Euroseas (ESEA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

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Date

Feb. 25, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET

Call participants

• Chairman & Chief Executive Officer — Aristides Pittas
• Chief Financial Officer — Anastasios Aslidis

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Takeaways

• Total net revenues -- $57.4 million, a 7.7% increase driven by higher charter rates, partially offset by a reduced average vessel count.
• Net income -- $40.5 million for the quarter, including a $9.2 million gain on the sale of MV Marcus V, compared to $24.4 million for the prior year quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDA -- $40.7 million, up 24% year over year, attributed to increased revenues from higher average charter rates.
• Annual dividend -- Raised by 7% to $3.00 per share, resulting in a stated yield of approximately 5% based on the current share price.
• Share repurchase -- 480,000 common shares bought back (6.8% of outstanding) since May 2022 for $11.4 million; repurchase program renewed in May 2025, and stated intent to continue.
• Fleet composition -- 21 owned vessels with a carrying capacity of 1,000 TEUs as of year-end; four intermediate vessels under construction will add 18,000 TEUs on delivery in 2027–2028.
• Charter coverage -- 87% of 2026 voyage days fixed at an average $30,700 daily, 71% coverage for 2027 at $31,900, and 41% of 2028 at $32,400, supporting visibility and earnings stability.
• Daily operating expenses -- $8,284 per vessel in 2025 versus $7,728 in 2024; increase primarily tied to euro-dollar fluctuations and asset base changes.
• Contracted cash flow breakeven -- $13,009 per vessel per day in 2025, improving versus $13,936 the previous year.
• Outstanding debt -- $218.4 million at a 2% margin above benchmark as of year-end; additional $140 million–$150 million in expected newbuild financing not included in this figure.
• Fleet market value -- Estimated at $664 million, implying a net asset value of $660 million ($93.70 per share) versus $62.40 closing price, reflecting a 33% market discount.
• Charter rates and asset values -- As of Feb. 20, 2026, one-year time charter rate for 5,000 TEU ships at $36,000 per day; comparable secondhand values at $37.5 million, exceeding long-term medians.
• Sale gain on vessels -- $19.4 million in full-year gains: $10 million from Diamandis and $9.2 million from Marcus V, offset by prior-year gain of $5.7 million from Lia Mastoria.
• No idle or commercial off-hire -- Reported zero off-hire days for the period, indicating high utilization and operational consistency.
• Newbuild orderbook for core segments -- Feeder vessel orderbook at 10% of fleet; intermediate segment at 17% as of Feb. 2026, with over 28% of each segment's fleet above 20 years old.
• Dividend payout policy -- Pittas stated, "We do not have a steady payout ratio that some other companies have. But we do have a strategy of providing a very decent dividend to our shareholders," with 5% yield regarded as a likely floor.

Summary

Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) reported top-line and bottom-line growth primarily due to higher charter rates and disciplined fleet management, with substantial forward charter coverage providing visibility into multi-year earnings. Management cited a 7% increase in annual net revenues and a 24% uplift in adjusted EBITDA, largely supported by a robust charter market and full fleet utilization, while raising the dividend by 7% and maintaining an active share repurchase policy. The fleet expanded to 21 vessels with significant capacity additions scheduled from 2027, underpinned by a conservative leverage profile and a well-staggered debt maturity schedule. Company leadership expressed clear strategic intent to balance shareholder returns with disciplined capital deployment, emphasizing continued dividend growth, measured leverage, and preference for newbuild exposure rather than secondhand market expansion at prevailing values.

• The company achieved 87% voyage days secured for 2026 at an average rate of $30,700, which creates substantial earnings protection and limits near-term cash flow risk.
• Pittas responded to capital allocation queries by stating the Board's focus on dividends over special distributions, preferring potential reinvestment into growth or newbuild asset opportunities.
• Long-dated forward charter rates and high vessel asset values were highlighted as supporting a 33% discount of the share price to estimated net asset value, which management views as an implicit share price appreciation opportunity.
• CFO Aslidis highlighted operating expense step-ups were primarily currency-driven, and noted future OpEx guidance assumes a 3% escalation, with euro-USD rate assumptions in the 1.15–1.20 range.
• Management described current market dynamics as favoring vessel retention over scrapping, as even aged assets are expected to trade profitably until at least 2027–2028 if market conditions persist.

