Global Ship Lease reports first quarter earnings

The CMA CGM ship-owning spinoff Global Ship Lease had a pro forma profit of $1.6 million in the first quarter on time charter revenue of $22.7 million for 12 containerships.

The results were reported in a prospectus issued by Marathon Acquisition Corp., a company that expects to merge with Global Ship Lease.

Under a deal that is slated to be put to Marathon shareholders at a meeting next month, Marathon will acquire the 12 ships and contracts to purchase an additional five ships for $437 million from CMA CGM, four of which are expected to be delivered in December and one in July 2009. CMA CGM will retain about a 34 percent stake in Global Ship Lease and receive $66.6 million in cash.

The first quarter results demonstrate the company's stable and growing business model, said Ian Webber, chief executive officer of Global Ship Lease.

We look forward to taking delivery of five additional vessels over the next 15 months, which will grow our fleet 80 percent by the third quarter of 2009 and increase total contracted revenue to $1.7 billion. Complementing this near-term fleet growth, we aim to double the investment in our fleet over the next 18 to 24 months, as we seek to take advantage of our immediate financial capacity and favorable long-term industry fundamentals.

Source: American Shipper