Shipping Earnings Roundup: Here Come The Dividends

In the recent flood of earnings reports by U.S.-listed ocean shipping companies, common themes have risen to the surface: Third-quarter results are still in the red and weaker than expected, earnings are being impaired by out-of-service time due to exhaust-gas scrubber installations, rates are up sharply in the fourth quarter – and most importantly, as sentiment brightens, dividends are now back in vogue. “We think the reemergence of dividends will become a major theme in shipping equity markets over the next 12 months as companies institute and grow payouts in response to firming day rates and cleaned-up balance sheets across the group,” asserted Amit Mehrotra, transportation analyst of Deutsche Bank, in a new client note. Dry bulk owner Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE: GNK) has just announced instituted a regular dividend of $0.175 per quarter – its first regular dividend since 2008 – plus a special dividend of $0.325 per share.