Nordic American Tankers Ltd. (NYSE: NAT) - Report for the first quarter 2020 - First quarter net operating earnings beat the full year 2019.

May 18, 2020

Dear Shareholders and Investors,


It is normal in the tanker business to meet with disruptions and unexpected events. We capitalize on such disruptions, which we expect will take place in the future too. Prospects for 2020/2021 are promising.

Highlights:     

Our net profit for 1Q2020 improved from last quarter (4Q2019) and came in at $39.5 million against a net profit of $12.7 million for 4Q2019 and a net profit of $5.6 million in 1Q2019.  EBITDA for the first quarter 2020 (non-GAAP measure) in NAT was $64.9 million. This is a 72% increase from the previous quarter (4Q2019) which generated an EBITDA of $37.7 million. EBITDA is an expression of the cash generated from our operations.

Returning profits to our shareholders through cash dividends is a priority for NAT. On March 24, 2020, we announced our 91st consecutive quarterly dividend. The dividend for the first quarter of 2020 is 14 cents ($0.14) per share, payable on June 5, 2020, to shareholders of record May 26, 2020. This is double the dividend paid in the previous quarter (4Q2019).

The average Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) achieved for the first quarter of 2020 across our fleet was $44,100 per day per ship, up almost 40% from $31,700 per day per ship in the previous quarter (4Q2019). So far in the second quarter of 2020, about 75% of the trading days of our fleet have been booked at an average TCE of about $50,000 per day per ship. This is an encouraging signal for dividend payments for 2Q2020. Our operating costs are about $8,000 per day per ship. 

Muted supply of ships creates a base for a solid future of the tanker industry.  The world economies are gradually reopening, and especially Asian economies are showing encouraging improvements. This bodes well for the tanker markets in the second half of 2020 and the full year 2021. At the end of 1Q2020 NAT is in the best position ever.

The quality of the NAT fleet is first rate, reflected in the vetting record of our ships. Vetting is the assessment of oil companies to establish the technical and operational quality of our fleet. NAT has 23 suezmax vessels.

Detailed financial information for 1Q2020 and for other periods is included later in this report.

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: +1 212 574 1223

Bjørn Giæver, CFO
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +1 888 755 8391 or +47 91 35 00 91       

Herbjørn Hansson, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Limited
Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or +47 90 14 62 91

Attachment

NAT 1Q2020 report

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