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Euroseas Ltd. (ESEA)

Q3 2012 Earnings Call· Thu, Nov 8, 2012

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Thank you for standing by ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Euroseas conference call on the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2012 financial results. We have with us Mr. Aristides Pittas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Mr. Tasos Aslidis, Chief Financial Officer of the company. At this time all participations 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 is being recorded today Thursday, November 08, 2012. Please be reminded that the company announced their results after the market closed yesterday with a press release that has been publicly distributed. Before passing the floor to Mr. Pettas, I would like to remind everyone that in today’s presentation and conference call, Euroseas 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 two of the webcast presentation, which has the full forward-looking statements and the same statement was also included in the press release. I kindly suggest that you take a minute to go through the whole statement and read it. Without taking any more of your time, I would now like to pass the floor to Mr. Aristides Pittas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Euroseas. Please go ahead Mr. Pittas.

Aristides Pittas

Management

Good morning and thank you for joining Euroseas for our conference call today. Together with me is Tasos Aslidis, our CFO. The purpose of today’s call is to discuss the results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2012. Let us turn to slide three for our 2012, three and nine month overview. For the third quarter of 2012, we reported total net revenues of $13.4 million. Net loss for the period was $0.8 million or $0.02 per share, net loss, basic and diluted. The results for the third quarter include a $0.2 million net unrealized gain on derivatives and a $0.4 million realized loss on derivatives. Excluding the effect on the loss for quarter of the unrealized gain on derivatives and the realized loss on derivatives, the adjusted net loss was $0.6 million or $0.01 per share, basic and diluted for the quarter ended September 30, 2012. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2012 was $4 million. We declared a quarterly dividend of $0.015 per share for the third quarter of 2012, payable on or about December 11, 2012 to shareholders’ of record on December 4, 2012. This is the 29th consecutive quarterly dividend declared. For the first nine months of 2012, we reported total net revenues of $40.1 million. Net loss for the period was $11.2 million or $0.30 net loss of share, basic and diluted. Excluding the effect on the loss for the first nine months of 2012 of the unrealized gain on our derivatives, the realized gain on trading securities and realized loss on derivatives and the loss of sale of a vessel, the adjusted net loss for the period was $2 million or $0.05 per share, basic and diluted, for the nine months period ended September 30, 2012. Adjusted EBITDA for…

Tasos Aslidis

Management

Thank you very much, Aristides. Good morning ladies and gentlemen from me as well. I will now provide you with a brief overview of our financial results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2012 in a similar format as we did in previous presentations. Let’s move to slide 20, which shows our third quarter and first nine months of 2012 results in comparison to the same periods of 2011. I’ll go over here, some of the same fugues that Aristides gave you at the begging of the presentation. For the third quarter of 2012, we reported total net revenues of $13.4 million, representing an 17.5% decrease over total net revenues of $16.2 million during the third quarter of 2011. Lower revenues during the third quarter of 2012 partly offset by lower dry bulking expenses and lower derivative losses as compared to the third quarter of 2011, resulting in a $0.8 million loss during the current quarter of this year compared to $600,000 net income during the third quarter of 2011. The results of the third quarter of 2012 includes a $0.2 million net unrealized gain on derivatives and a $0.4 million realized loss on derivatives as compared to $1 million net unrealized loss on derivatives and trading securities and $0.1 million realized loss on derivatives for the same period of last year. Excluding the effect on the loss for this quarter of the unrealized gain and the realized loss on derivatives, the adjusted loss per share for this quarter, for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 would have been $0.01 per share, basic and diluted, compared to earnings of $0.05 per share for the same quarter third quarter of 2011. Our adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2012 was $4 million, an almost 40% decrease…

Aristides Pittas

Management

Thank you, Tasos. I would like to open up the floor for any questions we may have.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) And your first question for today comes from the line of Michael Webber from Wells Fargo. Please go ahead. Michael Webber – Wells Fargo: Hi good morning guys, how are you?

Tasos Aslidis

Management

Hi Mike.

Aristides Pittas

Management

Hi, how are you? Michael Webber – Wells Fargo: Good, just a couple of questions for you. I wanted to start on the dry bulk space is – you had referred little more on as the Sea Corp [ph] level. Are you guys finding a little bit more crowded right now in terms of people buying in and looking for incremental acquisitions kind of around your average range. And maybe just a little bit of color about what you guys are seeing, I know you guys have some incremental equities apparently you can spend and clearly you are not getting a lot of credit for the liquidity but you can certainly get it in the SMB market we can find a willing seller but just curious as the level of competition right now out there for those assets?

Aristides Pittas

Management

I think that the market is very active on the dry bulk sector. There are a lot of ships that come into the market and quite a few buyers looking. So when we board and look and inspect ships we find out the people there. There is still I would say a significant divergence often of ask and bid prices but it’s much more active than the container market, yes. Michael Webber – Wells Fargo: Have you noticed a difference in terms of the players that are looking at these assets? Are you seeing more distressed players out there looking for these dry bulk assets or these basically the usual suspects that you see when you go to expect deal their assets?

