Nordic American Tankers Ltd (NYSE: NAT) – The Full Year 2020 & the 4th quarter – 2020 was a good year. NAT is a dividend company. Good market prospects

February 26, 2021

Dear Shareholders and Investors, 

Highlights: 

The following main elements in our business stand out at this time:

• During 2020 we distributed $67.2 million in cash dividends and repaid our existing loans with a gross amount of $75.5 million.
• The first half of 2020 was a strong period for NAT
• The third quarter of 2020 came out positively with a timecharter equivalent of about $25,000 per day per ship
• The fourth quarter of 2020 was weak
• We undertook planned technical maintenance of our ships during softer market periods of 2020 
• At the time of this report the market has improved and we believe that we are close to a significant positive turnaround
  
  
  
  
  
  

1. The full year 2020 produced a net income of $50 million or an earning per share (EPS) of $0.34. This is an improvement of about $60 million in 2020 compared to 2019, which produced an EPS of -$0.07.
   
   
   
   
2. We see strong oil demand, in particular from Asia for 2021. This is good for us. Oil will be required to improve standard of living for millions of people worldwide.
   
   
   
   
3. In the final quarter of 2020 we concluded the financing of the two newbuilding suezmaxes, which we ordered in September 2020. This financing offers us pre-delivery funding for the last two pre-delivery instalments of the newbuildings, if required.
   
   
   
   
4. In December 2020, we expanded our senior secured loan with our existing lender in Texas with $30 million, as a liquidity reserve. Accordingly, our long term liabilities as per December 31, 2020 stood at $335.5 million.
   
   
   
   
5. During 2020, 11 of our vessels were taken through scheduled drydockings. The majority of these dockings were conducted during the second half of the year. For 2021, we have 4 vessels due for scheduled drydockings and our fleet is as such ready for a recovery.
   
   
   
   
6. Our top quality fleet as evidenced by “vettings” undertaken by the oil companies performed technically well last year.
   
   
   
   
7. The reduced oil production from OPEC+ during the fourth quarter of 2020 affected our earnings. The average time charter equivalent (TCE) for our trading fleet during the fourth quarter of 2020 was $8,700 per day per ship. 
   
   
   
   
8. We see that the market is finely balanced and there are clear signs we are going into a stronger market.
   
   
   
   
9. Cash dividends are a priority for NAT. In 2020 we paid $67.2 million or 45 cents per share in cash dividends.
   
   
   
   
10. We announce our 94th consecutive quarterly dividend. The dividend for 4Q2020 is 2 cents ($0.02) per share, payable on March 31, 2021, to shareholders of record March 12, 2021. With improved earnings, higher dividends can be expected.
    
    
    
    
11. As communicated earlier, the Covid-19 situation has not impacted us to a significant extent.
    
    
    
    
12. Detailed financial information for the full year 2020, the third and fourth quarter of 2020 and for other periods is included later in this report.

 

Sincerely,

Herbjorn Hansson

Founder, Chairman & CEO

Nordic American Tankers Ltd.                                                             

 CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 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 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “pending” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which 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. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market, as a result of changes in OPEC’s petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the prospectus and related prospectus supplement, our Annual Report on Form 20-F, and our reports on Form 6-K.

NAT is a Bermuda based company.

Contacts:       

Gary J. Wolfe

Seward & Kissel LLP

New York, USA

Tel:

Bjørn Giæver, CFO                                                             

Nordic American Tankers Ltd                                             

Tel: +1 888 755 8391 or +47 91 35 00 91                                 

Herbjørn Hansson, Founder, Chairman & CEO

Nordic American Tankers Ltd

Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or  

 

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