflated available supply by approximately 6%. Recent trends of global Supramax congestion as well as dry bulk tonnage and Chinese ports indicate that there is a high pliability for congestion to increase year-over-year during the second half of 2024, with a positive effect on the supply and demand balance.

2024 年上半年，全球所有規模的港口擁擠情況已完全正常化，過去兩年大幅減少，導致可用供應量逐漸減少約 6%。全球超靈便型散裝貨船擁堵以及乾散貨噸位和中國港口的近期趨勢表明，2024年下半年擁堵同比增加的可能性很大，對供需平衡產生積極影響。

However, rising tensions in the Red Sea since late 2023 continue to cause strong inefficiencies for trade despite the partial recovery of dry bulk crossings in the Panama Canal that are expected to fully recover by the end of the year. As a result of the above trends, normal fleet growth is unlikely to exceed 3% per annum over the next couple of years, even under the assumption that the Malaysian activity remains at current low levels.

然而，儘管巴拿馬運河的干散貨過境點已部分恢復，預計到今年年底將完全恢復，但自 2023 年底以來紅海緊張局勢不斷加劇，繼續導致貿易效率嚴重低下。由於上述趨勢，即使假設馬來西亞的活動仍處於目前的低水平，未來幾年正常的機隊成長也不太可能超過每年 3%。

Let me now turn to Slide 12 for a brief update of demand. According to Clarkson's, total dry bulk trade during 2024 and 2025 is projected to expand by 2.6% and 0.7% in tons and by 4.4% and 0.5% in ton miles, respectively. During the first half of 2024, total dry back volumes increased by 5.8% year-on-year on the back of record iron ore, coal and minor bulk exports while ton miles increased at a faster pace, supported by Canal and geopolitical inefficiencies and strong exports from Latin America, West Africa and the US.

現在讓我轉向投影片 12，簡要更新需求。根據克拉克森的預測，2024 年和 2025 年乾散貨貿易總量預計將分別成長 2.6% 和 0.7%（以噸計算）以及 4.4% 和 0.5%（以噸英里計算）。2024 年上半年，由於鐵礦石、煤炭和小宗散貨出口創紀錄，乾船總運量同比增長5.8%，而在運河和地緣政治效率低下以及強勁的影響下，噸英里數增長更快。

The IMF is projecting global GDP growth of 3.2% for 2024 and 3.3% for 2025 at the same pace as in 2023 and upgraded its forecast for China to 5% and 4.5%, respectively. Chinese GDP increased by 4.7% in Q2, missing initial expectations due to the striving property market and a slowdown of household spending. Nevertheless, recent comments from government officials highlighted that the company has the ability and confidence to achieve its full year growth target of around 5%, supported by strength in infrastructure, manufacturing and exports, while demand for dry bulk commodities remained strong as import volumes increased by 7.5% year-over-year during the first half of 2024.

國際貨幣基金組織預計，2024年和2025年全球GDP成長率將與2023年持平，分別為3.2%和3.3%，並將對中國的預測分別上調至5%和4.5%。由於房地產市場低迷和家庭支出放緩，中國第二季 GDP 成長 4.7%，低於最初預期。儘管如此，政府官員最近的評論強調，在基礎設施、製造業和出口實力的支持下，該公司有能力和信心實現5%左右的全年增長目標，而隨著進口量的增加，對乾散貨商品的需求仍強勁2024 年上半年年增 7.5%。

Table demand from the rest of the world is experiencing a recovery over the last three quarters that is expected to continue amid lower commodity prices and expectations of easing monetary policy. During the first half, imports were up by 4.3% year-over-year, with the increase coming mainly from India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Western economies are also moving higher following two years of contraction and geopolitical-related disruptions.

過去三個季度，世界其他地區的餐桌需求正在經歷復甦，由於大宗商品價格下跌和貨幣政策寬鬆的預期，這種復甦預計將持續下去。上半年進口年增4.3%，成長主要來自印度、中東和東南亞。同時，西方經濟體在經歷了兩年的經濟萎縮和地緣政治相關的干擾之後，也開始走高。

Iron ore trade is expected to expand by 3.1% in tons and by 5.6% in ton miles during 2024. China state production declined by 2.2% year-over-year during the first half, while domestic production in iron ore increased by 15.3% and 6.1%, respectively, increasing port supply by approximately 30 million tons versus last year. We connected consumption as for China steel majors to export excess output and has prompted some economies to raise tariffs as a response. On the other hand, stable production from the rest of the world has been on a strong upward trend since September and increased by 4.4% during the first half, driven by strong demand in India and a gradual recovery of Atlantic production.

