• Net Income: $75.5 million for the third quarter, or $0.63 per share; adjusted net income was $81 million, or $0.68 per share.
• Liquidity: Over $1 billion as of quarter end.
• Incremental Contracted Revenues: Above $165 million from new charter agreements.
• Total Contracted Revenues: $2.3 billion with a remaining duration of 3.3 years.
• Containership Fleet Employment: 100% for 2024 and 94% for 2025.
• Neptune Maritime Leasing Funding Commitments: About $410 million for 32 shipping assets.
• CBI Fleet: 56 ships, majority on index-linked charter-in agreements.
• Available Financing for Acquisitions: Approximately $94 million.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with CMRE.

Release Date: February 05, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Costamare Inc (NYSE:CMRE) reported a net income of approximately $80 million for the third quarter of 2024.
• The company maintains strong liquidity with over $1 billion available.
• The containership fleet employment is at 100% for 2024 and 94% for 2025, ensuring stable revenue streams.
• New charter agreements are expected to generate incremental contracted revenues of above $165 million.
• Neptune Maritime Leasing continues to grow with committed funding for 32 shipping assets, reflecting total funding commitments of about $410 million.

Negative Points

• The early redemption of a 100 million bond was driven by tax and legal implications, despite its competitive interest rate.
• There are personnel changes within the CBI platform, raising questions about the stability of the trading business.
• Asset prices for new containerships and dry bulk vessels are considered high, limiting opportunities for fleet expansion.
• The dividend policy remains uncertain, with no clear indication of an increase despite improved cash flow visibility.
• The dry bulk market has not been performing well, with asset prices potentially not reflecting current chartering capacity.

Q & A Highlights

Q: What drove the early redemption of the 100 million Greek bond? A: Gregory Zikos, Chief Financial Officer, explained that the bond was prepaid a year early due to tax implications related to pillar two and legal reasons. Although the bond was competitively priced at a 2.7% cost, it was issued by Costamare Participation, a European Union subsidiary, necessitating early redemption.

Q: How is Costamare viewing the dry bulk business and the CBI platform going forward? A: Gregory Zikos emphasized that Costamare supports CBI as a long-term business. The dry bulk owning side and the trading platform of CBI are seen as complementary activities. Despite personnel changes, there is no intention to scale back; rather, the company plans to continue investing in the dry bulk business.

Q: Are there any plans to increase the dividend from the current $0.115 per quarter? A: Gregory Zikos stated that dividend decisions are made by the board and are flexible. While he cannot provide specifics, he noted that in the past, Costamare has increased dividends, made one-off payments, and conducted share buybacks. Future decisions will depend on the board's discretion.

Q: What is Costamare's strategy regarding asset pricing and fleet expansion in the dry bulk sector? A: Gregory Zikos mentioned that Costamare has been buying capes opportunistically while disposing of smaller tonnage. Current asset prices for capes are considered high, and the company is cautious about further expansion unless prices become more favorable.

Q: Is there any interest in acquiring modern tonnage in the containership sector? A: Gregory Zikos indicated that Costamare has no new building commitments due to historically high asset prices for new containers. The company is cautious about assuming excessive residual value risk and will only consider opportunities if market conditions are favorable.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.