Greece's Safe Bulkers Weather Challenging Financial Conditions

Bulk carrier owners & charterers Safe Bulkers, Inc. reports results for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2012, pays reduced dividend.

Extract from Q3 2012 results

• Net revenue for the third quarter of 2012 increased by 10.1% to $46.8 million from $42.5 million during the same period in 2011.
• Net income for the third quarter of 2012 increased by 4.5% to $20.7 million from $19.8 million during the same period in 2011.
• Adjusted net income1 for the third quarter of 2012 decreased by 12.0% to $22.8 million from $25.9 million during the same period in 2011.
   

Extract from results of the nine months period ended September 30, 2012
 

• Net revenue for the nine-months period ended September 30, 2012 increased by 9.5% to $138.0 million from $126.0 million during the same period in 2011.
• Net income for the nine-months period ended September 30, 2012 decreased by 3.5% to $63.9 million from $66.2 million.
• Adjusted net income for the nine-months period ended September 30, 2012 decreased by 12.1% to $69.3 million from $78.8 million during the same period in 2011.

Company President's Remarks:
Dr. Loukas Barmparis, President of the Company, said: "Due to prolonged challenging chartering market environment, large industry orderbook through 2013 and unstable global financial conditions, our Board has decided to reduce our quarterly dividend. We have paid a dividend consistently since our initial public offering in 2008, and we remain committed to returning cash to our stockholders.

We continue to actively manage our orderbook through selective reductions in newbuild acquisition costs, prolonging existing newbuild deliveries and opportunistically acquiring newbuilds and second hand vessels at attractive prices.

We maintain our low financial costs by continuing to make proactive prepayments to our banks in order to ensure compliance with our financial covenants. We have a lean and efficient cost structure in relation to operating expenses, management fees and general and administrative expenses.

We believe it is important to preserve liquidity in this environment as we aim to further strengthen our balance sheet and deleverage our company while maintaining the ability to make additional acquisitions in the depressed asset market, timely, for the next upward shipping cycle.''