JOC Staff | Jan 24, 2013 9:47AM EST
Costamare’s net income fell to $22.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 from $26.1 million a year earlier as the Greek container ship owner’s charter revenue dipped to $95.2 million from $102 million.
The NYSE-listed company booked adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $62.5 million for the three months to Dec. 31 compared with $74.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Full year net income slipped to $81.1 million from $87.6 million as revenue grew to $386.2 million from $382.2 million.
“We believe that going forward, a container ship market under pressure provides us with the opportunity to expand opportunistically in a low rate and asset values environment,” said Gregory Zikos, Costamare’s chief financial officer.
The company revealed it had acquired a 2013-built, 5,928 20-foot-equivalent unit container vessel for $22.2 million, which will start a 12- to 15-month charter to Singapore-based Pacific International Lines at the end of March at a daily rate of $14,000.
Costamare sold a 29-year-old 3,876-TEU ship for scrap for $8.2 million, realizing a book gain of approximately $3.2 million.
In March, the Athens-based company, which operates 47 ships, will take delivery of the first two of 10 vessels of 8,770- to 9,400-TEU ships on order that have been chartered to Mediterranean Shipping Co. and Evergreen. The fleet capacity will total 331,000 TEUs when the final ship is delivered in February 2014.