Preliminary Q4 2021 results and increased quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share
Hamilton, Bermuda, February 16, 2022. SFL Corporation Ltd. (“SFL” or the “Company”) today announced its preliminary financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2021.
Highlights
- 72nd consecutive quarterly dividend declared, $0.20 per share
- Operating revenue of approximately $152.1 million, and net profit of $80.1 million in the fourth quarter
- Received charter hire1 of approximately $165.8 million in the quarter from the Company’s vessels and rigs, including $7.5 million of profit share
- Adjusted EBITDA2 of $113.4 million from consolidated subsidiaries, plus an additional $7.9 million adjusted EBITDA2 from associated companies
- Agreement to acquire four modern LR2 product tankers in combination with 5-year charters to a subsidiary of Trafigura, a world leading commodity trading and logistics company
- Sale and delivery of seven Handysize dry bulk vessels with net sales proceeds of $98 million
Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of SFL Management AS, said in a comment:
«We are pleased to report a strong quarter with growth in revenue, EBITDA and net income. Throughout 2021 we have continued to renew and diversify our portfolio by deploying more than one billion in new investments and ended the year with a fixed charter backlog of approximately $2.8 billion.
We have also added several new blue-chip customers, such as Volkswagen Group, K-Line and Trafigura, and at the same time renewed the fleet by disposing older vessels and focused on investments in modern, fuel efficient vessels with a lower carbon footprint. By having a strong operational platform with full service, time charter offering, we have over the years built several strong customer relationships as illustrated by the large number of repeat transactions with our customers.
We have declared our 72nd consecutive dividend and are pleased to increase the dividend for the second quarter in a row. Since the inception of the Company in 2004, more than $2.4 billion has been returned to our shareholders. Our ambition is to continue to invest in new assets to build the portfolio for the years to come and continue distributing profits to SFL’s shareholders.»
Quarterly Dividend
The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share. The dividend will be paid on or around March 29, to shareholders on record as of March 16, and the ex-dividend date on the New York Stock Exchange will be March 15, 2022.
February 16, 2022
The Board of Directors
SFL Corporation Ltd.
Hamilton, Bermuda
The full report can be found in the link below and at the Company’s website www.sflcorp.com.
Questions may be directed to SFL Management AS:
Investor and Analyst Contact
Aksel C. Olesen, Chief Financial Officer: +47 23114036
André Reppen, Chief Treasurer and Senior Vice President: +47 23114055
Marius Furuly, Vice President – Finance: +47 23114016
Media Contact
Ole B. Hjertaker, Chief Executive Officer: +47 23114011
About SFL
SFL has a unique track record in the maritime industry and has paid dividends every quarter since its initial listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2004. The Company’s fleet of vessels is split between container vessels, bulkers, tankers and offshore drilling rigs. SFL’s long term distribution capacity is supported by a portfolio of long term charters and significant growth in the asset base over time. More information can be found on the Company’s website: www.sflcorp.com
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward looking statements. These statements are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including SFL management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Company’s records and other data available from third parties. Although SFL believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control, SFL cannot give assurance that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or intentions.
Important factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward looking statements include the strength of world economies, fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, general market conditions in the seaborne transportation industry, which is cyclical and volatile, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the markets in which the Company operates, including shifts in consumer demand from oil towards other energy sources or changes to trade patterns for refined oil products, changes in market demand in countries which import commodities and finished goods and changes in the amount and location of the production of those commodities and finished goods, technological innovation in the sectors in which we operate and quality and efficiency requirements from customers, increased inspection procedures and more restrictive import and export controls, changes in the Company’s operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs, performance of the Company’s charterers and other counterparties with whom the Company deals, the impact of any restructuring of the counterparties with whom the Company deals, including the bankruptcy proceedings relating to Seadrill and certain of its subsidiaries and timely delivery of vessels under construction within the contracted price, governmental laws and regulations, including environmental regulations, that add to our costs or the costs of our customers, potential liability from pending or future litigation, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, political instability, terrorist attacks, piracy or international hostilities, the length and severity of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and governmental responses thereto and the impact on the demand for commercial seaborne transportation and the condition of the financial markets, and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. SFL disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
1 Charter hire represents the amounts billable in the period by the Company and its associates for chartering out vessels and rigs. This is mainly the contracted daily rate multiplied by the number of chargeable days plus any additional billable income, including profit share. Long term charter hire relates to contracts undertaken for a period greater than one year. Short term charter hire relates to contracts undertaken for a period less than one year, including voyage charters.
2 ‘Adjusted EBITDA’ is a non-U.S. GAAP measure. It represents cash receipts from operating activities before net interest, amortization and capital payments.
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