Q1 Earnings: Seanergy Beats Topline And Bottomline Analyst Estimates, Both SHIP And Spin-Off USEA Declare Dividends

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. SHIP, the U.S.-listed pure-play capesize shipping company, reports that it continues to defy market headwinds by delivering its 14th consecutive quarterly dividend, even after a tough first quarter. While reporting a net loss, the company still outperformed Wall Street estimates and reaffirmed its commitment to shareholder returns, which it says is a rare feat in the dry bulk sector. With improving rates already locked in for Q2 and until the end of 2025 and a disciplined fleet expansion strategy, Seanergy is quietly positioning itself to be one of the most resilient names in the capesize sector.

For the first quarter, Seanergy Maritime reported a net loss of $6.8 million compared to net income of $10.2 million in the year-ago first quarter. On an adjusted basis, the net loss was $5.2 million compared to $11.6 million in last year's first quarter.  On an adjusted per-share basis, the net loss was $0.27, much narrower than the $0.44 per share loss Wall Street was anticipating according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This marks the fourth quarter in a row that Seanergy has surpassed the consensus EPS. EBITDA was $6.6 million and $8 million on an adjusted basis. 

Revenue came in at $24.2 million, compared to $38.3 million in the first quarter of 2024. This too beat the Zacks Consensus estimate by 3.76%. Seanergy Maritime also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per common share, the 14th quarter in a row it has paid a dividend as part of its capital return policy. 

"Our first-quarter results were impacted by the typical seasonal slowdown in dry bulk trade. Despite this, we recorded a daily TCE of $13,403 for the quarter, lower than the record levels of the first quarter of 2024, but in line with the seasonal trend of the market," said Seanergy Chairman and CEO Stamatis Tsantanis. "Importantly, market conditions began to recover by late February, and we expect a meaningful improvement in our second-quarter earnings. As of today, approximately 39% of our fleet days for Q2 are fixed at an average daily rate of approximately $22,700, with projected blended fleet TCE exceeding $19,000."

Meanwhile, Seanergy's spin-off, United Maritime Corp. USEA, also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.01 per share during the first quarter, marking its tenth consecutive dividend payment. This consistent return adds another layer of upside for shareholders, especially as the company has diversified into high-potential offshore energy markets through its ECV joint venture. Since launching its capital return program in November 2022, United Maritime has declared total cash dividends of $1.62 per share, amounting to $12.9 million.

United Maritime Spin-Off To Benefit From Improving Fundamentals

As for its United Maritime spin-off, the company reported net revenue of $7.8 million and EBITDA of $0.7 million based on a daily time charter equivalent of $9,953. While the spin-off is facing near-term headwinds, Tsantanis said it is positioned to benefit from improving fundamentals. The company said it has already secured about 79% of its second quarter days at an average rate of $16,835, much higher than in the first quarter. Meanwhile, United Maritime expects the daily TCE for the full quarter to be approximately $15,653.

During the first quarter, United Maritime also increased its equity stake in its newbuilding Energy Construction Vessel joint venture to about 30%, which the company says advanced its strategy to diversify earnings and risk exposure. The sector is seeing rising asset values and favorable market dynamics, reports United Maritime. 

"We are also particularly pleased to have increased our equity stake in the Energy Construction Vessel ("ECV") joint venture to approximately 30%. This represents a key milestone in our broader strategy to diversify our earnings base beyond dry bulk. The ECV project is uniquely positioned to benefit from rising demand in both traditional offshore energy and renewables, at a time when supply remains constrained," said Tsantanis. 

Seanergy – Expanding Its Fleet, Strengthening Its Liquidity

During the first quarter, Seanergy was able to successfully conclude the deliveries of one capesize and one newcastlemax vessel, both of which have commenced employment under index-linked time charters. The two additions bring Seanergy's fleet to a total of 21 vessels, which the company says reinforces its position, making it what it says is a leading pure-play capesize company. 

The company also concluded $88.1 million in new financing and refinancing transactions during the quarter, which Seanergy says addresses all its near-term debt maturities and strengthens its liquidity – all the while keeping its loan-to-value ratio under 50%.  

"Following a year of record financial performance in 2024, Seanergy entered the first quarter of 2025 with a clear strategic focus: to remain well-positioned to capitalize on the strong long-term fundamentals of the Capesize sector," said Tsantanis. "We pursued this through selective fleet expansion – acquiring high-quality Japanese-built vessels – and through strategic refinancing transactions that enhanced our financial flexibility."

Optimism For The Remainder Of The Year

Looking out to the remainder of 2025, Seanergy said it has already secured close to one-third of its operating days until the end of the year at an average daily rate of more than $22,000. Securing coverage ahead of time gives the company better visibility and continued cash flow generation, and was a big reason why Seanegy declared its quarterly dividend. All told,  total shareholder returns including stock repurchases have been equal to about $43.1 million. 

"We remain optimistic about the Capesize segment," said Tsantanis. "Global seaborne trade volumes and ton-mile demand continue to expand, while supply growth is constrained by a historically low orderbook, elevated newbuilding costs and tightening environmental regulations." 

Despite the macroeconomic uncertainty brought on by tariffs and trade wars and weather-related disruptions, Seanergy said iron ore and bauxite trades have remained resilient. The company expects iron ore volumes to further strengthen in the second quarter and beyond, thanks in large part to an increase in Brazilian exports and the start of West African exports from Simandou by the end of 2025.  

The company did caution there could be short-term volatility in bauxite due to instability in Guinea, but is confident that by and large bauxite remains a fast-growing trade. As regards coal, despite the reduction in traded volumes in the first months of the year, Seanergy is still seeing strong energy demand growth contributing to a healthy long-term seaborne trade. This is driven in large part by Southeast Asia's expanding coal-fired power generation, reported Seanergy.

"We are pleased with our fleet positioning, earnings visibility, and financial strength entering the rest of 2025. The Capesize market has demonstrated resilience through a challenging first quarter, and we remain confident in our ability to deliver strong results as market conditions continue to improve," said Tsantanis. 

Featured image courtesy of Seanergy.

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