Global Ship Lease turns profit

Global Ship Lease turns profit    Global Ship Lease Inc., a company spun off from CMA CGM that leases vessels back to the French carrier, reported fourth quarter net profit of $12.3 million in, compared to a $43.7 million loss in the same 2008 period.
   Revenue was $39.9 million in the quarter compared to $26.3 million in the same 2008 period, due to the purchase of four additional ships in December 2008 and the addition of another in August, the CMA CGM Berlioz, a 2001-built, 6,627-TEU container vessel.
   “During a challenging year for the industry and global economy, our entire fleet remained secured on long-term contracts,' said Ian Webber, chief executive officer of Global Ship Lease. 'We also achieved strong utilization for the year and grew both revenue and cash flow during a time when we finalized an amendment to our credit facility.
   'With the amended credit facility, we have mitigated loan-to-value covenant concerns effectively until April 2011 and protected the company from short-term volatility in asset values. We are now paying down debt aggressively with approximately $68 million expected to be repaid in 2010,” Webber said.