Norwegian container ship owner MPC Container Ships (MPCC) has entered into an agreement to sell five vessels en bloc, involving three 1,300 TEU vessels and two 2,000 TEU ships.
Separately, two vessels were recently sold to an undisclosed buyer with the average age of the seven sold vessels being 17 years, and the transactions imply a net asset value (NAT) of NOK 30 (US$2.85) per share.
The five vessels will be sold with the existing charters attached, which will reduce the revenue backlog by approximately US$40 million, subject to the respective handover dates, of which US$24 million relates to 2025.
The vessels are sold to unrelated parties, and the completion of the sale transactions is subject to the successful handover of the vessels.
Consequently, the MPCC is updating its financial guidance for 2025. According to the updated guidance for the year, revenues will reach US$485 million – 500 million and EBITDA will be between US$305 million and US$325 million.
Commenting on transactions, co-CEO and CFO of MPCC Moritz Fuhrmann, said:
“We are committed to continued renewal of the fleet with a focus on optimization and sustainability. These transactions are highly accretive on a per share basis and follow our strategy to enhance the fleet composition and build the company for years to come.
In addition to the divestments and following the successful bond tap of US$75 million last week, we are pleased to announce the completion of our first Japanese financing transaction, for the re-financing of one of our eco vessels. This is MPCC’s first facility in the highly competitive Japanese financing market which ideally positions the company for further accretive fleet optimization measures.”