Industry glossary

• TEU: Twenty-foot equivalent unit, a standard measure of containership cargo-carrying capacity.
• Feeder vessel: A containership typically under 3,000 TEUs, serving regional and intra-regional trade routes.
• Intermediate vessel: Containerships generally between 3,000 and 8,000 TEUs, positioned between feeder and mainline sizes.
• Time charter equivalent (TCE): A daily rate metric accounting for voyage revenues, expenses, and off-hire, enabling comparison of performance across periods and vessels.
• Balloon payment: A large, final repayment of principal on a loan, typically due at maturity.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Aristides Pittas: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you all for joining us today for our scheduled conference call. Together with me is Anastasios Aslidis, our Chief Financial Officer. The purpose of today's call is to discuss our financial results for the three- and twelve-month periods ended 12/31/2025. Please turn to Slide three of the presentation for our core financial highlights. For 2025, we reported total net revenues of $57,400,000 and a net income of $40,500,000, or $5.79 per diluted share. Adjusted net income for the quarter was $1,300,000, or $4.48 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA for the period was $40,700,000. Please refer to the press release for the reconciliation of our net income and adjusted EBITDA.

Anastasios Aslidis will go over our financial highlights in more detail later on in the presentation. As part of the company's common stock dividend plan, we are pleased to announce that the Board of Directors increased the quarterly dividend by 7% to $0.75 per share for 2025. This represents an annualized dividend per share of $3.00, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of about 5% based on our current share price. Additionally, since the launch of our 20,000,000 share repurchase program in May 2022, we have repurchased 480,000 shares of common stock in the open market, representing about 6.8% of our outstanding shares, for an aggregate price of approximately $11,400,000.

Following two one-year extensions, the program was renewed for the first time in May 2025. We intend to continue executing our repurchase program in a disciplined manner, deploying capital when appropriate to support and enhance long-term shareholder value. Please turn to Slide four for an overview of our recent developments where we highlight key progress across vessel sales and business partnering activity and operational performance. As previously announced, we successfully completed the sale and delivery of motor vessel Marcus V to her new unaffiliated owners. This transaction generated a gain on sale of $9,200,000. On the chartering front, we secured multiyear employment for several vessels, further strengthening our revenue stability.

Motor vessel Gragos, Terrapate, and Lawniverse were all fixed for about three years at an attractive daily rate of $30,000 per day. In addition, motor vessel Lean Expenses were fixed for a minimum of 22 months and a maximum of 24 months at a daily rate of $21,500 per day. We had no idle or commercial off-hire days for the period. Now please turn to Slide five. Our owned fleet currently consists of 21 vessels with a total carrying capacity of 1,000 TEUs and an average age of 13.1 years.

This includes six intermediate vessels with a combined carrying capacity of 25,500 TEUs and an average age of 18.2 years, and 15 feeder vessels with a combined carrying capacity of about 45,000 TEUs and an average age of 9.4 years. In addition, we have four intermediate vessels under construction, each with a capacity of 4,484 TEUs. Two of these are expected to be delivered in 2027 and the remaining two in 2028, adding a further 18,000 TEUs of capacity to our fleet. On a fully delivered basis, our fleet will grow to 25 vessels with a carrying capacity of approximately 80,000 TEUs.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, please stand by. Your conference will resume. You are now connected. You are now connected.

Aristides Pittas: Sorry for the interruption. We had the line break down. I hope you can hear me. I will continue. I just described the 4,484 TEU vessels that we expect to take delivery in 2027 and 2028. So now please turn to Slide six for a further update on our fleet employment. We continue to benefit from a high level of forward coverage. Looking ahead, we have secured a high degree of revenue visibility in the several years. For 2026, 87% of our available voyage days have been fixed at an average daily rate of approximately $30,700 per day.

In 2027, our coverage stands at about 71% with an average rate of around $31,900 per day, whilst for 2028, we already have 41% of our days secured at an average rate of around $32,400 per day. This forward coverage, achieved through our disciplined chartering strategy, allows us to balance market exposure with earnings stability across different phases of the cycle. It provides meaningful cash flow visibility and positions us to sustain profitability over the next several years, even in the event of a sudden market correction. Moving on to Slide eight, let's review the key market developments during 2025.

One-year time charter rates remain firm at historically elevated levels, supported in the near term by a substantial portion of the fleet being fixed forward. This forward coverage has helped sustain charter rate resilience even though the freight market softened amid increased vessel supply and seasonally weaker demand. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index recovered by approximately 13% from near two-year lows recorded in late September. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, average rates across the major container segments were largely unchanged and continue to hover around similar high levels. Secondhand asset prices remained stable in 2025 compared to the previous quarter.

