Washington, D.C. 20549
TOP SHIPS INC.
1 VAS. SOFIAS & MEG.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT
Attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this report on Form 6-K (the “Report”) is Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto for TOP Ships Inc. (the "Company"), as of and for the six months ended June 30, 2024.
The information contained in this Report is hereby incorporated by reference into the Company's registration
statements on Form F-3 (File Nos. 333-267170, 333-268475 and 333-267545).
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Matters discussed in this Report may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, or
PSLRA, provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals,
strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the PSLRA and is including this cautionary statement in
connection with this safe harbor legislation. This Report and any other written or oral statements made by us or on our behalf may include forward-looking statements, which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial
performance. When used in this Report, the words "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," “continue,” “possible,” “likely,” "may," "should," and similar expressions identify forward-looking
statements.
The forward-looking statements in this Report are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further
assumptions, including without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although the Company believes that these assumptions were reasonable when
made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies that are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations,
beliefs or projections.
In addition to these assumptions and matters discussed elsewhere herein and in the documents incorporated by reference herein, important
factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the following:
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our ability to maintain or develop new and existing customer relationships with major refined product importers and exporters, major crude oil companies and major
commodity traders, including our ability to enter into long-term charters for our vessels;
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our future operating and financial results;
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our future vessel acquisitions, our business strategy and expected and unexpected capital spending or operating expenses, including any dry-docking, crewing, bunker
costs and insurance costs;
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our financial condition and liquidity, including our ability to obtain financing in the future to fund capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate
activities;
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oil and chemical tanker industry trends, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values and factors affecting vessel supply and demand;
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our ability to take delivery of, integrate into our fleet, and employ any newbuildings we have ordered or may acquire or order in the future and the ability of
shipyards to deliver vessels on a timely basis;
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the aging of our vessels and resultant increases in operation and dry-docking costs;
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the ability of our vessels to pass classification inspections and vetting inspections by oil majors and big chemical corporations;
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significant changes in vessel performance, including increased vessel breakdowns;
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the creditworthiness of our charterers and the ability of our contract counterparties to fulfill their obligations to us;
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our ability to repay outstanding indebtedness, to obtain additional financing and to obtain replacement charters for our vessels, in each case, at commercially
acceptable rates or at all;
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changes to governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities and the expected costs thereof;
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our ability to maintain the listing of our common shares on NYSE or another trading market;
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our ability to comply with additional costs and risks related to our environmental, social and governance policies;
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potential liability from litigation, including purported class-action litigation;
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changes in general economic and business conditions;
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general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, political events, including
“trade wars”, piracy, acts by terrorists or major disease outbreaks such as the recent worldwide coronavirus outbreak;
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changes in production of or demand for oil and petroleum products and chemicals, either globally or in particular regions;
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the strength of world economies and currencies, including fluctuations in charterhire rates and vessel values;
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potential liability from future litigation and potential costs due to our vessel operations, including due to discharge of pollutants, any environmental damage and
vessel collisions;
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the length and severity of public health threats, epidemics and pandemics, including the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) (and various variants
that may emerge), and other disease outbreaks and their impact on the demand for commercial seaborne transportation and the condition of the financial markets and governmental responses thereto;
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international sanctions, embargoes, import and export restrictions, nationalizations,
piracy and wars or other conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, the war between Israel and Hamas or the Houthi crisis in and around the Red Sea; and
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other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by us with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC.
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Any forward-looking statements contained herein are made only as of the date of this Report, and except to the extent required by
applicable law or regulation we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New
factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all or any of these factors. Further, we cannot assess the impact of each such factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause
actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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TOP SHIPS INC.
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(Registrant)
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By:
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/s/ Evangelos J. Pistiolis
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Evangelos J. Pistiolis
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Chief Executive Officer
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MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE
30, 2023 AND 2024
The following management's discussion and analysis is intended to discuss our financial condition, changes in financial condition and
results of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2024, and should be read in conjunction with our historical unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this filing. For additional
background information, please see our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on March 29, 2024.
This discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial
performance. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, such as those set forth in the section "Risk Factors" included in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed
with the SEC on March 29, 2024.
We are an international owner and operator of modern, fuel efficient eco tanker vessels focusing on the transportation of crude oil,
petroleum products (clean and dirty) and bulk liquid chemicals. As of June 30, 2024, our fleet consisted of one 50,000 dwt product/chemical tanker, the M/T Eco Marina Del Ray, five 159,000 dwt Suezmax tankers, the M/T Eco Bel Air, M/T Eco Beverly
Hills, M/T Eco West Coast, M/T Eco Malibu and M/T Eco Oceano CA, and two 300,000 dwt VLCC tankers the M/T Julius Caesar and M/T Legio X Equestris. We also own 50% interests in two 50,000 dwt product/chemical tankers, M/T Eco Yosemite Park and M/T
Eco Joshua Park.
We intend to continue to review the market in order to identify potential acquisition targets on accretive terms.
We believe we have established a reputation in the international ocean transport industry for operating and maintaining vessels with
high standards of performance, reliability and safety. We have assembled a management team comprised of executives who have extensive experience operating large and diversified fleets of tankers and who have strong ties to a number of national,
regional and international oil companies, charterers and traders.
For additional information, please see our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on March
29, 2024, "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects."
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2023 AND 2024
The following table depicts changes in the results of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2024 compared to the six months
ended June 30, 2023.
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Six Month Period Ended June 30,
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Change
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2023
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2024
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June 30, 2023 vs June 30, 2024
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($ in thousands)
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%
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Revenues
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41,145
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42,066
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921
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2
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%
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Voyage expenses
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804
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1,163
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359
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45
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%
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Operating lease expenses
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5,378
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5,406
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28
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1
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%
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Other vessel operating expenses
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9,624
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9,451
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(173
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-2
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%
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Vessel depreciation
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7,175
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6,673
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(502
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-7
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%
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Management fees-related parties
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1,092
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1,128
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36
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3
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%
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General and administrative expenses
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799
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810
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11
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1
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%
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Dry-docking costs
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-
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3,153
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3,153
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100
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%
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Operating income
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16,273
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14,282
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(1,991
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-12
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%
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Interest and finance costs
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(10,528
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(12,728
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(2,200
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21
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%
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Equity (losses)/ gains in unconsolidated joint ventures
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(29
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4
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33
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100
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%
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Interest Income
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58
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381
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323
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557
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%
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Total other expenses, net
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(10,499
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(12,343
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(1,844
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18
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%
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Net income
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5,774
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1,939
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(3,835
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-66
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%
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Period in Period Comparison of Operating Results
During the six months ended June 30, 2024, Voyage expenses increased by $0.4 million, or 45%, compared to the same period in 2023.
This increase was mainly due to $0.4 million of bunker expenses in the period ended June 30, 2024 absent in 2023. These bunker expenses were incurred by the three vessels (see below) that underwent their scheduled drydock in the period ended June
30, 2024 (during the offhire period from the time charter due to drydock, the charterer does not bear the cost of bunkers).
During the six months ended June 30, 2024, Vessel depreciation decreased by $0.5 million, or 7%, compared to the same period in 2023.
This decrease was mainly due to the increase in the estimated scrap (or salvage) value of our vessels from $300 to $430 per lightweight ton (please see the Unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the six months ended June
30, 2024 – "Note - Significant Accounting Policies" included elsewhere in this document).
In the six months ended June 30, 2024, we incurred $3.2 million of Dry-docking costs due to the scheduled mainenance requirement of
three of our vessels, namely M/T Eco Bel Air, M/T Eco Beverly Hills and M/T Eco Marina Del Ray.
