ATHENS, Greece, March 4, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)—Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX), (the “Company”), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, today reported net loss of $6.2 million and net loss available to common stockholders of $7.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to net loss and net loss available to common stockholders of $9.6 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2013. Time charter revenues were $46.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to $39.5 million for the same quarter of 2013. This increase was mainly due to the increase in ownership days resulting from the enlargement of our fleet and was partly offset by decreased time charter rates. Net loss and net loss available to common stockholders for 2014 amounted to $10.3 million and $15.3 million, respectively, compared to net loss and net loss available to common stockholders of $21.2 million for 2013. Time charter revenues were $175.6 million for 2014, compared to $164.0 million for 2013. Share Repurchase Plan As previously announced, on May 23, 2014, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase plan, under which, during the second half of 2014, the Company repurchased and retired 2,845,549 shares for the aggregate cost of about $25.3 million, decreasing the Company’s issued and outstanding shares as of December 31, 2014 to 81,859,821. Appointment of Additional Directors Effective March 4, 2015, the Board of Directors of the Company has increased its size from seven to nine members and has appointed Mr. Kyriacos Riris and Mrs. Semiramis Paliou to fill the resulting vacancies. The Board has determined that Mr. Riris will serve as an independent director. Mrs. Paliou will not be deemed to be an independent director. Mr. Riris will serve as a Class II director with an initial term expiring at the Company’s 2016 annual meeting of shareholders, and Mrs. Paliou will serve as a Class III director with an initial term expiring at the 2017 annual meeting of shareholders.
  Fleet Employment Profile (As of March 03, 2015)
  Currently Diana Shipping Inc.‘s fleet is employed as follows:
   
  Vessel Sister Gross Rate     Delivery Date Redelivery Date  
  BUILT DWT  Ships* (USD Per Day) Com**   Charterer to Charterer  to Owners*** Notes 
  Panamax Bulk Carriers
1  DANAE A $8,250 5.00% Intermare Transport GmbH, Hamburg 10-Mar-13 16-Jan-15  
      $7,650 3.75% Glencore Grain B.V., Rotterdam 16-Jan-15 16-Dec-15 - 16-Mar-16  
  2001 75,106
2  DIONE A $9,250 5.00% RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, Essen 12-Sep-14 12-Oct-15 - 27-Feb-16  
  2001 75,172
3  NIREFS A $8,000 5.00% Intermare Transport GmbH, Hamburg 29-Jan-13 15-Nov-14  
      $10,700 5.00% RICS Shipping Co. Ltd., Seoul 15-Nov-14 25-Dec-14  
      $7,500 5.00% Glencore Grain B.V., Rotterdam 25-Dec-14 25-Nov-15 - 25-Feb-16  
  2001 75,311
4  ALCYON A $7,750 5.00% EDF Trading Limited, UK 21-Dec-12 15-Mar-15 - 21-May-15 1 
  2001 75,247
5  TRITON A $11,000 5.00% Bunge S.A., Geneva 16-Dec-13 24-Oct-14  
  2001 75,336   $9,250 5.00% Glencore Grain B.V., Rotterdam 24-Oct-14 24-Sep-15 - 24-Dec-15  
6  OCEANIS A $9,000 5.00% Glencore Grain B.V., Rotterdam 19-Jun-14 19-Mar-15 1 
  2001 75,211
7  THETIS B $8,300 5.00% EDF Trading Limited, UK 1-Sep-13 1-Jul-15 - 1-Dec-15  
  2004 73,583
8  PROTEFS B $9,000 5.00% Cargill International S.A., Geneva 14-Sep-12 20-Mar-15 1,2
  2004 73,630
9  CALIPSO B $8,100 4.75% Cargill International S.A., Geneva 29-Jul-13 29-Apr-15 - 29-Aug-15  
  2005 73,691
10  CLIO B $8,600 4.75% Cargill International S.A., Geneva 22-Aug-13 22-May-15 - 22-Aug-15  
  2005 73,691
11  NAIAS B $8,500 5.00% Bunge S.A., Geneva 3-Sep-14 4-Jul-15 - 4-Oct-15  
  2006 73,546
12  ARETHUSA B $7,300 5.00% Cargill International S.A., Geneva 22-Nov-12 20-Oct-14  
      $8,250 5.00% Intergis Co., Ltd, Seoul 20-Oct-14 20-Nov-14 3 
      $8,250 5.00% Glencore Grain B.V., Rotterdam 20-Nov-14 5-Mar-15  
      $7,100 5.00%   5-Mar-15 5-Feb-16 - 5-May-16  
  2007 73,593
13  ERATO C $6,500 5.00% Cargill International S.A., Geneva 9-Jan-13 15-Nov-14  
      $8,500 5.00% RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, Essen 27-Nov-14 14-Jan-15  
      $8,000 5.00% Langlois Enterprises Ltd. 17-Jan-15 7-Mar-15 - 15-Mar-15 1,4
  2004 74,444
14  CORONIS C $11,550 5.00% Oberon Holdings Limited 12-Jun-14 12-May-15 - 12-Aug-15  
  2006 74,381
15  MELITE D $7,750 5.00% Cargill International S.A., Geneva 28-Dec-12 30-Dec-14 5 
      $7,250 5.00% Glencore Grain B.V., Rotterdam 29-Jan-15 29-Sep-15 - 29-Jan-16  
  2004 76,436
16  MELIA D $12,000 3.75% Rio Tinto Shipping Pty, Ltd., Melbourne 10-May-14 10-Apr-15 - 10-Jul-15 6 
  2005 76,225
17  ARTEMIS   $9,375 3.75% Rio Tinto Shipping Pty, Ltd., Melbourne 26-Aug-13 26-Jun-15 - 26-Oct-15  
  2006 76,942
18  LETO   $11,350 4.75% Cargill International S.A., Geneva 19-Jul-14 19-Jun-15 - 19-Sep-15 7 
  2010 81,297
19  CRYSTALIA E $15,800 5.00% Glencore Grain B.V., Rotterdam 21-Feb-14 21-Aug-15 - 21-Nov-15  
  2014 77,525
20  ATALANDI E $13,500 5.00% Glencore Grain B.V., Rotterdam 13-May-14 13-Apr-15 - 13-Jul-15  
  2014 77,529
   
