Preliminary Q4 2019 results and quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per share
Hamilton, Bermuda, February 18, 2020. SFL Corporation Ltd. (“SFL” or the “Company”) today announced its preliminary financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.
Highlights
64th consecutive quarterly dividend declared, $0.35 per share
Operating revenue of $120 million, and net income of $24 million in the fourth quarter
Received charter hire1 of approximately $159 million in the quarter from the Company’s vessels and rigs, including $3.9 million of profit share
Adjusted EBITDA2 of $97 million from consolidated subsidiaries in addition to $27 million from wholly-owned non-consolidated subsidiaries
Sale of Frontline shares generated more than $100 million of cash
Issued NOK 600 million (approximately $67 million) senior unsecured bonds in January 2020
Sale of older VLCC and three offshore supply vessels in February 2020
Added approximately $224 million to the backlog of contracted future charter hire through vessel deliveries in addition to charter extensions and amendments in connection with installation of exhaust gas cleaning systems (“scrubbers”).
Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of SFL Management AS, said in a comment:
“SFL Corporation is entering the new decade with a strong balance sheet and significant capital available for new investments. We have now declared our 64th consecutive dividend, and have been profitable every quarter since our inception, which is a unique combination in the maritime world.
We have demonstrated our ability to continuously both renew and diversify our portfolio of assets and charters, supporting a long term distribution capacity. This has been achieved over multiple shipping cycles, by taking a very active approach to structuring our investments and managing our balance sheet. As a result nearly $27 per share or $2.3 billion in aggregate has been returned to shareholders through dividends since 2004.”
Quarterly Dividend
The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per share. The dividend will be paid on or around March 25, to shareholders on record as of March 11, and the ex-dividend date on the New York Stock Exchange will be March 10, 2020.
February 18, 2020
The Board of Directors
SFL Corporation Ltd.
Hamilton, Bermuda
The full report can be found in the link below and at the Company’s website www.sflcorp.com.
Questions can be directed to SFL Management AS:
Investor and Analyst Contact
Aksel C. Olesen, Chief Financial Officer: +47 23114036
André Reppen, Senior Vice President and Chief Treasurer: +47 23114055
Media Contact
Ole B. Hjertaker, Chief Executive Officer: +47 23114011
About SFL
SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE: SFL) has a unique track record in the maritime industry, being consistently profitable and paying dividends every quarter since 2004. The Company’s fleet of more than 80 vessels is split between tankers, bulkers, container vessels and offshore assets, and SFL’s long term distribution capacity is supported by a portfolio of long term charters and significant growth in the asset base over time. More information can be found at the Company’s website www.sflcorp.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward looking statements. These statements are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including SFL management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Company’s records and other data available from third parties. Although SFL believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control, SFL cannot give assurance that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or intentions.
Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward looking statements include the strength of world economies, fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, general market conditions including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the markets in which we operate, changes in demand resulting from changes in OPEC’s petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, developments regarding the technologies relating to oil exploration, changes in market demand in countries which import commodities and finished goods and changes in the amount and location of the production of those commodities and finished goods, increased inspection procedures and more restrictive import and export controls, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry docking and insurance costs, performance of our charterers and other counterparties with whom we deal, timely delivery of vessels under construction within the contracted price, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
1 Charter hire represents the amounts billable in the period by the Company and its 100% owned associates for chartering its vessels. This is mainly the contracted daily rate multiplied by the number of chargeable days plus any additional billable income including profit share. Long term charter hire relates to contracts undertaken for a period greater than one year. Short term charter hire relates to contracts undertaken for a period less than one year, including voyage charters.
2 ‘Adjusted EBITDA’ is a non-GAAP measure. It represents cash receipts from operating activities before net interest and capital payments.