This resilience was supported by limited vessel availability and continued competition among buyers seeking to expand their fleets amid ongoing trade disruptions. Meanwhile, the newbuilding price index declined modestly, easing by 1.5% quarter over quarter. After an extended period of strong growth, container newbuilding prices softened in the fourth quarter compared to the third. As yards are mostly full till 2028 and consequently, ordering activity has slowed. However, prices remain high by historical standards. Idle fleet capacity has trended steadily downward and is now approaching negligible levels. Recycling activity remained muted in 2025, with just 11 vessels being scrapped during the year. Scrap prices have recently softened to around $435 per lightweight ton in Bangladesh.

Overall, the global fleet expanded by approximately 7% in 2025. Please turn to Slide nine for our broader market overview focusing on the development of six- to twelve-month time charter rates over the past ten years. As illustrated on the slide, charter rates across all major container segments remain meaningfully above the respective ten-year historical averages and median levels. While rates have moderated from the extraordinary peaks of 2021 and 2022, they continue to reflect a structurally stronger earnings environment than the long-term norm. This is particularly evident in the feeder and intermediate segments where demand remained solid.

These vessel classes continue to play a critical role in maintaining network flexibility and supporting regional and intra-regional trade flows, especially amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and supply chain realignments. Moreover, limited vessel availability at the moment combined with sustained demand continue to support the elevated time charter rates. Please turn to Slide 10. According to the IMF 2026 World Economic Outlook Update, the global economy is projected to maintain a resilient expansion, with GDP growth now forecast at 3.3% in 2026 and 3.2% in 2027, reflecting a slight upward revision to the outlook relative to last October's projections.

Inflation pressures are expected to ease further with headline inflation declining from an estimated 4.1% in 2025 to 3.8% in 2026 and 3.4% in 2027, supporting a gradual return to target price stability. Despite a relatively stable medium-term outlook, there are still meaningful downside risks, though. These include the possibility that expectations around technology-driven growth prove too optimistic as well, of course, as the risk of escalating geopolitical tensions. Ongoing trade frictions and broader geopolitical fragmentation continue to create uncertainty for the global economy. The recent events in Venezuela, Greenland, and the Middle East are a reminder that external risks remain always present.

That said, some trade pressures could possibly ease in 2026, which could help reduce the drag from the tariffs on overall growth. In the United States, growth is projected to remain broadly steady with GDP growth expanding by about 2.4% in 2026 and 2% in 2027, although business and consumer sentiment appears subdued and inflation is expected to ease towards target only gradually. Among emerging markets and developing economies, India is forecast to remain one of the fastest-growing major economies, with GDP growth projected at about 6.4% for both 2026 and 2027, which is underpinned by robust domestic demand and investment momentum.

The E7 M5 region is projected to also maintain solid growth with expansion of 4.2% in 2026 and 4.4% in 2027, supported by strong domestic investment and technology exports even amid global trade uncertainties and tariff pressures. Finally, China's growth trajectory is expected to moderate more, with GDP forecast at 4.5% in 2026, down from 5% in 2025 and easing further to 4% in 2027. The slowdown reflects pressure from weaker external demand, subdued manufacturing investment, and ongoing challenges in the property sector. While segments of the economy, particularly exports and AI-related investment, continue to grow at a healthy pace, broader domestic demand remains soft, pointing to an increasingly K-shaped recovery.

On the containerized trade, according to Clarksons’ latest estimates, containership trade growth is projected to soften, with TEU-mile demand expected to decline by approximately 1% in 2026 and 5.5% in 2027. This decline is solely due to the expectation that trading through the Suez will normalize during these two years. Some of this artificial uplift in TEU-mile demand is expected to unwind beginning in 2026, with a more pronounced impact anticipated in 2027. At the same time, the substantial newbuilding ordered during the pandemic period is scheduled for delivery over the coming years.

This influx of tonnage is likely to outpace underlying demand growth at certain points in the cycle, particularly if geopolitical disruptions ease more rapidly than expected and vessels are able to return to more efficient routes. Turning on to Slide 11, you can see the total fleet age profile and containership outlook. The top left chart shows that the total containership fleet remains relatively young, with the majority of vessels under 15 years of age and only about 13% of the fleet over 20 years old. This, however, changes drastically if you look in the feeder and intermediate segments in isolation, which we will go over in the next few slides.

Staying on this slide for a moment, the top right chart illustrates scheduled new deliveries as a percentage of the existing fleet at approximately 5% for 2026, 8.5% for 2027, and 17.6% for 2028 onwards. Although actual fleet growth is expected to be somewhat lower due to slippage and future demolition activity. The bottom chart shows that the order book has increased to close to 35% of the fleet as of February 2026. Let's turn to Slide 12 where we highlight the fleet age profile and order book specifically in the 1,000 to 3,000 TEU range, which represents our feeder fleet.