  Kamsarmax Bulk Carriers
21  MAIA F $12,000 5.00% RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, Essen 29-Sep-14 29-Sep-15 - 29-Jan-16  
  2009 82,193
22  MYRSINI F $15,500 4.75% Clearlake Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore 12-Feb-14 18-Feb-15 8,9
      $8,250 4.75%   18-Feb-15 18-Dec-15 - 18-Apr-16  
  2010 82,117
23  MYRTO F $9,000 5.00% Cargill International S.A., Geneva 25-Jan-13 5-Jan-15  
      $9,850 5.00% Glencore Grain B.V., Rotterdam 5-Jan-15 5-Dec-15 - 5-Mar-16  
  2013  82,131
   
  Post-Panamax Bulk Carriers
24  ALCMENE   $7,250 5.00% ADM International Sarl, Rolle, Switzerland 22-Feb-13 28-Feb-15 10,11
  2010 93,193
25  AMPHITRITE   $11,300 5.00% Bunge S.A., Geneva 15-Aug-14 15-Jul-15 - 15-Oct-15  
  2012 98,697
26  POLYMNIA   $7,600 5.00% Bunge S.A., Geneva 16-Jan-13 3-Jan-15 12 
      $7,500 5.00% Vroon Dry Cargo Chartering B.V., Breskens 17-Jan-15 17-Oct-15 - 17-Feb-16 13 
  2012 98,704
   
  Capesize Bulk Carriers
27  NORFOLK   $10,700 4.50% Clearlake Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore 16-Jan-13 3-Mar-15 1,8,14,15
      $10,250 4.75%   3-Mar-15 3-Apr-16 - 3-Aug-16 1 
  2002 164,218
28  ALIKI   $26,500 5.00% Minmetals Logistics Group Co. Ltd., Beijing 1-Mar-11 1-Feb-16 - 1-Apr-16 16 
  2005 180,235
29  BALTIMORE   $15,000 5.00% RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, Essen 8-Jul-13 8-Jul-16 - 8-Jan-17  
  2005 177,243
30  SALT LAKE CITY   $13,000 5.00% Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc. 11-Aug-12 23-Nov-14  
      $16,200 5.00% Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., Tokyo 23-Nov-14 7-Feb-15  
      BCI 4TCs AVG + 3.5% 5.00% K Noble Hong Kong Ltd., Hong Kong 7-Feb-15 7-Nov-16 - 7-Feb-17  
  2005 171,810
31  SIDERIS GS G $13,500 4.75% Cargill International S.A., Geneva 14-Mar-13 21-Feb-15  
      $10,000 5.00% Rio Tinto Shipping (Asia) Pte., Ltd., Singapore 22-Feb-15 22-Dec-15 - 22-Apr-16  
  2006 174,186
32  SEMIRIO G $14,000 4.75% Cargill International S.A., Geneva 19-Mar-13 20-Feb-15  
      $10,000 5.00% Rio Tinto Shipping (Asia) Pte., Ltd., Singapore 20-Feb-15 20-Feb-16 - 20-Jun-16  
  2007 174,261
33  BOSTON G $14,250 4.75% Clearlake Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore 24-Aug-13 9-Aug-15 - 8-Feb-16 8 
  2007 177,828
34  HOUSTON G $20,500 4.75% Clearlake Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore 3-Dec-13 4-Jan-15 8 
      $12,750 5.00% RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, Essen 4-Jan-15 4-Jan-16 - 4-Apr-16  
  2009 177,729
35  NEW YORK G $48,000 3.75% Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Tokyo (NYK) 3-Mar-10 2-Dec-14 17,18
      $12,850 4.75% Clearlake Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore 17-Dec-14 17-Feb-16 - 17-Jun-16 8 
  2010 177,773
36  P. S. PALIOS   $18,350 5.00% RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, Essen 3-Dec-13 18-Sep-15 - 31-Dec-15  
  2013 179,134
37  G. P. ZAFIRAKIS H $25,250 5.00% RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, Essen 23-Aug-14 14-Feb-16 - 23-Jun-16  
  2014 179,492
38  SANTA BARBARA H $12,000 5.00% RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, Essen 13-Jan-15 13-Dec-15 - 13-Mar-16  
  2015 179,426
  Newcastlemax Bulk Carriers
39  LOS ANGELES I $18,000 5.00% EDF Trading Limited, UK 9-Feb-12 9-Dec-15 - 9-Apr-16  
  2012 206,104
40  PHILADELPHIA I $18,000 5.00% EDF Trading Limited, UK 17-May-12 17-Jan-16 - 17-Jul-16  
  2012 206,040
   
