Global Ship Lease’s First Priority Senior Secured Notes Upgraded to BB- by S&P Global Ratings; $28.0 Million Partial Redemption Completed
Global Ship Lease (NYSE: GSL) announced an upgrade of its senior secured notes rating by S&P Global Ratings from B+ to BB-. This improvement is attributed to enhanced market conditions, rising charter rates, and significant demand recovery for container liners. The company's proactive engagement with customers has positioned it favorably in the container shipping sector. Global Ship Lease continues to achieve debt reduction, completing a $28 million redemption of its senior secured notes, leaving about $233 million outstanding, thereby reflecting a stronger credit profile.
- S&P upgraded the company's senior secured notes from B+ to BB-, enhancing its credit profile.
- Improved charter rates and resilient EBITDA contribute positively to financial stability.
- Proactive engagement with container liner customers has led to advantageous new charters.
- Successfully completed a $28 million mandatory redemption of senior secured notes, improving leverage.
- None.
LONDON, Dec. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE: GSL) (the “Company”), a leading independent owner of containerships, today announced that S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) has upgraded the issue rating of the Company’s first priority senior secured notes to BB- from B+. In announcing its review, S&P cited improving market conditions, positive momentum for charter rates, resilient EBITDA, accelerated debt reduction, and a steeper than expected demand recovery for Global Ship Lease’s container liner counterparties.
George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global Ship Lease, commented, “By remaining active, opportunistic, and in close contact with our container liner customers, Global Ship Lease has been a significant beneficiary of the outperformance of the container shipping sector in the second half of 2020. The sharp recovery in containerized freight demand, with year-over-year volume increases driven by a marked shift in consumer spending from services to goods, has resulted in a sustained surge of demand for mid-sized Post-Panamax and smaller containerships like those in our fleet. This heightened demand has driven idle capacity in these size classes to near zero and enabled us to pro-actively extend or secure new charters at attractive rates and durations. We have simultaneously continued to make progress in improving our leverage profile, including the recent completion of our mandatory redemption of
Additional information regarding Global Ship Lease’s rating can be found in the report dated December 9, 2020 on S&P Global Ratings website at www.spglobal.com/ratingsdirect.
About Global Ship Lease
Global Ship Lease is a leading independent owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under fixed-rate charters to top tier container liner companies. On November 15, 2018, it completed a strategic combination with Poseidon Containers.
Global Ship Lease owns 43 containerships, ranging from 2,207 to 11,040 TEU, with a total capacity of 245,280 TEU and an average age, weighted by TEU capacity, of 13.4 years as at September 30, 2020. 25 ships are Post-Panamax, of which nine are fuel-efficient new-design wide-beam.
Adjusted to include all charters agreed, and ships acquired or divested, up to November 12, 2020, the average remaining term of the Company’s charters at September 30, 2020, to the mid-point of redelivery, including options under the Company’s control, was 2.3 years on a TEU-weighted basis. Contracted revenue on the same basis was
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about the Company’s expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “will” or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and the Company cannot assure you that the events or expectations included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the factors described in “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and the factors and risks the Company describes in subsequent reports filed from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Investor and Media Contact:
The IGB Group
Bryan Degnan
646-673-9701
or
Leon Berman
212-477-8438
FAQ
What did S&P Global Ratings upgrade for Global Ship Lease on December 9, 2020?
What factors contributed to the rating upgrade of Global Ship Lease on December 9, 2020?
How much did Global Ship Lease redeem from its senior secured notes recently?
What is the current outstanding amount of Global Ship Lease's senior secured notes after the recent redemption?
How has Global Ship Lease's proactive approach impacted its business in the second half of 2020?
