Diana Containerships posts $8m net loss in Q2

The containership lessor’s board of directors decided to suspend the quarterly cash dividend on its common shares, as a result of the current containership charter market.    Diana Containerships Inc. reported a loss in the second quarter ending June 30 and said it would suspend its quarterly cash dividend.
   The Athens-based company, whose shares are listed on NASDAQ, posted a net loss of $8 million for the second quarter of 2016, compared with a net income of $0.9 million for the respective period in 2015.
   “Time charter revenues, net of prepaid charter revenue amortization, were $8 million for the second quarter of 2016, compared to $17.3 million for the same period of 2015, mainly due to reduced employment opportunities and time charter rates which has resulted in fewer revenue generating days, partly offset by an increase in ownership days resulting from the enlargement of our fleet,” the company said.
   Diana has a fleet of 13 containerships, which are leased to companies that include: Maersk Line and its intra-European short sea subsidiary Seago Line, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, Yang Ming, ZIM and Hamburg Sud. Seven of these vessels are panamax-sized ships, while the additional six are post-panamax ships.
   Diana’s board of directors decided to suspend the quarterly cash dividend on its common shares, which took effect June 30, due to the current containership charter market.
   “While the company’s historical annual cash dividend since the second quarter of 2014 has amounted to $0.01 per common share (or $0.08 per common share adjusted to give effect to the 1 for 8 reverse stock split that became effective on June 9, 2016), the decision to suspend the dividend reflects the board’s determination that it is in the best long term interest of the company and its shareholders to aggressively preserve liquidity to manage current market conditions and be in a position to benefit from an eventual sector recovery,” Diana said.