預計 2024 年鐵礦石貿易量將增加 3.1%（以噸計算）和 5.6%（以噸英里計算）。上半年，中國國有產量年減2.2%，而國內鐵礦石產量分別成長15.3%及6.1%，港口供應量較去年增加約3,000萬噸。我們將中國鋼鐵巨頭的消費與出口過剩產出連結起來，並促使一些經濟體提高關稅作為回應。另一方面，在印度需求旺盛和大西洋產量逐步恢復的推動下，世界其他地區的產量自9月以來一直呈現強勁上升趨勢，上半年成長4.4%。

It is worth highlighting that the medium-term outlook of Atlantic iron ore exports is promising as Vale is expected to achieve the upper end of the 2024 production guidance that was set at 310 million to 320 million tons. Moreover, Vale is expected to ramp up production to 340 million to 360 million tons by 2026, while the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea will deliver the first quantities by the end of 2025.

值得強調的是，大西洋鐵礦石出口的中期前景看好，淡水河谷預計將實現2024年產量指引的上限，即3.1億至3.2億噸。此外，淡水河谷預計到2026年產量將增加至3.4億至3.6億噸，而幾內亞西芒杜鐵礦石計畫將於2025年底交付首批產量。

Coal trade is expected to marginally expand by 0.6% in but contracts by 0.5% in ton miles during 2024. Global focus on energy security during the last years has inflated coal trade, but most of the growth has come from short-haul Indonesian exports. Chinese imports increased further during the first half and stand at record levels, both supported by a 1.9% year-on-year decline in domestic coal production and a 2.2% year-on-year increase in thermal electricity generation.

預計 2024 年煤炭貿易量將小幅增加 0.6%，但以噸英里計算將收縮 0.5%。過去幾年全球對能源安全的關注導致煤炭貿易量激增，但大部分成長來自印尼的短途出口。上半年，中國進口量進一步增加，並創下歷史新高，這得益於國內煤炭產量年減1.9%和火力發電量年增2.2%。

Nevertheless, during the last 2 months, a reversal of this trend is taking place following the seasonal strength of hydropower directed from provinces to increase production and stabilization of prices. During the last quarters, India is emerging as a leading buyer of coal as domestic consumption has outpaced production growth and along with inland infrastructure constraints has led to a strong increase in import requirements.

然而，在過去兩個月中，隨著各省指示水力發電季節性強勁以增加產量和穩定價格，這一趨勢正在逆轉。在過去的幾個季度中，印度正在成為煤炭的主要買家，因為國內消費成長超過了產量成長，內陸基礎設施限制導致進口需求強勁成長。

Grains trade is expected to expand by 4.4% in tons and by 10% ton miles during 2024. Exports from Latin America increased by approximately 12% during the first half as Argentinian volumes experienced a strong recovery. Moreover, Ukraine raised exports to the highest level since the start of the war. But at the same time, Russian wheat exports have been affected by frost lots and heat waves and key production areas. Total grain trade was flat year-over-year during the first half of 2024, but export volumes growth is expected to increase during the second half of 2024.

預計 2024 年穀物貿易量將增加 4.4%（噸）和 10%（噸英里）。由於阿根廷出口量強勁復甦，上半年拉丁美洲出口成長約 12%。此外，烏克蘭將出口提高到戰爭開始以來的最高水準。但同時，俄羅斯小麥出口受到霜凍地段和熱浪以及重點產區的影響。2024 年上半年糧食貿易總量較去年同期持平，但預計 2024 年下半年出口量成長將會增加。

Lower grain prices, improved outlook for the forthcoming US crop and increased focus on food security are expected to support a rate in the medium term. Minor bulk trade is expected to expand by 3% in funds and by 4.1% in ton miles during 2024. Minor bulk trade has the highest correlation to global GDP growth and the recent strength in the container market provides a positive indicator for short-term prospects of smaller sizes. The positive price arbitral continues to certify Chinese steel exports and backhaul trades, while bauxite exports out of West Africa continued to expand at a high pace that generates strong terms for the Capesize sector.