As of February 2026, the orderbook for vessels below 3,000 TEU stands at a relatively modest 10% of the fleet. At the same time, roughly 28% of the fleet is over 20 years old. This dynamic points to a clear imbalance between limited newbuilding activity on one side and an aging fleet on the other. As environmental regulations tighten and compliance costs increase, a meaningful portion of these older vessels are likely to be scrapped. According to Clarksons, deliveries in this size range remain limited, with newbuilding additions projected at only 2.4% of the fleet in 2026, followed by 3.9% in 2027, and 3.8% in 2028 and beyond.

Let's move to Slide 14 now to see the supply outlook for the 3,000 to 8,000 TEU segment representing the intermediate containership segment. As of February 2026, the orderbook here stands at 17% of the fleet, a modest level compared to the largest main classes. Meanwhile, the age profile of this segment is also notably advanced, with almost 29% of vessels being over 20 years old, and another 37% between 15 and 19 years. With a limited newbuilding pipeline, net fleet growth in this segment is expected to remain contained over the next few years. Moving on to Slide 14. This chart places those dynamics in a broader context across the entire containership sector.

What becomes very clear is how sharply the orderbook is concentrated in the larger vessel classes. Neo-Panamax and post-Panamax units show orderbooks of 40% to nearly 80% of the existing fleets, in line with the significant capacity being added to the mainlane trades. By contrast, the feeder and intermediate segments show significantly smaller orderbooks ranging from just 4% to 18% depending on size, despite a meaningful share of these fleets—between 20% and almost 40%—already being more than 20 years old. This widening gap between newbuilding activity in the large vessel segments and the more limited replacement in smaller sizes highlights why our core segments remain structurally well-positioned with minimal risks of oversupply.

Now please turn to Slide 15 for a synopsis of our outlook on the container sector. Trends remain multifaceted. While time charter rates remain strong, weaker freight rates, firm fleet growth, macroeconomic uncertainty, and the possibility of vessels being rerouted again via the Red Sea point to the potential for a softer market environment ahead. Overall, time charter rates remain at historic highs. Looking into 2026, the container sector is expected to deliver one of the lowest orderbooks in recent years, with only 5% expected to be delivered versus 8.5% expected to be delivered in 2027 and over 17% in 2028 and beyond.

However, any return to normality in routes could release effective capacity back into the market, potentially putting pressure on rates and prompting further network adjustments. Looking further ahead to 2027, when containership deliveries are set to accelerate, we could experience additional softening in container shipping markets. While capacity management and higher demolition activity may help mitigate part of this pressure, the sector still faces the potential for a more challenging supply-demand balance. The energy transition continues to pick up speed in the container subsector. Alternative fuels are clearly on the horizon, but the shift is not happening overnight. Technical challenges, economic hurdles, and delays in finalizing the IMO net-zero framework mean the journey to zero emissions will be gradual.

Still, the momentum is undeniable, and the industry is steadily charting a course towards an even cleaner future. Let's turn to Slide 16. The left-hand graph shows the cycle of the one-year time charter rate for 5,000 TEU containerships over the past ten years. As of 02/20/2026, the one-year time charter rate stands at $36,000 per day, well above both the ten-year historical average and median levels. This firm rate environment is mirrored in asset values as well. Newbuilding vessels are now valued at approximately $43,000,000 compared to a ten-year median of $35,000,000 and an average of roughly $36,000,000.

Likewise, ten-year-old secondhand vessels are currently valued at $37,500,000, significantly higher than the ten-year historical median of $15,000,000 and historical average of about $21,000,000. The continued firmness in charter rates and asset values highlights the underlying resilience of the containership market and reflects the robust long-term fundamentals that continue to underpin demand for these vessels. Our financial strength allows us to act strategically as attractive investments emerge in both the secondhand and newbuilding segments. Supported by our strong liquidity profile and revenue visibility, we believe we are well positioned to further enhance shareholder returns. Our investors can rely on us continuing to offer a meaningful dividend, as our recent 7% increase demonstrates, whilst retaining excess earnings for further optimized growth.

And with that, I will pass the floor to our CFO, Anastasios Aslidis, to go over our financial highlights in more detail. Thank you very much, Aristides. Good morning from me as well, ladies and gentlemen.

Anastasios Aslidis: Over the next few slides, I will give you the usual overview of our financial highlights for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025, and compare them to the same periods of the year before, 2024. For that, let's turn to Slide 18. For 2025, the company reported total net revenues of $57,400,000, representing a 7.7% increase over total net revenues of $53,300,000 during 2024. The increase is mainly due to the result of the higher charter rates earned in 2025 compared to the corresponding period the previous year, partly offset by the decreased average number of vessels that we operated in 2025.

