GOGL – Fourth Quarter 2021 Results

Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ: GOGL / OSE: GOGL) (the “Company” or “Golden Ocean”), the world’s leading owner of large size dry bulk vessels, today announced its unaudited results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021.

Highlights

• Net income of $203.8 million and earnings per share of $1.02 for the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with net income of $195.3 million and earnings per share of $0.97 for the third quarter of 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $243.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with $229.7 million for the third quarter of 2021.
• Reported TCE rates for Capesize and Panamax/Ultramax vessels of $39,304 per day and $29,635 per day, respectively, and $35,256 per day for the whole fleet in the fourth quarter of 2021. Estimated TCE rates inclusive of charter coverage and calculated on a load-to-discharge basis, are:
  • approximately $26,100 per day contracted for 75% of the available days for Capesize vessels and $21,100 per day contracted for 72% of the available days for Panamax vessels for the first quarter of 2022; and
  • approximately $31,400 per day contracted for 22% of the available days for Capesize vessels and $22,700 per day contracted for 14% of the available days for Panamax vessels for the second quarter of 2022.
• Announced a cash dividend of $0.90 per share in respect of the fourth quarter of 2021, payable on or about March 10, 2022 to shareholders of record on March 3, 2022.

Ulrik Andersen, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“Today, we release the best quarterly result and the best full-year result in the history of Golden Ocean. The record result has been made possible through attractive market conditions, timely acquisitions and strong chartering performance. Staying true to our strategy of returning cash to our shareholders, we are paying out $0.90 per share in dividends for the quarter, taking the dividends relating to 2021 to more than $500 million.

Looking into 2022, we have a considerable amount of fixed profitable charter cover for the first quarter, which will protect our dividend capacity and build a bridge into what we expect to be a much more attractive second half of the year. Despite the recent weakening in freight rates, which we mainly attribute to seasonality, we believe the outlook for 2022 and beyond is positive due to a combination of steady demand growth and fleet supply that is at generationally low levels.”

The Board of Directors
Golden Ocean Group Limited
Hamilton, Bermuda
February 16, 2022

Questions should be directed to:

Ulrik Andersen: Chief Executive Officer, Golden Ocean Management AS
+47 22 01 73 53

Peder Simonsen: Chief Financial Officer, Golden Ocean Management AS
+47 22 01 73 45

The full report is available in the link below.

Forward Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this earnings report may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, or the PSLRA, 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 is taking advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the PSLRA and is including this cautionary statement in connection therewith. This document and any other written or oral statements made by the Company or on its behalf may include forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events and financial performance. This earnings report includes assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions and beliefs about future events. These statements are intended as “forward-looking statements.” The Company cautions that assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions and beliefs about future events may and often do vary from actual results and the differences can be material. When used in this document, the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “targets,” “projects,” “likely,” “will,” “would,” “could” and similar expressions or phrases may identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this report are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Company’s records and other data available from third parties. Although the Company believes 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 the Company’s control, the Company cannot assure you that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements.

In addition to these important factors and matters discussed elsewhere herein, important factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, include among other things: the Company’s future operating or financial results; the Company’s continued borrowing availability under its debt agreements and compliance with the covenants contained therein; the Company’s ability to procure or have access to financing, the Company’s liquidity and the adequacy of cash flows for the Company’s operations; the Company’s ability to successfully employ its existing and newbuilding dry bulk vessels and replace its operating leases on favorable terms, or at all; changes in the Company’s operating expenses and voyage costs, including bunker prices, fuel prices (including increases costs for low sulfur fuel), dry docking, crewing and insurance costs; the Company’s ability to fund future capital expenditures and investments in the construction, acquisition and refurbishment of the Company’s vessels (including the amount and nature thereof and the timing of completion thereof, the delivery and commencement of operations dates, expected downtime and lost revenue); planned, pending or recent acquisitions, business strategy and expected capital spending or operating expenses, including drydocking, surveys, upgrades and insurance costs; risks associated with vessel construction; the Company’s expectations regarding the availability of vessel acquisitions and its ability to complete acquisition transactions planned; vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hire; potential differences in interest by or among certain members of the Company’s board of directors, or the Board, executive officers, senior management and shareholders; potential liability from pending or future litigation; potential exposure or loss from investment in derivative instruments; general dry bulk shipping market trends, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values; changes in supply and demand in the dry bulk shipping industry, including the market for the Company’s vessels and the number of newbuildings under construction; the strength of world economies; stability of Europe and the Euro; fluctuations in interest rates and foreign exchange rates; changes in seaborne and other transportation; changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities; general domestic and international political conditions; potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events; the length and severity of epidemics and pandemics, including COVID-19 and its impact on the demand for seaborne transportation in the dry bulk sector; the impact of increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, lenders, charterers and other market participants with respect to our Environmental, Social and Governance practices; new environmental regulations and restrictions, whether at a global level stipulated by the International Maritime Organization, and/or regional/national imposed by regional authorities such as the European Union or individual countries; and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The Company cautions readers of this report not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, the Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this annual report or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the Company’s future performance, and actual results and future developments may vary materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.