Nordic American Tanker Shipping (NYSE:NAT) has increased its second-quarter dividend by 10 cents after it reported a strong rise in earnings for the first half of its 2023 financial year.
The NYSE-listed shipping company, which maintains a Suezmax-only fleet of tankers, reported a swing of more than $100 million in net income for the first six months, to $73.7 million from a $30.9 million loss in the first half of 2022.
It lifted its second-quarter dividend to $0.13 per share from $0.03 in 2Q 2022, taking dividends so far in 2023 to $0.43, saying that “higher earnings will result in higher dividends”.
The company noted that average Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) for its spot vessels during the quarter came in at $43,200 per day per ship.
Including vessels on term contracts, the total average NAT TCE was $39,300 per day per ship. During the same quarter of 2022, the TCE was $20,080 per day per ship.
“This is one of the strongest second quarter TCE’s ever achieved in NAT’s 28-year history,” chairman and CEO Herbjorn Hansson said in a statement.
“There is a scarcity of our type of ships, leading to better results and higher dividend.”
The company said it is also on course for a historically strong third quarter, with about 57% of its spot voyage days booked at an average TCE of $34,800 per day per ship.
“Oil demand continues to be strong. Higher interest rates combined with higher oil prices have kept oil inventories low and leaves a limited buffer ahead of the winter,” Hansson added.
“War, political uncertainty, a fragmented trade picture and a tight supply of ships offer a set of interesting dynamics ahead for the NAT oil tankers.”
Ahead of the opening bell, NAT’s shares were up 2.4% at $4.20.
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