Consequently, including the $9,200,000 gain on the sale of our vessel MV Marcos V during the fourth quarter, we reported a net income for the period of BRL 40.5 million as compared to a net income of $24,400,000 for 2024. Total interest and other financing costs for 2025 amounted to $3,400,000 compared to $4,100,000 for the fourth quarter of the previous year, before accounting for €600,000 of imputed interest income related to the self-financing of the pre-delivery payments for one of our newbuildings at the time, which was capitalized. This decrease is mainly due to the decreased benchmark interest rates of our bank loans in the current period, 2025, partly offset by the slightly higher amount of debt we carried.

During both periods, we reported interest income of about $800,000. Adjusted EBITDA for 2025 increased to $40,700,000 compared to $32,800,000 for the corresponding period of 2024, a 24% increase primarily due to the higher revenues we collected. Basic and diluted earnings per share for 2025 were $5.92 and $5.79 respectively, calculated approximately on about 7,000,000 basic and diluted weighted average number of shares outstanding compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $3.51 and $3.49 respectively for 2024.

Excluding the gain on the sale of vessel and the unrealized income or loss on derivatives, the adjusted earnings per share for 2025 would have been $4.50 basic and $4.48 diluted—one of our highest quarters—compared to adjusted earnings per share of $3.35 basic and $2.33 diluted for the same period of 2024, during which we also had to adjust our results for the contribution of the fair value of below-market charter rate contracts and the related depreciation. Let's now look at the numbers for the full year 2025 and compare them to the full year of 2024.

For the full year of 2025, the company reported total net revenues of $227,900,000, representing a 7% increase over total net revenues of $212,900,000 during the full year of 2024, and that is again mainly the result of the higher number of vessels we owned and operated and the higher average time charter equivalent rates we earned during 2025. We reported a net income for the year of 2025 of BRL 137,000,000 compared to a net income of $112,800,000 during 2024.

Total interest and other finance costs for the twelve months of 2025 amounted to $15,100,000, again not including $100,000 of imputed interest income, compared to interest and other financing costs of $13,800,000 during 2024, not including, again, $4,200,000 of credit interest income in relation to our newbuilding program. This increase is mainly due to the increased amount of debt in the current period compared to the same period of 2024. Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months of 2025 increased to $155,900,000 compared to $135,800,000 during 2024, a 15% increase again, primarily the result of the higher revenues we collected.

For the full year of 2025, we recorded a $19,400,000 gain on sale of vessels: a $10,000,000 gain on the sale of motor vessel Diamandis earlier in the year, and a $9,200,000 gain on the sale of motor vessel Marcus V, compared to a $5,700,000 gain on the sale of motor vessel Lia Mastoria we recorded during 2024. Basic and diluted earnings per share for 2025 were $19.73 and $19.72 respectively, calculated on about 6,900,000 basic and diluted weighted average number of shares outstanding compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $16.25 and $16.20 during 2024.

Again, excluding the gain on sale of vessels, the unrealized income or loss on derivatives, the contribution of the fair value of below-market time charter contracts and related depreciation for the relevant periods, the adjusted earnings per share for the twelve months ended 12/31/2025 would have been $16.75 basic and $16.74 diluted compared to $14.92 basic and $14.97 diluted for 2024. Now, let's turn to Slide 19 which highlights our fleet performance. As usual, we report our utilization rate there, and our utilization figures are near 100% across all periods, so I will not get into describing in detail the individual utilization rates.

On average, 21.22 vessels were owned and operated during 2025, earning another time charter equivalent rate of $30,268 per day compared to 23 vessels during 2024 earning on average $26,479 per day. Our total daily operating expenses, including management fees and G&A expenses but excluding drydocking costs, were $8,284 per day during 2025, compared to $7,728 per vessel per day for the same period in 2024. If we move further down in this table, we can see the cash flow breakeven levels, which take into account the above expenses and, in addition, interest and debt burden expenses and loan repayments without accounting for balloon payments.

For 2025, our daily cash flow breakeven level on that basis was $13,009 per vessel per day compared to $13,936 per vessel per day for 2024. Finally, below the breakeven line, you can see the dividend we distributed expressed in dollars per vessel per day, and that amounts to a little more than $2,000—$2,509—for 2025, where the debt was increased, and $2,035 for 2024. Let me quickly review the annual figures on the right part of this slide. Again, for the full year of 2025 and 2024, the utilization rates were near 100%.

