Seanergy steps up buybacks as it expands with first newcastlemax addition
Greek capesize owner Seanergy Maritime has spent around $1.6m repurchasing its own shares as part of a buyback scheme and brought in its first newcastlemax bulker on bareboat charter with purchase option attached.
The Stamatis Tsantanis-led company has picked up 362,161 common shares, or about 2% of its issued and outstanding shares, at an average price of around $4.35 per share at an 11.2% discount from the closing price of July 5, 2023.
The news comes hot on the heels of Greek boxship and bulker owner Costamare’s chairman and CEO Konstantinos Konstantakopoulos disclosing an ownership interest of 5.1% in the Nasdaq-listed company. Although Konstantakopoulos’ move on Seanergy remains unclear at this point, Tsantanis maintains substantial control and influence over what is going on at Seanergy via series B preferred shares and a sufficient number of common shares.
Meanwhile, the company has bulked up with a 2011-built newcastlemax from Japan. The 207,855 dwt ship built at Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering (NACKS) will deliver between August and December 2023 on a one-year bareboat deal, where Seanergy will have the option to buy the ship for $20.2m at the end of the charter. The ship would cost around $30.5m, including the bareboat payments.
Despite renewed weakness in dry bulk charter rates, Tsantanis said Seanergy sees demand for seaborne transportation of commodities as very robust. “Dwt-miles have grown by 5.8% year-on-year, while the relevant figures from January until the end of May are the strongest of the last three years,” he said.
“We remain committed to the capesize sector with a solid operational platform and believe we have positioned Seanergy optimally to capitalise on improvements in the dry bulk market. We will continue to focus on shareholder returns and sustainable growth,” Tsantanis added.
On a fully-delivered basis, Seanergy has a fleet of 16 capes and one newcastlemax, with an aggregate cargo carrying capacity of around 3.05m dwt.
