First Ship Lease: Shareholder dividends exceeding expectations

First Ship Lease: Shareholder dividends exceeding expectations    Managers of a Singapore Stock Exchange-listed shipping trust said Thursday that first quarter dividends were 2 percent higher than projected during First Ship Lease's initial public offering in March.
   For the quarter ending June 30, First Ship Lease shelled out $11.5 million in distributions to shareholders, with a yield of 9.08 percent.
   With a market capitalization of roughly $750 million, FSL is the biggest of three shipping trusts listed on Singapore's exchange (see June American Shipper, page 60). Initially, it maintained a diverse fleet of 13 ships, which it chartered to five clients on long-term leases. By the end of June, the trust's fleet had grown to 16 after the acquisition of three product tankers for $45 million — the first post-IPO purchase the trust had made.
   'The incremental lease rentals from this transaction were the primary reason for revenue rising by 3.8 percent to $12.7 million for the period March 19 to June 30 compared to projection,' the trust said in a statement.