Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call February 7, 2024 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Gregory Zikos - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Matthew Hortopan - Citigroup

Ben Nolan - Stifel

Climent Molins - Value Investors Edge

Operator

Thank you for standing by ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Costamare Inc. Conference Call on the Fourth Quarter 2023 Financial Results. We have with us Mr. Gregory Zikos, Chief Financial Officer of the company. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] I must advise you that this conference is being recorded today Wednesday, February 7, 2024.

We would like to remind you that, this conference call contains forward-looking statements. Please take a moment to read Slide number 2 of the presentation which contains the forward-looking statements.

And I will now pass the floor to your speaker, Mr. Zikos. Please go ahead, sir.

Gregory Zikos

Thank you, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. 2023 has been a growth year for Costamare. The company had revenues of $1.5 billion and generated net income of about $660 million. Liquidity stood at around $1 billion as of yearend. Following our strategic decision in 2021 to enter into the dry bulk segment at an opportune time in the cycle, we have grown during 2023 our newly established trading platform to an operator managing a fleet of 61 dry bulk vessels.

Having invested $200 million in the new venture we have a long-term commitment to the sector whose fundamentals we view positively. Regarding Neptune Maritime Leasing, the platform has been steadily growing on a prudent basis throughout 2023 having now concluded leasing transactions for 23 ships with a total value of about $250 million.

We are committed to fastly growing the leasing business on the back of a healthy pipeline extending over the coming quarters.

On the owned dry bulk fleet side, we are executing our strategy to renew the dry bulk fleet and increase its average size. During the year, we took the decision to dispose of 12 smaller size vessels and have agreed to acquire three capesize and two ultramax vessels. Subject to market conditions, our goal is to continue our expansion in the dry market.

In the containership market, recent events have been contributing positively to the supply and demand dynamics pushing up box and charter rates. Those recent developments are mitigating the effects of oversupply in the containership market as tonnage is expected to remain tight at least until the Chinese New Year.