Nordic American Tankers Ltd (NYSE: NAT) – Covid - Dividend - Scrubbers
On December 1, 2020, Nordic American Tankers (NAT) reassured shareholders regarding the impact of Covid-19 on its operations, emphasizing stable demand from the Far East. NAT remains committed to its dividend policy, having distributed dividends quarterly since 1997. The company avoids scrubber installations to reduce risk, utilizing fully compliant fuel. NAT maintains a positive outlook on the tanker market while highlighting potential uncertainties in its forward-looking statements. The company's consistent dividend history underscores its commitment to shareholders.
- NAT has consistently paid dividends since 1997, reinforcing its commitment to returning income to shareholders.
- The company sees strong demand from the Far East, indicating potential growth in its operations.
- Management expresses optimism about the future of the tanker market.
- There are potential uncertainties that could impact future performance, including changes in market conditions and operating expenses.
December 1, 2020
Dear Shareholders and Investors,
The question of Covid-19 is often in focus. We addressed this in the first quarter of 2020, informing you that we did not see important implications for NAT from the Covid virus. We noted in our messages to you that the future of the tanker market to a large extent is dependent upon the Far East, where economic growth is sound. We are upholding this view. For us it is a question of transportation distance (ton miles), not necessarily the volume of oil itself. We see every day the strong push we have from the Far East. This is encouraging.
Secondly, we assure you that NAT will continue to be a dividend company. We have paid dividend every quarter since the first NAT vessels were delivered to us in 1997. We shall continue on this path. While recognizing that dividend is a reflection of our earnings, we are optimistic on the future of the tanker market and the impact on NAT.
Thirdly, already in October 2017 we informed you that the so called scrubber (Exhaust gas cleaning) installation is outside the scope of our activity. We did not wish to go for scrubbers above all because our philosophy is always to reduce risk to the maximum extent. We now observe that scrubbers may be banned in several parts of the world. We use fully compliant fuel on the engines of our vessels.
Our objective is always to inform you as precisely as we can.
Best wishes for this day, December 1, 2020, when we are approaching Christmas.
Best regards,
Herbjorn Hansson
Founder, Chairman & CEO
Nordic American Tankers Ltd. www.nat.bm
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
FAQ
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