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Interest and finance costs
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During the six months ended June 30, 2024, Interest and finance costs increased by $2.2 million, or 21%, compared to the same period
in 2023 mainly due to an increase of $1.4 million in interest costs and another $0.7 million increase in amortization of deferred financing fees mainly due to the fact that we increased the leverage of five of our vessels (M/Ts Eco Marina Del Ray,
Eco West Coast, Eco Malibu, Julius Caesar and Legio X Equestris) between December 2023 and May 2024 by a total of $53.3 million. This resulted in increased interest expense and an increase in deferred financing fees leading to increased
amortization of deferred financing fees. Finally, during the six months ended June 30, 2024 amortization of debt discount relating to the amortization of the Vessel fair value participation liability in connection with the Cargill facility
increased by $0.1 million compared to the same period in 2023.
Non-US GAAP Measures
This Report describes earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), which is not a measure prepared in
accordance with U.S. GAAP (i.e., a “Non-U.S. GAAP” measure). We define EBITDA as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
EBITDA is a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure that is used as a supplemental financial measure by management and external users of
financial statements, such as investors, to assess our financial and operating performance. We believe that this non-U.S. GAAP financial measure assists our management and investors by increasing the comparability of our performance from period to
period. This is achieved by excluding the potentially disparate effects between periods or companies of interest, other financial items, depreciation and amortization and taxes, which items are affected by various and possibly changing financing
methods, capital structure and historical cost basis and which items may significantly affect net income between periods. We believe that including EBITDA as a measure of operating performance benefits investors in (a) selecting between investing in
us and other investment alternatives and (b) monitoring our ongoing financial and operational strength.
EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under U.S. GAAP, does not represent and should not be considered as an alternative to
net income, operating income, cash flow from operating activities or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. EBITDA as presented below may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.
See below for a reconciliation of EBITDA to Net Income, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure.
Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA
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Six months ended June 30,
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(Expressed in thousands of U.S. Dollars)
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2023
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2024
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Net Income
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5,774
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1,939
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Add: Vessel depreciation
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7,175
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6,673
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Add: Interest and finance costs
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10,528
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12,728
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Less: Interest Income
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(58
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(381
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EBITDA
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23,419
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20,959
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Recent Developments
On July 12, 2024 Top Mega Yachts Inc., an 100% subsidiary of ours, entered into a share purchase agreement (“SPA”) for the purchase of
the company Seawolf Ventures Limited (the “SPV”), a company affiliated with Mr. Evangelos J. Pistiolis, our President and Chief Executive Officer, (the “Seller”), which owns the M/Y Para Bellvm (the “Transaction”). The closing date of the Transaction
is set to October 15, 2024 (“Closing Date”), whereby the yacht will be delivered to us.
The M/Y Para Bellvm is a Marshall Islands flagged motor yacht with a gross tonnage of 499 tons. The consideration of the purchase was
$20.0 million and is payable as follows:
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The consideration of the No-Shop LOI ($1.0 million) was applied against the consideration payable on signing of the SPA (please see the Unaudited Interim Condensed
Consolidated Financial Statements for the six months ended June 30, 2024 – "Note - Transactions with Related Parties" included elsewhere in this document);
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An amount of $10.1 million (the “First Installment”) was paid to the Seller on July 12, 2024;
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An amount of $1.1 million (the “Second Installment”) shall be paid to the Seller on a date that is no later than 30 days after the First Installment;
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An amount of $1.1 million (the “Third Installment”) shall be paid to the Seller on a date that is no later than 30 days after the Second Installment;
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An amount of $1.1 million (the “Fourth Installment”) shall be paid to the Seller on a date that is no later than 30 days after the Third Installment;
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An amount of $1.1 million (the “Fifth Installment”) shall be paid to the Seller on a date that is no later than 30 days after the Fourth Installment;
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An amount of $1.1 million (the “Sixth Installment”) shall be paid to the Seller on a date that is no later than 30 days after the Fifth Installment;
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An amount of $2.1 million (the “Seventh Installment”) shall be paid to the Seller on a date that is no later than 30 days after the Sixth Installment;
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An amount of $1.3 million including any adjustments for working capital of the SPV as of the Closing Date (the “Final Installment”) shall be paid to the Seller on a
date that is no later than 30 days after the Seventh Installment.