So let me jump and say that on average, 22.2 vessels were owned and operated during 2025, earning on average $29,107 per day compared to 21.7 vessels in 2024 earning on average $28,054 per day. Total operating expenses for the full year, including management fees and G&A expenses but again without drydocking costs, were $7,600 in 2025 compared to $7,526 in 2024. The gross margin breakeven level for the full year ended up being $13,100 in 2025 compared to $14,794 for 2024, and again, in the last line, we can see the dividend we paid expressed in dollars per vessel per day, and that amounted to $2,335 in 2025 versus $2,131 in 2024. Let's now turn to Slide 20.

And in this slide, we want to provide a better perspective of the depth of our contract coverage, especially in light of the recent charters that we concluded and I think are mentioned earlier in the presentation. The table shown presents the development of our fleet ownership days over the period of the next three years and an estimated breakdown of how many days are available for hire and how many days are already contracted. It incorporates assumptions about delivering days for the vessels under construction, scrapping days for older ships, technical drydocking and timing, timing and duration, utilization assumption going forward, and estimates for contracted days and average contracted rate.

Please note that the data presented in this table represents our internal estimates provided for indicative purposes and used for modeling future time charter equivalent revenues, and actual results may differ. Nevertheless, we believe this provides useful visibility into our forward revenue and earnings profile. Our contract coverage currently stands at approximately 87% for 2026, 71% for 2027, and about 41% for 2028, as Aristides mentioned earlier. Average contracted rates are approximately $30,700, $31,890, and $32,400 per day for the respective years. We hope this framework will assist investors and analysts in evaluating earnings potential forward by making their own assumptions for the uncontracted days of the fleet and coming to an estimate of our revenues and future profitability.

Let's now turn to Slide 21 to review our debt profile. As of 12/31/2025, our total outstanding bank debt stood at about $218,400,000 at an average interest rate margin of about 2%. We assume a three-year SOFR rate of 3.7%, the total cost of our debt stands at about 5.7%, which is well within the prevailing rates for our segment and peers. Turning to our debt amortization profile, in 2026, scheduled repayments amount to approximately $19,500,000. In 2027, our total debt service—debt repayments—increases to about $36,800,000, consisting of $16,800,000 of regular repayments and a €20,000,000 balloon payment. Repayments moderate to approximately $12,000,000 in 2028 with no balloon maturities during that year.

Looking further ahead, 2029–2030 includes total repayments of $33,800,000, again comprising $7,400,000 of scheduled repayments and a $26,400,000 balloon repayment. In the past, we were able to refinance balloon repayments routinely if we chose to do so; this remains our expectation for the upcoming balloon payments over the next five years shown in this chart. If we choose to refinance them, we expect to be able to do so relatively straightforwardly. Please also note that this table shown here does not include debt that we expect to draw to finance the construction of our four newbuildings, which we estimate to be in the range of $140,000,000 to $150,000,000 for the four vessels.

Overall, our debt maturity profile remains well staggered with no significant near-term refinancing pressure. At the bottom of this slide, we show our customer breakeven estimate for the next twelve months broken down by its key components. On this basis, our total cash flow breakeven level for the next twelve months stands at approximately $12,200 per vessel per day, a level well below the contracted and prevailing earnings of our fleet. Given the average earnings of our fleet for 2026 stand above $30,000 per vessel per day, one can appreciate the cash flow generation that our vessels provide. To sum up my remarks, let's move to Slide 22 to review some highlights from our balance sheet.

As of the end of last year, cash and other current assets totaled €188,700,000. We have already made about $35,900,000 advances for our newbuilding vessels. The book value of our fleet stood at $465,000,000, bringing the total book value for our assets to about $700,000,000. On the liability side, as I mentioned in the previous slide, we had debt amounting to $218,600,000 and other liabilities amounting to about $18,200,000, resulting in shareholders' book equity of roughly $463,000,000. However, the market value of our fleet is significantly higher than the respective book value.

According to our last estimates, our fleet is valued at approximately $664,000,000, which translates into a net value for our company of about $660,000,000 or around $93.70 per share. With our last closing price in the recent trading range of $62.40 per share, our stock trades at almost a 33% discount to its charter-adjusted net asset value. That highlights the appreciation potential that our stock has given the discount and the depth of our contracted revenues. And with that, let me pass the floor back to Aristides to continue the call.

Aristides Pittas: Thank you, Anastasios. Let me now open up the floor for any questions you may have. Thank you.

Operator: We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. Our first question comes from the line of Mark Reichman with Noble Capital Markets. Please proceed with your question.

Mark Reichman: Thank you. Well, I know you have got some of those balloon payments coming up, but I was just wondering, given your strong liquidity and contract backlog, how are you prioritizing between the dividends, share repurchases, secondhand acquisitions, and potential newbuild orders? Basically your capital allocation priorities.

