Thank you for standing by, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the EuroDry Ltd. Conference Call on the Fourth Quarter of 2023 Financial Results. We have with us today Aristides Pittas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Mr. Tasos Aslidis, Chief Financial Officer of the company. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session [Operator Instructions] I must advise you that this conference call is being recorded today, and please be reminded that the company announced, its results with a press release that has been publicly distributed. Before passing the floor over to Mr. Pittas, I would also like to remind everybody that in today's presentation and conference call, EuroDry will be making forward-looking statements. These statements are within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Matters discussed, may be forward-looking statements, which are based on current management expectations that involve, risks and uncertainties that may result in such expectations not being realized. I kindly draw your attention to Slide Number 2, of the webcast presentation, which has full forward-looking statement, and the same statement was also included in the press release. Please take a moment to go through the whole statement and read it. And now I would like to pass the floor over to Mr. Pittas. Please go ahead, sir.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you all for joining us today for our scheduled conference call. Together with me, I have Tasos Aslidis, our Chief Financial Officer. The purpose of today's call is to discuss our financial results for the three and 12 months period ended 31st December, 2023. Please turn to Slide 3 of the presentation. Our financial results are shown here. For the fourth quarter of 2023, we reported total net revenues of $15.9 million, and net income attributable, to controlling shareholders of $0.3 million or $0.13 per basic and diluted share. Adjusted net income for the quarter was $1.9 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, mainly reflecting the contribution of FFA. Adjusted EBITDA for the period was $6.6 million. Please turn to the press release, for a full reconciliation of adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA. Our CFO, Tasos Aslidis, will go over our financial highlights in more detail, later on in the presentation. As of February 15, 2024, we had repurchased a total 273,120 shares of our common stock in the open market, for about $4.1 million, under our share repurchase plan of up to $10 million announced in August 2022, and extended for another year. Please turn to Slide 4, for an overview of our sales and purchase chartering and operational highlights. On the chartering side, 11 of our 13 vessels are employed in short-term charters, whilst two vessels continue, to be employed under index-linked charters, until March 2024 and 2025, respectively, at 105.5% of the Average Baltic Kamsarmax five times charter index. You can see the specifics of the various charters, we fixed in the accompanying presentation. There were no dry dockings repairs, or commercial off-hire time during the quarter. Our chartering strategy is largely driven by the market. We plan to…

Thank you very much, Aristides. Good morning from me as well, ladies and gentlemen. Over the next four slides, I will give you an overview of our financial highlights, for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023, and compare those to the same periods of last year. For that, let's turn to Slide 15. For the fourth quarter of 2023, the company reported total net revenues of $15.9 million, representing a 5.2% increase, over total net revenues, of $15.1 million, during the fourth quarter of last year of 2022. This was the result of the higher number of vessels we owned and operated in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to the same period of 2022, offset by the lower time charter rates, our vessels earned in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to 2022. We reported a net income for the period of $0.3 million, compared to a net income of $6.3 million, for the same period, the fourth quarter of 2022. It should be noted that the results for the fourth quarter of 2023, exclude a $0.37 million loss, attributable to minority interest, deriving from the 39% ownership of the NRP investors on vessels, Christos K and Maria. Interest and other financing costs for the fourth quarter of 2023 increased to $2 million, compared to $1.5 million for the same period of 2022. Interest expense during the fourth quarter of last year was higher, mainly due to the increased amount of debt we carried, and the increased benchmark rates, of our loans during the period, as compared - to the same one in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2023, was $6.6 million, compared to $7.3 million, for the same period of 2022. Basic and diluted earnings per share, attributable to controlling shareholders, for…

Thank you, Tasos. Let me now open up the floor for any questions we may have.

Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our first question is from Tate Sullivan with Maxim Group. Please proceed.

Hello. Good day. Thank you. Can you - can we talk a little bit, about the FFA hedges that you put in place in October and November? I mean you indicated that, it's for three vessels equivalent, but then in your table, you have two vessels on index-linked charters. So do one of those FFA hedges last, for almost half a year? Can you talk more about that, please?

So when you have vessels that are not fixed, which was the situation back in October, the hedge also works, for the unfixed vessels that you will fix, within the first quarter of the year. It isn't 100% correlated with the FFA, but the correlation is still very, very significant. So at the time that we did it, we had really nothing fixed. So, we covered the three vessels for around $10,000 a day. We thought that the market was going to be lower, $10,000 was for Q1, a number that we felt comfortable with. And that's why we did it. It turns around that, the market has been stronger. So all these three FFAs will result in a slight loss. But that's fine. It's equivalent to having fixed three ships for $10,000 a day. The remaining will be somehow higher figure as Q1 is tending to be.

Okay. And this was a similar strategy, I recall, and you said as well to most of the first quarters in previous years?

Whenever we feel that the market will be significantly lower, than where it is at the current stage, and where the FFAs predicted will be, we might hedge a percentage of our fleet through FFAs. It's equivalent as if we had taken let's say, charter on three ships, $10,000 a day at that time, for three months.

