Ship Finance Continues to Diversify Its Assets Portfolio
Illustration; Image Courtesy: Maran TankersBermuda-based ship owner Ship Finance International Limited reported a net income of USD 28.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2016, down from USD 32.2 million seen in the previous quarter.
The company’s net operating income for the three-month period increased to USD 33.7 million from USD 32.6 million reported in the third quarter of 2016.
“Ship Finance continued to diversify its portfolio of assets and counterparty exposure in the fourth quarter, following a strategy we have employed since our inception,” Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of Ship Finance Management AS, said.
“Our continued performance is supported by our diversified USD 3.7 billion contract backlog with a weighted average charter period of nearly nine years as well as our exposure to market strength in various segments through profit sharing agreements and spot market employment,” Hjertaker added.
The company reported total U.S. GAAP operating revenues on a consolidated basis of USD 97.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. This number excludes USD 7.3 million of charter revenues classified as ‘repayment of investment in finance leases’ and USD 48.3 million of charter revenues earned by 100% owned assets classified as ‘investment in associate’. Inclusive of those revenues, the total charter revenues were USD 153.5 million.
Ship Finance said that it continues to add new assets with long term charters to its portfolio, supporting its long term distribution capacity.
“Our diversified approach gives us the opportunity to benchmark transactions across our main markets, and we believe this will enable us to generate superior returns over time compared to an approach that focuses on one market only,” the company informed.