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The Transaction was approved by a special committee of our board of directors, (the "Transaction Committee"), of which all of the
directors were independent. In the course of its deliberations, the Transaction Committee hired and obtained a fairness opinion from an independent financial advisor.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
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Since our formation, our principal sources of funds have been equity provided by our shareholders through equity offerings or at the
market sales, operating cash flow and long-term borrowing including sale and leaseback agreements, and short-term borrowing. Our principal use of funds has been capital expenditures to establish and grow our fleet, maintain the quality of our
vessels, comply with international shipping standards and environmental laws and regulations and fund working capital requirements.
Our business is capital intensive and its future success will depend on our ability to maintain a high-quality fleet through the
acquisition of newer vessels and the selective sale of older vessels. Our practice has been to acquire vessels using a combination of funds received from equity investors, bank debt secured by mortgages on our vessels and funds from sale and
leaseback agreements. Future acquisitions are subject to management's expectation of future market conditions, our ability to acquire vessels on favorable terms and our liquidity and capital resources.
As of June 30, 2024, we had an indebtedness of $266.2 million, which after excluding unamortized financing fees amounts to a total
indebtedness of $272.7 million (please see the Unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the six months ended June 30, 2024 – "Note - Debt" included elsewhere in this document). As of June 30, 2024, our cash and cash
equivalent balances amounted to $20.8 million, held in U.S. Dollar accounts, $4.0 million of which are classified as restricted cash.
Working Capital Requirements and Sources of Capital
As of June 30, 2024, we had a working capital deficit (current assets less current liabilities) of $12.2 million. A significant part
of the working capital deficit relates to pre-collected revenue presented in Unearned revenue ($6.7 million). This amount represents a current liability that does not require future cash settlement. As disclosed under “Recent Developments”, we have
entered into a share purchase agreement for the purchase of the company Seawolf Ventures Limited, a company affiliated with Mr. Evangelos J. Pistiolis, which owns the M/Y Para Bellvm for a consideration of $20.0 million, payable in installments up
to February 12, 2025. Out of this commitment, as of the date of this report, we have already settled $11,100.
As of the date of this annual report our cash flow projections indicate that cash on hand and cash to be provided by operating
activities will be sufficient to cover the liquidity needs that become due in the twelve-month period ending one year after June 30, 2024 (please see the Unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for the six months ended June
30, 2023 – "Note - Going Concern" included elsewhere in this document).
Our operating cash flow for the remainder of 2024 is expected to decrease when compared to the same period in 2023, since we have
increased the leverage in five of our vessels (M/Ts Eco Marina Del Ray, Eco West Coast, Eco Malibu, Julius Caesar and Legio X Equestris) and as such we expect increased interest expenses (provided that interest rate expectations for 2024 remain as
they are as of the date of this report). This is estimated to be partially offset by the increased time charter rate of M/T Marina Del Ray and by the estimated operating cashflow contribution of the M/Y Para Bellvm from October 2024 onwards.
Cash Flow Information
Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents were $9.6 million and $16.8 million as of June 30, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Net Cash from Operating Activities.
Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $6.3 million, during the six months ended June 30, 2024 to $6.7 million,
compared to $13.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.
Net Cash from Investing Activities.
Net cash used in investing activities in the six months ended June 30, 2024 was $0.1 million, consisting of $1.0 million of cash paid
for advances for asset acquisition from related parties offset by $0.9 million of return of investments in unconsolidated joint ventures.
Net Cash from Financing Activities.
Net cash used in financing activities in the six months ended June 30, 2024 was $25.8 million, consisting of $126.6 million of principal
payments and prepayments of long term, $43.9 million of redemptions of preferred shares, $28.0 million of prepayments of short term debt, $5.0 million of repayment of Vessel fair value participation liability and $3.3 million in payments of financing
costs, offset by $153.0 million of proceeds from long term debt and $28.0 million of proceeds from short term debt.