穀物價格下降、美國即將到來的作物前景改善以及對糧食安全的日益關注預計將在中期支撐利率。2024 年，小宗散貨貿易預計將成長 3%（以資金計算）和 4.1%（以噸英里計算）。小宗散貨貿易與全球 GDP 成長的相關性最高，貨櫃市場近期的強勁表現為小型散貨的短期前景提供了積極的指標。積極的價格仲裁繼續證明了中國的鋼鐵出口和回程貿易，而西非的鋁土礦出口繼續高速成長，為海岬型船業帶來了強勁的條件。

As a final comment, despite the global geopolitical uncertainties were constructive about the medium-term prospects of our industry, given the favorable order book and aging fleet and oncoming rigorous environmental regulations. Star Bulk has built a diverse, scrubber-fitted fleet that is well positioned to operate efficiently and take advantage of attractive opportunities to create value for its shareholders. Without taking any more of your time, I will now pass the floor over to the operator to answer any question you may have.

最後，儘管全球地緣政治存在不確定性，但考慮到良好的訂單和老化的船隊以及即將到來的嚴格環境法規，我們行業的中期前景仍然具有建設性。Star Bulk 建立了一支多元化、配備洗滌器的船隊，能夠有效運作並利用有吸引力的機會為股東創造價值。為了不耽誤您的時間，我現在將發言權交給接線員來回答您可能提出的任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) Omar Nokta, Jefferies.

（操作員說明）Omar Nokta，Jefferies。

Hi, guys. Good afternoon. Thanks for the update. Just a couple of questions for me. I wanted to ask, perhaps some just market related and Petros, you just gave an overview of the different markets. And just wanted to touch a bit more on that.

嗨，大家好。午安.感謝您的更新。只是問我幾個問題。我想問，也許有些只是市場相關的，Petros，你只是概述了不同的市場。只是想多談一點。

Clearly, as we're looking in the market today, dry bulk rates are -- they've been holding up quite well, and you realized figures thus far into the third quarter show continued steady earnings. I would say. Obviously, there's volatility, but it looks like things aren't too crazy different. But this is happening somewhat of a softer steel environment, at least in terms of steel prices, when we look at where they are globally.

顯然，正如我們今天在市場上觀察到的那樣，乾散貨價格一直保持得很好，並且您意識到第三季度迄今為止的數據顯示了持續穩定的收益。我會說。顯然，存在波動，但看起來情況並沒有太大不同。但當我們觀察全球鋼鐵價格時，這種情況發生在鋼鐵環境較為疲軟的情況下，至少在鋼鐵價格方面。

And so I just wanted to ask, given that the steel backdrop and how it looks a bit softer, are you seeing this having any effect on the dry bulk market at the moment? And then also are you bit surprised perhaps that Capes are earning north of 20 in this type of environment?

所以我只是想問，鑑於鋼鐵背景及其看起來有點疲軟，您認為這對目前的干散貨市場有任何影響嗎？然後，您是否對海角人在這種環境下的收入超過 20 感到有點驚訝？

Hi, Omar. Thanks for the question. Well, we're actually positive over the second half of 2024 for a number of reasons. First of all, we see that the Red sea and the Ukrainian war are not finishing anytime soon. So this will continue to create inefficiencies. And this has an effect in the market.

嗨，奧馬爾。謝謝你的提問。嗯，出於多種原因，我們實際上對 2024 年下半年持樂觀態度。首先，我們看到紅海和烏克蘭戰爭不會很快結束。因此，這將繼續造成效率低下。這對市場產生了影響。

Then the environmental regulations are starting to bite. And you see that the fleet is basically slow steaming at around 11.1 knots. So this is going to get worse going forward.

然後環境法規開始發揮作用。您會看到船隊基本上以 11.1 節左右的速度緩慢航行。因此，未來情況將會變得更糟。

Then we see Vale increasing their exports, the iron ore exports. And we see Guinea increasing or keeping at a high level, their bauxite exports. We think we will see much stronger grain trades. We believe that China will not let up and we'll try to keep the 5% GDP growth going forward. We also see new building delivery slowing down.

然後我們看到淡水河谷增加了鐵礦石出口。我們看到幾內亞的鋁土礦出口增加或保持在高水準。我們認為穀物貿易將會更加強勁。我們相信中國不會鬆懈，我們將努力維持5%的GDP成長。我們還看到新建築交付放緩。

And judging from the past, the second half of every year is much stronger than the first half -- is much more exports. So overall, we think that the decent market will remain for the next six months at least. And it's not just related to whether there's going to be more production of steel or less production of steel in China where we think that it will remain strong going forward, especially because of the manufacturing reasons and because they will continue to export for as long as they can. So from all respects, we expect to be seeing a decent market for the second half of the year.