Aristides Pittas: We will continue giving a strong dividend to our shareholders. We will continue looking at opportunities to grow the company accretively. We do not see such opportunities in the secondhand market, so we are more focused on the newbuilding market. We will keep very moderate leverage, and we will capitalize whenever there is an investment opportunity to do. I think that is the strategy in one minute.

Mark Reichman: On the last call, you had mentioned that containership orders had accelerated as charters had committed to take new ships on charter for longer periods even with deliveries well into the future. And I think you had mentioned that with that new supply, you thought the rates for older vessels could experience pressure beyond 2026 unless demand accelerates. So it just seems like the containership market is kind of transitioning towards those newer vessels. But it sounds like you kind of expect scrapping to accelerate meaningfully over the next two to three years. And to what extent do you think that could offset the new deliveries?

Aristides Pittas: Scrapping will not happen unless we see charter rates falling, right? Because now even very old vessels continue to get employment at very decent rates. So, as soon as the market drops though, I would expect a significant increase in the number of ships that go to the scrapyard. Because indeed the average age of the fleet has grown dramatically. So, first step that will happen is the market will drop at some point, perhaps because the world finds some equilibrium and we start trading through the Suez and do not have such disruptions. That will mean there will be too many ships around, that will mean the market will fall. Charter rates will drop.

Vessels will be scrapped, older vessels will be scrapped. And then we will be buying more secondhand vessels at significantly lower prices. The newbuilding market has grown sufficiently, as we discussed, but now one can expect to take a newbuilding delivery in 2029 onwards. So this makes quite a lot of people reluctant to place orders when they are going to receive the vessels three, four years down the line.

Mark Reichman: And then just—I ask this question generally every conference call—could you just provide some visibility on the off-hire or drydocking days in 2026? Maybe even 2027.

Anastasios Aslidis: I will be happy to provide that. I mean, as I said on top of my—the drydocking strategy for the next—it is very, very limited. It is very, very limited for this year. So we have gone through most of the, as Aristides said, imminent drydockings.

Aristides Pittas: We have two, I think, this year.

Anastasios Aslidis: Yes. And whatever the expenses are pretty minimal for the next twelve months. So you can tell from the chart on Slide 21 that the actual component is very small per day, so that is reflective, I guess, for the—

Mark Reichman: Okay. Well, thank you very much. I really appreciate it. It is very helpful.

Aristides Pittas: Thank you, Mark. Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Tate Sullivan with Maxim. Please proceed with your question.

Tate Sullivan: Thank you. I mean, arguably, I think asset values and the long-term contracted value for the sector has gone up, and M&A probably lifting higher. But separately, on the other side, I see operating expenses per day of $7,000 roughly in the fourth quarter, up about 5% year over year. Based on your exposure in the sector, can you talk—as the market is pricing higher for crew costs, supplies—what do you see across your business?

Anastasios Aslidis: A big part of those, Tate, is the dollar-euro exchange rate that was the most opposite for us during the fourth quarter, during the latter part of 2025. A portion of our operating expenses are in euros—the management fee and some other expenses. So that is part of it.

Tate Sullivan: Are you seeing any higher salary costs, salaries—yes, crew salaries—and probably not to that 5% increase amount. Or is that not—

Anastasios Aslidis: No. Increases are below 5%, both on crew costs and G&A. It is the euro-dollar thing that has increased a little bit spare parts, management fee costs, things like that affected by the euro-dollar. Also, please note that on the quarter, at least, where we operated two vessels less in the fourth quarter of this year, the G&A component is divided by a smaller number of ships, and so that is why you see probably a little bit bigger jump on a per-day basis on a per-vessel basis.

Tate Sullivan: Okay. And while I have you two, I mean, dividend policy—impressive streak of dividend increases. How do you and your Board evaluate the dividend? I mean, how do you compare what you see from other containership companies? Are you looking at 20%, 30% payout ratio or depending on the year, please?

Aristides Pittas: We do not have a steady payout ratio that some other companies have. But we do have a strategy of providing a very decent dividend to our shareholders. I think our current dividend yield of around 5% is about the lowest level we will have it at. So, if need, we might pay out more out of our—we pay out of our earnings in dividends so that we continue to pay a very decent dividend.

Tate Sullivan: Thank you.

Aristides Pittas: You are welcome, Tate. Thanks.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Poe Fratt with Alliance Global Partners. Please proceed with your question.

