Global Ship Lease's Q4 Results Surpass Expectations - Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL)

Global Ship Lease Inc GSL reported fourth-quarter operating revenue growth of 119.4% year-over-year to $153.53 million, beating the consensus of $125 million.
Normalized EPS improved to $1.84 from $0.37 in 4Q20, beating the consensus of $1.29.
The operating income increased to $82.19 million from $25.85 million a year ago, and the margin expanded to 53.5% from 36.9%.
Adjusted EBITDA improved by 120.9% Y/Y to $85.41 million, and margin expanded by 40 bps to 55.6%.
Vessel operating expenses increased by 57.4% Y/Y to $43.6 million due to 2,012 or 50.9% net additional ownership days in Q4 due to the net increase of 22 vessels since January 1, 2021.
Utilization for the quarter was 92% compared to 95.7% in the same period of the prior year.
The average cost per ownership day in the quarter was $7,308, compared to $7,006 a year ago.
Time charter and voyage expenses were $4.8 million, compared to $2.4 million in 4Q20.
As of March 1, 2022, the company had 65 containerships in its fleet.
Global Ship Lease generated cash from operating activities of $263.95 million in FY21, compared to $104.43 million a year ago.
The company's Q4 dividend of $0.25 per Class A common share will be paid on March 4, 2022, to common shareholders of record as of February 22, 2022.
As announced earlier, the dividend will increase by 50% to $0.375 per Class A common share from Q1 of 2022. The company authorized $40.0 million for share repurchases to be utilized on an opportunistic basis.
Price Action: GSL shares are trading higher by 1.26% at $25.61 on the last check Wednesday.

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