從過去的情況來看，每年下半年都比上半年強得多——出口多得多。因此，總體而言，我們認為至少在未來六個月內，良好的市場將持續存在。這不僅與中國的鋼鐵產量是增加還是減少有關，我們認為未來中國的鋼鐵產量將保持強勁，特別是因為製造業的原因，並且因為只要中國的鋼鐵產量將繼續出口，他們可以。所以從各方面來看，我們預計下半年市場會有不錯的表現。

Got it. Okay. That's helpful, Petros. Thank you.

知道了。好的。這很有幫助，佩特羅斯。謝謝。

And maybe just kind of a follow-up and thinking more about the midsize segment this time. I think one of the themes to say, late last year and coming into this year had been the expectation that Capes would outperform the Ultra and Kamsarmax segment. And that, I think, was the case earlier. But it feels like -- it looks like the midsized segments have done quite well here somewhat under the radar perhaps. What's driving that sort of stronger performance on the midsize would you say?

這次也許只是一種後續行動，多考慮中型市場。我認為從去年年底到今年的主題之一是預期 Capes 將超越 Ultra 和 Kamsarmax 細分市場。我認為，早些時候的情況就是這樣。但感覺——看起來中型細分市場在這方面表現得相當不錯，也許有些不太引人注目。您認為是什麼推動了中型車如此強勁的性能？

Well, all sizes are interconnected actually. So it's not like one size will go up and the rest will lag -- so I would say that if we see strong -- very strong capes, charters will try to cover by splitting cargoes, for example, or the other way around from Supramaxes to the midsize. So actually, whenever the -- the two hedges, the Capesize and the Supramax are doing better. You will see cargo flowing into the media sector, the Panamax, Kamsarmax. In any case, I mean I think all types of vessels were strong Capes have remained on average, I think, above $25,000, which is pretty strong.

嗯，所有尺寸實際上都是相互關聯的。因此，並不是說一種尺寸會上升，而其他尺寸會滯後- 所以我想說，如果我們看到很強的- 非常強的海岬，租船將嘗試通過拆分貨物來覆蓋，例如，或者與超靈便型船則相反到中型。所以實際上，每當這兩種對沖船、好望角型船和超靈便型船表現得更好時。您將看到貨物流入媒體部門、巴拿馬型船、卡姆薩爾型船。無論如何，我的意思是，我認為所有類型的船隻都很強大，我認為好望角的平均價格仍保持在 25,000 美元以上，這是相當強勁的。

Supras have done well because the container ship sector is doing pretty well. And I have to be -- I have to admit that I'm pretty surprised that our Kamsarmaxes have been fixed for the next quarter, a bit above $18,000 on average, probably because coal trade in the first half of the year was relatively strong. Maybe because there's cargoes from the other two types of vessels. But we also expect they will be doing pretty well going forward because we foresee higher trade on the grain side.

Supras 表現出色，因為貨櫃船產業表現相當不錯。我必須承認，我很驚訝我們的 Kamsarmax 型船已在下個季度得到修復，平均價格略高於 18,000 美元，這可能是因為今年上半年的煤炭貿易相對強勁。也許是因為有來自其他兩種類型船隻的貨物。但我們也預期他們未來會表現良好，因為我們預期穀物方面的貿易將會增加。

Understood. Petros, thank you for the color, and that's it for me. I'll turn it over.

明白了。Petros，謝謝你的顏色，對我來說就是這樣。我會把它翻過來。

Thank you, Omar.

謝謝你，奧馬爾。

(inaudible), Clarksons Securities.

（聽不清楚），克拉克森證券。

Just want to touch up on capital allocation. You have quite a significant portion of cash now. How are you looking at share buybacks going forward?

只是想談談資本配置。你現在擁有相當大一部分現金。您如何看待未來的股票回購？

Well, Hamish Norton here. We spent $380 million in the fall buying back 20 million shares of stock, Oaktree was the seller. But frankly, from the shareholders' point of view, it doesn't know who the seller was, but what the price was. And it was substantially below net asset value and below today's market value.

哈米甚·諾頓在這裡。去年秋天，我們花了 3.8 億美元回購了 2,000 萬股股票，橡樹資本是賣方。但坦白說，從股東的角度來看，它不知道賣家是誰，只知道價格是多少。它大大低於資產淨值和今天的市場價值。

So it was a big benefit to shareholders. And we pretty much feel like we're exhausted by the effort of buying back those shares at that time, let us recover our breadth and figure out what to do. We're paying out a big dividend and we do have a bunch of cash after that.