Aristides Pittas

Management

I mean we haven’t been looking at the younger assets, ships up to five years old were usually this type of people are more interested. We’ve being concentrating to 10 year old ships and there we haven’t really seen a lot of these players being active, no. Michael Webber – Wells Fargo: Got you and that’s helpful. On the containership side, it’s obviously pretty weak and removing towards kind of into the seasonally ship period and (inaudible) can you talk a little about vessel lay-ups and where you think we can move to, do we kind of move fast to 6% to 7% we saw in kind of the winter timeframe last year, just kind of put that in terms of an historical context for us?

Aristides Pittas

Management

Yes, difficult to say Mike, exactly what will happen, Euroseas has been able to charter its containerships as they come up, as they become open 90% renewing with existing charters at slightly lower rates. I think the next three four months are important because it’s a quiet season and I think that we may see that number – the number of laid up ships increase during this period. Michael Webber – Wells Fargo: Got you. That’s helpful. I guess one more and I’ll turn it over. What was that?

Aristides Pittas

Management

No. And not for container on, this is not helpful but I think. Michael Webber – Wells Fargo: It’s helpful for me but not for you all. Just one more on I guess Euromar, I mean you guys you mentioned the 75% of the equities has been called, so the capital has been called rather. Any thoughts on extending that on a refresh basis [ph] as in previous quarters and maybe relate this up with there?

Tasos Aslidis

Management

In extending the investment period or in extending the joint-venture? Michael Webber – Wells Fargo: Both.

Tasos Aslidis

Management

Both. I think that probably by the end of March when the current investment period expires we will have completed the investments that we will like to do in Euromar. So I think the current Euromar will probably have completed its investments till that time. If it doesn’t, I think we can extend it, but we haven’t had any discussions, we think that we will do it during this period. Regarding Euromar-2 this is something that we have discussed more as a Euromar-2 idea rather than as an extension of Euromar because the percentages and everything might change. Michael Webber – Wells Fargo: Okay. All right, that’s – and then that would be post conclusion of Euromar-1, but that would be kind of Q1, Q3 next year?

Tasos Aslidis

Management

I think it would – yes, anything within would probably start been active after we conclude Euromar-1 yes. Michael Webber – Wells Fargo: Got you, great. That’s helpful guys. Thanks for the time.

Tasos Aslidis

Management

Okay.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. And your next question today comes from the line of Justin Yagerman from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead. Josh [ph] – Deutsche Bank: Hi good afternoon, this is Josh on for Justin.

Tasos Aslidis

Management

Hi Joshua.

Aristides Pittas

Management

Hi Josh. Josh – Deutsche Bank: I just want to piggyback on one of Mike’s questions with Euromar, I guess you just mentioned, I guess growing it up in March 2013 and I just wanted to clarify one of your comments. Are you planning on fully investing that capital prior to March ‘013 or if you don’t buy any more ships you’ll still close it up at that point and you’ll just kind of get that on full capital back?

Aristides Pittas

Management

Well I think that we will have – by that time we will have fully invested in the capital that we have. If we have not, I think that the bigger – from abilities that we will extend the period. But we have not yet discussed that in detail because we think that we will find the opportunities in the next four or five months. Josh – Deutsche Bank: Okay. I guess maybe just switching gears to the chartering market, I guess we haven’t really seen too many long-term deals done and by long-term I mean maybe a year or more in the small containership classes. Can you talk about maybe what it takes to get a rate over six months and maybe is there a geographic differences between where your vessels are located and how that affects rates?

Aristides Pittas

Management

Well I think to get a longer term charter – charterers would like you to commit to today’s rate – to today’s shorter term rates, so there is a reluctance from owners to do that. As there is reluctance from charterers to pay more than today’s market for a longer duration and as everybody things that we are at the low point in the cycle I think the divergence between the bid and the ask is so great that you’re not seeing any deals done. Liner companies are also quite skeptical because of their own slightly increasing problems because of the dropping freight rates so they are more skeptical in planning longer term. So I think they are not very willing to take the possible opportunities of chartering ships that what still is low levels, right, even if they do it that it will be bit about current spot rates. So there is a difference between the bid and the ask. Josh – Deutsche Bank: And is there a difference in rates between ships in the Pacific and the Atlantic or is it a pretty – is the market in the equilibrium?

Aristides Pittas

Management

There are difficulties in both areas but since that I – the Caribbean are a little bit easier to fix, ships that are in Northern Europe are more difficult. The Far East is a bigger market with more players. So for smaller ships it’s a little bit easier to get employments there but the rate levels are pretty similar I would say. Josh – Deutsche Bank: I guess on the balance sheet, there is the $9.5 million of restricted cash. Is that related to the 2013 balloon or is that just part of other debts or reserves?

Tasos Aslidis

Management

It is partly is the meaning with liquidity covenants that we have to hold certain amount of liquidity per vessel. And part of it has to do with restrictions regarding the loan. Josh – Deutsche Bank: Okay. So if you were to push out the 2013 balloon would that free up any restricted cash?

Tasos Aslidis

Management

No, because there is a different loan where this restricted cash relates to. Josh – Deutsche Bank: Okay. That’s all I had. I appreciate the time.

Aristides Pittas

Management

Thanks Josh.

Tasos Aslidis

Management

Thank you, Josh.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) We have no further questions at this time. Please continue.

Aristides Pittas

Management

Okay, so we would like to thank all participants of this call for listening in to us and we look forward to talking to you again in the beginning of next year and hopefully little bit better markets. Thank you.

Tasos Aslidis

Management

Thanks everybody.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect.