ATHENS, GREECE, Diana Containerships Inc. (NASDAQ: DCIX), a global shipping company specializing in owning and operating containerships, announced last Monday that the Company anticipates that it will be able to pay quarterly cash dividends in excess of the amounts contemplated by its dividend policy determined at the time of the Company’s initial public offering in June 2011, while continuing to maintain sufficient liquidity to meet current and expected working capital obligations.
Accordingly, the Company’s board of directors has determined to amend the Company’s dividend policy, effective immediately. Pursuant to the revised policy, the Company intends to declare a variable quarterly dividend each February, May, August and November equal to a substantial portion of its available cash from operations during the previous quarter, after the payment of cash expenses and reserves for scheduled drydockings, intermediate and special surveys and other purposes as the Company’s board of directors may from time to time determine are required, taking into account contingent liabilities, the terms of any credit facility, the Company’s growth strategy and other cash needs and the requirements of Marshall Islands law.
The Company expects to pay a dividend with respect to the second quarter of 2012 in the amount of $0.30 per share to all holders of the Company’s common shares outstanding as of a record date to be determined by the Company’s board of directors, assuming (i) the continued performance of the Company’s current time charters and no unexpected off-hire periods; (ii) that the Company does not incur any unanticipated extraordinary cash expenses such as vessel repairs, mandated upgrades or modifications or other liabilities not covered by cash reserves established by the board of directors; and (iii) no material changes in vessel operating or financing expenses.
The actual timing and amount of dividend payments, if any, will be determined by the Company’s board of directors and could be affected by various factors, including cash earnings, financial condition and cash requirements, the loss of a vessel, the acquisition of one or more vessels, required capital expenditures, reserves established by the board of directors, increased or unanticipated expenses, additional borrowings or future issuances of securities, many of which will be beyond the Company’s control.
The Company is a holding company, and it depends on the ability of its subsidiaries to distribute funds to it in order to satisfy its financial obligations and to make dividend payments. In addition, any additional credit facilities that the Company may enter into in the future may include restrictions on its ability to pay dividends. Marshall Islands law generally prohibits the payment of dividends other than from surplus, or while a company is insolvent or would be rendered insolvent by the payment of such a dividend.
In addition, the Company may incur expenses or liabilities, including extraordinary expenses, decreases in revenues, including as a result of unanticipated off-hire days or loss of a vessel, or increased cash needs that could reduce or eliminate the amount of cash that it has available for distribution as dividends. The containership sector is cyclical and volatile. The Company cannot predict with accuracy the amount of cash flows its operations will generate in any given period. Factors beyond the Company’s control may affect the charter market for its vessels and its charterers’ ability to satisfy their contractual obligations to the Company, and the Company cannot assure you that dividends will actually be declared or paid in the future. The Company cannot assure you that it will be able to pay quarterly dividends in the amount set forth above or at all, and the Company’s ability to pay dividends will be subject to the limitations set forth above and in the section of its annual report titled “Risk Factors.”
Viewers can log on www.dcontainerships.com and see the fleet employment profile as of the 4th of June 2012.