所以這對股東來說是一個很大的好處。我們感覺當時回購這些股票的努力已經讓我們筋疲力盡了，讓我們恢復我們的廣度並弄清楚該怎麼做。我們正在支付大筆股息，之後我們確實擁有大量現金。

We, as you might recall, I have a policy of keeping $2.1 million of cash per vessel on the balance sheet permanently. And we've got some cash in excess of that, but it's not a huge amount. So I don't think we're under pressure to figure out what to do with that cash for the moment, not until it builds up to something more substantial.

您可能還記得，我們​​有一項政策，即在資產負債表上永久保留每艘船 210 萬美元的現金。我們還有一些現金，但數量不多。因此，我認為我們暫時沒有壓力去弄清楚如何使用這些現金，直到它累積到更實質的東西為止。

That's great color. And maybe just to follow up on that. How are you looking at growth? And if you were sort of forced to choose a segment to grow in, which one would it be?

那顏色真棒。也許只是為了跟進。您如何看待成長？如果你被迫選擇一個細分市場來發展，你會選擇哪一個？

What we really like being diversified. And we've just bought a bunch of Supramaxes and Ultramaxes. So ideally, if we find a merger partner, we would like to find a merger partner we've got case and larger ships generally. So you can't always get what you want, but hopefully, we get what we need.

我們真正喜歡的是多元化。我們剛買了一批超靈便型船舶和超級靈便型船舶。因此，理想情況下，如果我們找到合併夥伴，我們希望找到一個通常擁有箱子和更大船舶的合併夥伴。所以你不可能總是得到你想要的東西，但希望我們能得到我們需要的東西。

Okay. That's perfect. Thank you.

好的。那很完美。謝謝。

Ben Nolan, Stifel.

本諾蘭，史蒂菲爾。

Hi, this is actually [Pamela] on for Ben. But wanted to ask, since secondhand asset values have been sort of plateauing recently, what direction do you see this moving forward?

嗨，這其實是本的[帕梅拉]。但我想問一下，由於二手資產價值最近已經趨於穩定，您認為這種趨勢會朝什麼方向發展？

The ship values, Constantine, do you want to talk about ship values?

船舶價值，康斯坦丁，你想談談船舶價值嗎？

Ship ranges have increased substantially during the first half of this year. We are seeing a stabilization over the last one, two months. We believe that Chivas as is mentioned, plateau and probably remain at these levels, but a lot will depend on how the market performs towards the end of the year when we expect the freight market to be stronger.

今年上半年船舶航程大幅增加。我們看到過去兩個月的情況趨於穩定。我們認為，正如前面提到的，芝華士將處於穩定狀態，並可能保持在這些水平，但很大程度上將取決於市場在年底的表現，屆時我們預計貨運市場將會走強。

And I guess the shipyards are still quite full.

我猜造船廠還是很滿。

Yes. Shipyard capacity for 2026 is actually almost all gone. Especially for the other sizes, we are now are starting to see 2027 slowly being filled. So in something that will drive a posting price of our modern vessels since we haven't seen such conditions for a few decades, actually. Yes.

是的。2026年的造船廠產能實際上幾乎全部耗盡。特別是對於其他尺寸，我們現在開始看到 2027 年慢慢被填滿。因此，這將推動我們現代船舶的定價，因為實際上我們已經幾十年沒有見過這種情況了。是的。

But overall, we believe that prices have actually reached a pretty high price. And they will plateau from here unless, of course, there is a huge upside in the market at some point. Otherwise, if the market remains where it is, we think this is -- we're very close to the highs of the high values of the vessels.

但總體而言，我們認為價格實際上已經達到了相當高的價格。當然，除非市場在某個時候出現巨大的上漲空間，否則它們將從這裡趨於穩定。否則，如果市場維持現狀，我們認為我們已經非常接近船舶高價值的高點了。

All right. Appreciate the color. Thank you. I'll turn it over.

好的。欣賞顏色。謝謝。我會把它翻過來。

(Operator Instructions) Once again, ladies and gentlemen, to ask a question at this time. That one to ask a question at this time. There are no questions in queue. I would like to turn the call back to management for closing comments.

（接線生指示）女士們先生們，此時再次提問。那個人這個時候要問問題。隊列中沒有問題。我想將電話轉回給管理層以徵求結束意見。

No further comments, operator. Thank you very much, and have a great summer, everybody.

運營商，沒有進一步的評論。非常感謝大家，祝大家暑假愉快。

Thank you, this does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation and have a great day.

謝謝大家，今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。