United Maritime 2026 Q2 Earnings Call

Please go ahead, sir. Welcome to United Maritime's conference call to discuss our financial results for the second quarter and six-month period ended June 30, 2026.

The second quarter marked an important milestone for United as a strategic repositioning of our fleet towards the Capesize segment has begun translating into a materially stronger earnings profile. Adjusted EPS of $0.50 this quarter against $0.02 a year ago. That's seven times higher, and it's the first evidence of what the repositioning does to our earnings power, given that in Q2, our second Capesize was ours for only three weeks. Reflecting our confidence in United's outlook, our board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share. At our latest closing price, that's roughly a 16% annualized yield. This represents our 15th consecutive quarterly distribution and more than $2.04 per share returned since we started.

As regards our financial results, second quarter net revenues amount to $10 million compared to $12.4 million last year, primarily reflecting fewer ownership days following our fleet repositioning initiatives. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was equal to $5.2 million, while adjusted earnings per share came at $0.15, up from $0.02 in the second quarter of 2025, as we discussed before. During the first six months of 2026, stronger freight markets, together with strategic repositioning of our fleet towards Capesize vessels, resulted in a meaningful improvement in profitability. We achieved adjusted EBITDA and adjusted earnings per share of $8.4 million and $0.18, respectively, compared to an adjusted EBITDA of $6 million and a loss per share of $0.40 in the prior year period.

As part of our continued repositioning towards the Capesize segment, we have entered into an agreement to sell the Exelixsea, one of our Panamax vessels. The transaction is expected to generate a gain of approximately $1.8 million upon delivery, which is currently towards the end of the third quarter. This transaction further advances the transformation of United into a company with greater earnings capacity and cash flow generation potential. It goes without saying that we will be on the lookout for additional Capesize additions in the near future. In June, we also took delivery of the Squireship, and we look forward to its first full quarter of contribution beginning in the third quarter. Importantly, the vessel's index-linked charter has already been converted to a fixed-rate charter at an attractive level, providing additional earnings visibility throughout the remainder of the year.

Accordingly, the third quarter will represent the vessel's first full quarter of earnings contribution. The acquisition of two Capesize vessels and the divestment of two Panamax/Capesize vessels, and of course, the OSV, United has substantially completed the strategic fleet repositioning announced earlier in the year. Alongside the repositioning of our operating fleet, we also completed the monetization of our participation in the offshore new building project, generating approximately $15 million of additional liquidity. This transaction further strengthens our financial flexibility to pursue future investment opportunities while maintaining our commitment to shareholder returns. Turning to our commercial strategy, the improvement in the dry bulk market translated into a meaningful increase in our Time Charter Equivalent performance. During the second quarter, our daily Time Charter Equivalent reached $18,600 per day, compared to $15,400 per day in the same quarter of 2025.

In the first six months of 2026, we achieved a daily TCE of $17,200, sharply higher than the $12,700 seen in the same period last year. Currently, three of our six vessels operate under fixed-rate charters following conversions from index-linked employment, providing increased revenue visibility over the coming quarters. Looking ahead, based on the current FFA levels, we expect our daily Time Charter Equivalent for the third quarter to be approximately $20,500 per day, with around 70% of our operating days already fixed. This would represent another sequential improvement over previous quarters and provide us with increased confidence in our earnings outlook for the remainder of the year. Overall, we're very pleased with the progress achieved during the first half of 2026. The company is entering a period where the benefits of our strategic repositioning will become increasingly evident in earnings and cash flow generation.

Before passing the call to Stavros for an overview of our financials, let me briefly comment on the dry bulk market. The market remained particularly constructive through the second quarter of 2026. The Capesize market, in particular, continued the strong momentum established earlier in the year, with the BCI averaging approximately $36,000 per day, almost double the level recorded during the second quarter of 2025. The Panamax market also strengthened considerably, reflecting favorable fundamentals across the broader dry bulk sector, averaging about $19,200 versus $11,800 in the same period last year. The improvement in freight rates has been driven by a healthy balance between supply and demand. On the demand side, iron ore bauxite continued to underpin Capesize employment. Iron ore trade has grown sharply since last year, with second quarter China imports up by 6%.

Vale second quarter production was the highest since 2018, while the Simandou project in Guinea is accelerating its export volumes at a fast rate that exceeds initial expectations. Despite the high inventories in China, demand for high-quality imported iron ore remains strong, driven by environmental regulations as well as steel capacity normalization and modernization. bauxite has emerged as one of the strongest structural demand drivers for Capesize vessels. Exports from Guinea have continued to expand, rising more than 15% in the first six months of the year, supported by robust Chinese import demand and sustained activity in the alumina sector. We believe this trade will remain an important structural driver of Capesize demand over the coming years. Coal trade has also been supportive both for the Panamax and the Capesize markets, with global seaborne volume up 2.5% year-on-year during the first half of the year.

The crisis in Hormuz has brought energy security concerns to the forefront, while warm weather and structurally higher energy demand provide a positive backdrop. Over the next quarters, even as the outlook for seaborne coal is subject to uncertainty, the reduced domestic production in China and any potential relaxation of Indonesia's strict export policy could prove important as we enter the period of seasonal strength for restocking. Lastly, on the Panamax, grain trade has also provided support, particularly through increased soya bean shipments to China following the trade agreements with the U.S. Loadings over the first four months grew by double-digit percentages, while China imports jumped by nearly 10%. On the supply side, 2026 has seen low new building deliveries in the dry bulk segment, especially in Capesizes, while dry dockings, slower sailing speeds, and environmental regulations continue to constrain effective fleet growth.

The long-term picture also remains favorable as the dry bulk order book is low by historical standards as the world fleet grows older. Stricter environmental regulations and the lower efficiency of older vessels are placing a ceiling on supply over the next years, while limited shipyard availability acts as a constraint to runaway fleet growth. Taken together, we continue to believe that the medium-term supply-demand balance remains favorable for dry bulk shipping, particularly in the Capesize segment, where United has strategically increased its exposure. On that note, I will turn the call over to Stavros for an overview of our financial performance before returning to me with some concluding remarks. Stavro, please go ahead. Thank you, Stamati.

Welcome to everyone joining us today. I will now review United's financial performance for the second quarter and first half of 2026, together with the key developments that further strengthened the company's earnings profile, financial flexibility, and ability to return capital to shareholders. For the second quarter of 2026, the company generated net revenues of $10 million, slightly lower than the same period of 2025, primarily reflecting fewer ownership days following our fleet repositioning initiatives. Despite lower revenues, stronger freight markets and improved commercial performance enabled us to maintain adjusted EBITDA at $5.2 million while delivering a significant improvement in profitability. Net income amounted to $1.2 million, while adjusted net income reached $1.5 million, compared to $1 million and $0.2 million respectively during the second quarter of last year.

Our improved profitability was primarily driven by stronger commercial performance, with fleet Time Charter Equivalent increasing by 21% year-over-year to $18,654 per day. These stronger earnings and cash flow generation supported the declaration of our 15th consecutive quarterly cash dividend, consistent with our disciplined approach to returning capital to shareholders. The same positive trend was evident during the first half of the year. Net revenues amounted to $17.9 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased by approximately 40% to $8.4 million, compared to $6 million during the first six months of 2025. Importantly, the company returned to profitability, reporting net income of $1 million and adjusted net income of $1.7 million, compared to a net loss of $3.5 million and an adjusted net loss of $4.2 million in the prior year period.