Poe Fratt: Yes. Hello. You have covered a lot of ground, and you always do a comprehensive overview of the industry. Aristides, if you could just highlight what the near-term prospects are for some of your upcoming open days. Specifically, looking at the older assets, the Corfu, the—I never can pronounce this correctly, but the—can you please name of my godmother. I know, and I always apologize for pronouncing her name incorrectly. I just cannot get it. But if you could just talk about the prospects there and then at what point do you consider scrapping those older assets—

Aristides Pittas: I can tell you, Poe, that on all our modeling, we had been assuming up to very recently that the vessels will be scrapped. But the market has proven too strong for this to happen. So, we will pass the special surveys and charter them out for minimum one, hopefully two years. We are discussing with potential charterers, but I cannot make any further comment at this point.

Poe Fratt: Okay. The implication is that rates are high enough to keep those in the fleet active until maybe the 2027 timeframe, maybe 2028.

Aristides Pittas: So yes, I would say, Poe, that, you know, they are going to pass this special survey now. So they will potentially have another three years of life if they pass the special survey. We will be able to trade them for another three years before we need another extensive survey. And that is probably the time that they will be scrapped.

Poe Fratt: Okay. And with extensive forward cover, as Anastasios says, it makes it simpler for us to model out the cash flows and how your financial position is going to look. And even with newbuild costs of $140,000,000 to $150,000,000, I think over the next two years, I have you in a net cash position assuming that you do not need to finance those newbuild payments. You have bought stock back fairly—not as sizable as maybe you would have hoped just given the potential volume constraints. You have increased the dividend. Even with a higher dividend, you are still in net cash position.

At what point—and you are talking about newbuilds potentially, but newbuilds would be 2029, 2030 delivery at this point in time. So are you thinking at all about a special dividend to distribute some of the cash to shareholders? I mean, at least in my model, you are overcapitalized when I look out into 2027 and even 2028. Is a special dividend something you might consider—

Aristides Pittas: You are correct, I think, in your calculations. We are not really considering a special dividend at this stage. So probably, we are hopeful that we will be able to find use for the extra capital that we currently have—better use than returning it to shareholders. But we will continue providing a very decent dividend to our shareholders.

Poe Fratt: Yes. And implied in that, Aristides, I had you increase the dividend at the middle of the year, not at the beginning of the year. Is the potential cadence of dividend increases going to be a little quicker because of how much cash you have on the balance sheet and how much cash you could—

Aristides Pittas: That is very probable, but I really cannot comment on how we will decide. But the dividend will be—addition. Hopefully, our share price will appreciate, and then we will feel that we need to always have a minimum dividend and therefore increase the dividend as well.

Operator: Okay, great. Thank you.

Anastasios Aslidis: Thanks.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Climent Molins with Value Investor's Edge. Please proceed with your question.

Climent Molins: Hi, good afternoon. Thank you for taking my questions. Most has already been covered, but I wanted to follow up on Tate’s question on the cost side. Is your OpEx guidance for 2026 based on the current euro and USD rate?

Anastasios Aslidis: What is the guidance for—what is, what we assume for the dollar-euro exchange rate?

Climent Molins: Exactly. Because your guidance aims lower than Q4 OpEx, and it was—what were the key drivers behind that?

Anastasios Aslidis: I think there is—basically, every year, we are making a budget for expected OpEx for the following year, which reflects potentially expenses required for certain ships during the period, and an assumption for the dollar-euro exchange rate. So I think we expect the dollar-euro exchange rates to remain in the high teens, 1.15 to 1.20 range. And typically, we budget—we are finalizing the budgets for this year now, but we, as a base, we assume a 3% overall increase for our OpEx expenses. I do not know whether that is exactly what you asked—

Climent Molins: Yes. I was asking your assumption on the euro-USD exchange rate because you mentioned that as the driver behind the cost increase?

Anastasios Aslidis: Yes. I mean, it is in the high teens, 1.15 to 1.20.

Aristides Pittas: If you—but for 2025, we started off with 1.05. We ended at 1.18. So that was—and our costs are maybe, I would say, about 25% overall euro-related.

Climent Molins: That is helpful.

Aristides Pittas: That is—

Anastasios Aslidis: Okay.

Operator: Our next question is a follow-up question from Mark Reichman with Noble Capital Markets. Please proceed with your question.

Mark Reichman: I just wanted to follow up on Poe’s question. You have got the four intermediate vessels to be delivered in 2027 and 2028. But when you look at your feeder vessels, I mean, you have got a few that are aging. So is now the time to start ordering some feeder vessels? I mean, there is the lead time, if you are telling us that Everdiqui and Corfu probably have about three years left?

Aristides Pittas: Of course, but we are looking into that possibility. Nothing to report yet. Thank you, guys.

Operator: We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. Mr. Pittas, I would like to turn the floor back to you for closing comments.

Aristides Pittas: Thank you all for attending our conference call today, and we will be back in three months, starting with similar kind of results. Thank you. Thanks, everybody.

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

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