The board of MPC Container Ships shared in a stock exchange announcement on Tuesday morning that they are giving an event-driven dividend of 0.07 dollars per share. stock.
It happens after the sale of the 2003 vessel “AS Carinthia”, as well as the purchase of two vessels, “Rio Centaurus” and “TRF Kaya”. The transactions were communicated before Christmas, and the dividend is to be paid on 28 February 2023.
After this payment, the container shipping company will have paid out more than USD 470 million in dividends over the last twelve months, corresponding to NOK 4.7 billion.
“AS Carinthia” was purchased by MPCC together with a joint venture partner for $5.2 million in 2017, and sold for $7.6 million. The company has now reduced the number of joint venture ships from 8 to 2 since the fourth quarter of 2021.
The two new vessels have a combined price tag of 33.9 million dollars. Both are equipped with scrubbers, and come with existing charter agreements. The purchases are financed via bank financing and cash.
CEO Constantin Baack emphasizes his commitment to return capital to his investors.
– MPC Container Ships is in a favorable position given the strong charter reserve and a very healthy balance sheet. Under the current market conditions, we will continue to optimize our fleet through potential ship sales, in-water acquisitions or retrofit investments. At the same time, we will remain committed to our ambition of reliable shareholder distributions, he says.