Okay. Thank you. And a bit – follow-up, another question on the joint venture with NRP investors. Did you - the chartering since you took delivery of those ships were they already fixed? Did they already have fixed charters in place? Or have you contracted those ships since acquiring in the JV as well?

Yes. They didn't have any charter. One of them was finishing up one of its charter. So I think it had about 1.5 months left. But since then, we have been fixing all the ships on short-term charters in anticipation of a better market in Q2.

And Tasos, will the - will next quarter or this current quarter not have the roughly $400,000 of costs to form the JV? Is that...

That's correct.

That's correct. Okay.

That's correct. A portion of the set-up fees that shared to be expensed and we - rather was reflected in our G&A number this quarter.

Okay. And last for me. As you mentioned, any changes in China's coal policy, are you referring to the headlines that have been out there? Maybe Chinese will increase industrial output, with some stimulus measures, and - do you have any - is it a meaningful portion of your fleet, currently carrying coal, or has in the past?

Indeed, we have quite a few vessels that regularly pick up coal in that area. So, we are affected, by whatever China decides, that can move both ways. So, we really don't know what their policy, is going to be.

Thank you very much. Have a good day.

Thank you. Dave.

Our next question is from Kristoffer Skeie with Arctic Securities. Please proceed.

Hello, and good afternoon. Thank you for, and good morning. Thank you for the good presentation. It seems like your timing on the vessel acquisition in Q4, was very good. And given that the asset prices have continued, to appreciate in value. Would you sort of consider selling some of the older vessels in your fleet now? Or sort, of how do you see that going forward?

Yes, that's a possibility, as you say, not currently. We're not currently considering a sale. But we do have in mind that if prices improve further, which we think will happen, we think that the market, is going to be stronger in Q2 and Q3, than what it is now. And that will result in higher earnings for the ships. But also higher prices, and we might take that opportunity, to sell one or two of the older vessels. But no decision has been taken along those lines yet.

Okay. Okay. Great. Thanks. That's it from me.

Thank you.

Thank you, Kristoffer.

Our next question is from Poe Fratt with Alliance Global Partners. Please proceed.

Hi, Aristides. Hi, Tassos. I just had a couple of - questions about clarifications. Aristides, you were talking about coal in China. Are you talking about met or thermal?

Both, actually.

Okay. And then when you talk about the first quarter FFAs being out of the money, or underwater when I look at Page 6, though, there are a couple of your vessels that, are trading at TC rates that - or spot rates that, are well under the FFAs. Are they still underwater, you think, for the full quarter? Or do you think they'll level out, over the course of the quarter?

Yes. I think these vessels - these levels where you see below $10,000 are mainly small positional voyages that, is that the ships will end up in areas, where we expect they make higher - take a higher charter afterwards. So combining both of these, I think the average for every vessel, is going to be above $10,000 a day. Therefore, that's why we say that the hedge as well, negatively, let's say, during this quarter.

Okay. That's helpful. And then...

Although, if I understand correctly, Tasos can correct me. The loss has really been taken in Q4, because we have to account for that. Tasos?

Yes, that's correct on the GAAP numbers. On the GAAP number the unrealized loss we don't take it into this quarter, we'll take it when it actually occurs during the first quarter of next year. So, the unadjusted numbers, the loss is there. But when we adjust them, we exclude the unrealized losses. These losses so far are unrealized. So, they will be reflected in our adjusted numbers, next quarter.

Yes, they'll essentially shift from unrealized to realized either, maybe in the gain, because of where you marked it at the end of the year?

Correct. Yes.

Correct.

If - during the first quarter, the market is lower than it was at the end of last year, the losses would be less. And they might turn to gains. But we - since we have more vessels open in the market, we prefer the market to be stronger overall.

Yes. Understood. And you don't have any FFAs that, extend into the second quarter, or the rest of the year, correct?

That's correct.

Okay. And then Aristides, I think in your formal presentation or your comments, you said that this quarter, you're going to be close to breakeven, you think. Is that the total breakeven, including debt amortization? So like $12,000 and change? Or is it that closer to that EBITDA breakeven?

No. I think around that $12,000 level.

Okay. And then with your stock buyback program, it seems like you're buying stock at roughly an average price of around $15. Stock is good 30% above that, what's your stance on stock buybacks, as we stand right now, with the stock over $20?

We will continue buying back stock, because still the price is extremely low. We would have been doing it more aggressively, if the liquidity in the stock was high. But unfortunately, the liquidity within the company, the trading liquidity within the company's stock is very low, which doesn't allow us to be very aggressive, on our repurchase program. Yes...

There are certain guidelines on how much you can buy based on the trading volume. So - and we are trying to use - to exhaust the allowance - the trading allowance, but it is more given our trading liquidity.

Great. Understood. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Poe.

Thank you, Poe.

With no further questions, I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Pittas for closing comments.

Thank you all for participating in today's call. We will be back with you in three months' time to discuss the results of the first quarter.

Thank you.

Have a good day and a good weekend.

Thank you. Bye.

Thank you. This will conclude the conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time.