  Vessels Under Construction
41  HULL DY6006   — — — — ——— 19 
  2016 82,000
42  HULL H2548 J — — — — ——— 19 
  2016 208,500
43  HULL H2549 J — — — — ——— 19 
  2016 208,500              
* Each dry bulk carrier is a “sister ship”, or closely similar, to other dry bulk carriers that have the same letter.
** Total commission percentage paid to third parties.
*** Charterers’ optional period to redeliver the vessel to owners. Charterers have the right to add the off hire days, if any, and therefore the optional period may be extended.
1 Based on latest information.
2 On October 14, 2014, the Company signed an addendum, extending the initially agreed maximum redelivery date by a month. On December 15, 2014, the Company agreed to further extend the maximum redelivery date till April 14, 2015.
3 Charterers exercised their option to redeliver the vessel back to owners at West Coast India area and paid US$8,250 per day for the entire period instead of US$7,600 per day previously announced.
4 Redelivery dates based on an estimated time charter trip duration of about 49-57 days.
5 Vessel on scheduled drydocking from December 30, 2014 to January 22, 2015.
6 Vessel off-hire for drydocking from January 15, 2015 to February 5, 2015.
7 Vessel off-hire for drydocking from February 7, 2015 to February 18, 2015.
8 Clearlake Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore is a member of the Gunvor Group.
9 During the third quarter 2014, the vessel was off-hire for approximately 10 days.
10 In February 2015, owners and charterers mutually agreed to extend the optional period.
11 Vessel on scheduled drydocking.
12 Prior to October 12, 2013, chartered to Augustea Bunge Maritime Limited, Malta.
13 Charter includes a one time gross ballast bonus payment of US$237,500.
14 Vessel off-hire for drydocking from September 11, 2014 to October 14, 2014.
15 Charterers have exercised their right to add the off-hire days and therefore the optional period has been extended up to February 18, 2015. From then onwards, owners and charterers mutually agreed to further extend the optional period.
16 Vessel off-hire for drydocking from October 17, 2014 to November 14, 2014.
17 Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Tokyo (NYK) has agreed to compensate the owners for the early redelivery of the vessel by paying US$1,104,079.86.
18 Vessel off-hire for drydocking from December 2, 2014 to December 17, 2014.
19 Year of delivery and dwt are based on shipbuilding contract.
       
