Greetings, and welcome to the Diana Shipping Incorporated 2024 Fourth Quarter Conference Call and Webcast. [Operator Instructions]. It is now my pleasure to introduce Edward Nebb of Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you, Daryl, and thanks to everyone who is joining us today for the Diana Shipping Inc. 2024 fourth quarter and year end conference call. With us today leading the management team is Semiramis Paliou, Chief Executive Officer, who will introduce the other members of the management team. And so, without further delay, I will turn the call over to Ms. Paliou.

Thank you, Ed. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Diana Shipping Inc. Fourth quarter and end of the year 2024 financial results conference call. It's a pleasure to address you today alongside our esteemed team, Mr. Anastasios Margaronis, Director and President Mr. Ioannis Zafirakis, Director, Co-Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer Mr. Eleftherios Papatrifon, Director and Ms. Maria Dede, Co-Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I kindly remind you to review the forward-looking statements on Page 4 of the accompanying investor presentation. The Q4 2024 performance, it has been another record year for dry bulk volumes through 2024 and earnings have averaged well over that seen in 2023. But this was a year of two halves in terms of rates with a very strong first six months followed by somewhat softer conditions through the back end of the year. Trade disruption played a key part in boosting ton-mile demand, especially as Panama Canal transit slots were cut due to drought conditions leading to rerouting. This was further exacerbated by Houthi attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden, which subsequently led to a 40% reduction in bulk of transit and even more rerouting. Towards the end of 2024, shipment volumes remained high, but fleet efficiency gains began to weigh on Capesize and Panamax earnings. Meanwhile, the near normalization of the Panama Canal and more basin bound trade kept limits on ton-mile growth. Having said that, the forward curve has remained in steep contango for all sizes and we have managed to charter our vessels for period at significant premiums over the spot market. Turning to Slide 5, let's review our company's snapshot as of today. Diana Shipping Inc. founded in 1972 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2005, operates a fleet of 38 dry…

Thank you, Semiramis. Going to Slide 9 on the financial highlights for the fourth quarter of 2024, our revenue stood at $57.1 million compared to $60 million in the same quarter of last year, a decrease of about 5%. Our adjusted EBITDA was $25.9 million compared to $27.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of $1.2 million. Regarding our net income, this increased compared to the same quarter of last year to $9.7 million from $9.4 million in 2023, an increase that is mainly attributable to decreased interest expense as a result of a combination of decreased average debt and decreased interest rates and increased gain from non-operating activities in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter in 2023. Earnings per common share diluted, however, was $0.02 in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $0.06 in the same quarter of 2023. The decrease in the diluted earnings per share was due to the increased average number of shares and also the adjustments of net income to calculate this number, including not only the preferred dividends paid to preferred shareholders, but also the gain on warrants, which in the fourth quarter of 2024, was 5.5 million compared to only 1.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. On the balance sheet side, we ended the year with cash of $207.2 million compared to $161.6 million as of December 31, 2023, comprised of cash and cash equivalents, time deposits maturing in periods above three months, which are excluded from cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash serving as compensating cash balance to secure our loan facilities. Long-term debt and finance liabilities net of deferred financing costs comprising of a mix of variable and fixed rate indebtedness, which includes secured debt and unsecured bond and for…

Thank you, Maria, and a further warm welcome to the participants of this quarterly and annual earnings call of Diana Shipping Inc. A quick look at the market and an update on it. The dry bulk market has become increasingly volatile and the erratic paper market helps to increase this instability. As evidence of this trend, we saw the highs and lows of the dry bulk market over the last twelve months or so. The Baltic Dry Index hit a high of 2,419 in March last year and at the end of January of this year, stood at only 715. 12-month time charter rates for Cape reached a high of $25,000 a day in March ‘24 for a scrubber fitted ship and in January have dropped to $18,000 per day. For Kamsarmaxes, the high was $21,000 per day in March of last year and the low was reached in December of last year of $11,250 per day. For Ultramaxes, the figures were $19,500 per day in February 2024, dropping to $12,500 per day in December of last year. For the time being, Arrow Shipping & Energy have identified a sharp drop during the second half of 2024 in grain shipments as well as coal shipments. As these rates account for nearly 80% of Panamax shipments, it is no surprise that earnings dropped so much over the last two quarters. At least grain shipments are expected to increase over the next few quarters, while the future trend of coal shipments is much less certain. Looking now at macroeconomic developments, market performance depends very much on world GDP growth and on the positive side, it is encouraging to note that a record small number of countries are expected to be in recession in 2025 and 2026. The latest projections for growth of…

Thank you, Stasi. So, before we conclude today's presentation, I'd like to highlight our ongoing ESG initiatives. So, Diana Shipping is committed to promoting ecofriendly technologies and modernizing our fleet, transparently sharing emission data to ensure accountability. Diana is committed to building on partnerships and collaborations to advance our sustainability goals and is also developing an equity diversity and inclusion program while continuously investing in our people. On Slide 20, in summary, Diana Shipping Inc. Stands on a strong foundation built on over 50 years of industry experience and 20 years on the New York Stock Exchange, a seasoned management team, adept to addressing industry challenges, strong stakeholder relationships and a disciplined strategy and approach. A solid balance sheet with a strong cash position and a counter cyclical mindset, ongoing fleet modernization efforts, a focus on rewarding our shareholders when possible and the robust ESG strategy. Thank you for joining us today. We now look forward to addressing your questions during the q&a session.

[Operator Instructions]. I'm not showing any questions at this time. I'd like to hand the call back over to management for any closing comments.

Thank you very much for joining us for Diana's fourth quarter and end of year financial results conference call. I look forward to talking to you again in the next quarter. Thank you very much.

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Enjoy the rest of your day.