18 Jun 2008 07:00
Goldenport Holdings Inc.
Athens, 18th June 2008
Sale of Vessel with a Book Profit of US$ 20.3 million
Goldenport Holdings Inc. ("Goldenport" or "the Company"), (LSE: GPRT) the international shipping company that owns and operates a fleet of container and dry bulk vessels announces that it has concluded the sale of the 136,638 DWT, 1982-built bulk carrier vessel 'Samos', to the unaffiliated third party "East Sunrise Shipping Shares Limited" of Hong Kong, for a cash consideration of US$ 25.0 million. The vessel was delivered to the new owners together with the balance of its existing time charter at US$ 32,000 per day until December 2008.
'Samos' was fully depreciated to scrap value so Goldenport realised a book profit of US$ 20.3 million, after accounting for the unamortized balance of dry-docking costs.
Goldenport will utilize the proceeds realised from the sale to fund future vessel acquisitions.
Captain Paris Dragnis, Chief Executive Officer of Goldenport, commented: "This is the second fully depreciated vessel that we dispose of in 2008 taking advantage of the strong vessel prices in the dry-bulk sector. The profit from both sales, which amounts to about $ 33.1 million in total, allows us to fund further vessels acquisitions.
As we have already announced, Goldenport has contracted for six new-build dry bulk carriers, two containerships and one vessel under reconstruction, of which two are scheduled for delivery in 2008, five in 2009 and one each on 2010 and 2011. This fleet renewal and expansion program will grow our fleet from 22 operational to 31 vessels extending its economic life and enhancing our revenue and profit generation potential. At the same time, we are looking for accretive acquisitions taking advantage of market opportunities as these may occur.
Our prudent fleet deployment, whereby 95% of our fleet available days in 2008 and 74% in 2009 are fixed under time charters, enables us to lock in strong and visible cash flows for the longer term while at the same time we can benefit from the continued market strength for the vessels opening for re-charter, thereby maximizing our profit potential and the return to our shareholders."
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Goldenport Holdings Inc.:
Christos Varsos, Chief Financial Officer +30 210 8910500
John Dragnis, Commercial Director +30 210 8910500
Investor Relations Coordinators:
Capital Link - London +44 207 614 2900
Capital Link - New York +1 212 661 7566
Nicolas Bornozis goldenport@capitallink.com
Further Information:
Overview of Goldenport
Goldenport is an international shipping company that owns a fleet of thirty-one container and dry-bulk vessels (after the sale of the bulk carrier vessel mentioned above) that transport cargo worldwide. The fleet consists of eighteen container vessels (including two new-build vessels with deliveries scheduled for 2010 and 2011) and thirteen dry-bulk carriers (including six new-build vessels with deliveries scheduled for 2008 and 2009). Goldenport is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker GPRT.
Website: www.goldenportholdings.com or www.goldenport.biz