Summary of Selected Financial & Other Data (unaudited)      
  Three months ended December 31, Years ended December 31,
  2014 2013 2014 2013
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA (in thousands of US Dollars):      
Time charter revenues $ 46,134  $ 39,464  $ 175,576  $ 164,005 
Voyage expenses  3,457   1,798   10,665   8,119 
Vessel operating expenses  22,336   19,949   86,923   77,211 
Net income / (loss) (6,235) (9,597) (10,268) (21,205)
Net income / (loss) available to common stockholders (7,677) (9,597) (15,348) (21,205)
FLEET DATA         
Average number of vessels 39.0  35.2  37.9  33.0 
Number of vessels 39.0  36.0  39.0  36.0 
Weighted average age of vessels 7.1  6.6  7.1  6.6 
Ownership days  3,588   3,241   13,822   12,049 
Available days  3,530   3,221   13,650   12,029 
Operating days  3,501   3,204   13,564   11,944 
Fleet utilization 99.2% 99.5% 99.4% 99.3%
AVERAGE DAILY RESULTS         
Time charter equivalent (TCE) rate (1) $ 12,090  $ 11,694  $ 12,081  $ 12,959 
Daily vessel operating expenses (2) $ 6,225  $ 6,155  $ 6,289  $ 6,408 
____________ (1) Time charter equivalent rates, or TCE rates, are defined as our time charter revenues less voyage expenses during a period divided by the number of our available days during the period, which is consistent with industry standards. Voyage expenses include port charges, bunker (fuel) expenses, canal charges and commissions. TCE is a non-GAAP measure. TCE rate is a standard shipping industry performance measure used primarily to compare daily earnings generated by vessels on time charters with daily earnings generated by vessels on voyage charters, because charter hire rates for vessels on voyage charters are generally not expressed in per day amounts while charter hire rates for vessels on time charters are generally expressed in such amounts. (2) Daily vessel operating expenses, which include crew wages and related costs, the cost of insurance, expenses relating to repairs and maintenance, the costs of spares and consumable stores, tonnage taxes and other miscellaneous expenses, are calculated by dividing vessel operating expenses by ownership days for the relevant period. Conference Call and Webcast Information The Company’s management will conduct a conference call and simultaneous Internet webcast to review these results at 9:00 A.M. (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, March 4, 2015. Investors may access the webcast by visiting the Company’s website at www.dianashippinginc.com, and clicking on the webcast link. The conference call also may be accessed by telephone by dialing 1-877-407-8291 (for U.S.-based callers) or 1-201-689-8345 (for international callers), and asking the operator for the Diana Shipping Inc. conference call. A replay of the webcast will be available soon after the completion of the call and will be accessible for 30 days on www.dianashippinginc.com. A telephone replay also will be available for 30 days by dialing 1-877-660-6853 (for U.S.-based callers) or 1-201-612-7415 (for international callers), and providing the Replay ID number 13599762. About the Company Diana Shipping Inc. is a leading global provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership of dry bulk vessels. The Company’s vessels are employed primarily on medium to long-term time charters and transport a range of dry bulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other materials along worldwide shipping routes. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 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 desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “pending” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe 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 our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. (See financial tables attached)
DIANA SHIPPING INC.
FINANCIAL TABLES
Expressed in thousands of U.S. Dollars, except share and per share data
 
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
 
  Three months ended December 31, Years ended December 31,
  2014 2013 2014 2013
REVENUES:       (audited)
Time charter revenues $  46,134  $  39,464  $ 175,576  $ 164,005 
Other revenues  —   —   —   447 
EXPENSES:        
Voyage expenses  3,457   1,798   10,665   8,119 
Vessel operating expenses  22,336   19,949   86,923   77,211 
Depreciation and amortization of deferred charges  18,291   16,876   70,503   64,741 
General and administrative expenses   7,481   7,382   26,217   23,724 
Foreign currency gain  (248)  (117)  (528)  (690)
Operating loss  (5,183)  (6,424)  (18,204)  (8,653)
OTHER INCOME / (EXPENSES):        
Interest and finance costs  (2,166)  (1,993)  (8,427)  (8,140)
Interest and other income  884   929   3,627   1,800 
Income / (loss) from derivative instruments  —   (27)  68   (118)
Income / (loss) from investment in Diana Containerships Inc.  230   (2,082)  12,668   (6,094)
Total other income / (expenses), net  (1,052)  (3,173)  7,936   (12,552)
Net loss  (6,235)  (9,597)  (10,268)  (21,205)
Preferred dividends on series B preferred shares  (1,442)  —   (5,080)  — 
Net loss available to common stockholders  (7,677)  (9,597)  (15,348)  (21,205)
Loss per common share, basic and diluted $ (0.10) $ (0.12) $ (0.19) $ (0.26)
Weighted average number of common shares, basic and diluted 79,595,251  81,482,997  81,292,290  81,328,390 
           
  Three months ended December 31, Years ended December 31,
  2014 2013 2014 2013
Net loss $ (6,235) $ (9,597) $ (10,268) $ (21,205)
Other comprehensive income / (loss) (Actuarial gain/(loss))  (911)  68   (911)  (30)
Comprehensive loss $ (7,146) $ (9,529) $ (11,179) $ (21,235)
 
 
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET DATA (unaudited)
(in thousands of U.S. Dollars)
     
  2014 2013 
ASSETS    
     
Cash and cash equivalents $ 218,901  $ 240,633 
Other current assets 19,333  11,235 
Advances for vessels under construction and acquisitions and other vessel costs 29,500  38,862 
Vessels’ net book value 1,373,133  1,320,375 
Other fixed assets, net 23,887  22,826 
Due from related parties, non-current 50,866  50,233 
Investment in Diana Containerships Inc. 67,546  15,640 
Other non-current assets 3,956  2,177 
Total assets $ 1,787,122  $ 1,701,981