Star Bulk Carriers Corp. Q2 FY2025 earnings call

• Q2 2025 highlights: Net income $40,000, adjusted net income $13.2M/$0.11 per share, adjusted EBITDA $69M. Repurchased 3.3M shares for $54M, declared $0.05 per share dividend. Cash $407M, debt $1.12B, pro forma liquidity over $0.5B. 12 debt-free vessels. TCE rate $13,624 per vessel per day, OpEx/G&A $6,277 per vessel per day, TCE less OpEx/G&A ~$7,350 per day per vessel.
• Ingle integration: Over $53M cumulative cost synergies since April 2024, $13M in Q2 2025, expecting to phase out third-party crew managers by Q3 2025.
• Operational update: Q2 2025 operating expenses $4,928, net cash G&A $1,349 per vessel per day. Sold non-Eco vessels, 142 vessels on fully delivered basis, average age 11.9 years. 5 Kamsarmax newbuilding vessels to be delivered in 2026, secured $130M debt financing. 47 energy-saving installations completed, 13 planned for 2025.
• ESG: Assessing IMO net zero framework impact, fueling compliance strategy, social responsibility commitments, ESG impact analysis, digital investment.
• Market update: Supply and demand trends, fleet growth, newbuilding order book, IMO regulations, dry bulk market outlook.

The company reported net income of $40,000, adjusted net income of $13.2 million or $0.11 per share, and adjusted EBITDA of $69 million for Q2 2025. It repurchased 3.3 million shares for $54 million, declared a dividend of $0.05 per share, had $407 million in cash, $1.12 billion in debt, and pro forma liquidity over $0.5 billion. No specific product segments with revenue contributions are mentioned.

• Repurchased 3.3 million shares for $54M in Q2.
• Board declared dividend of $0.05 per share payable on September 10.
• Expect to complete phase out of third-party crew managers by Q3 2025.
• Expect net sales proceeds of $104M from vessel sales in Q3 and Q4 2025.
• Positive outlook for Q4 and 2026, expecting relatively good year for 2026.

• Geopolitical uncertainties.
• Impact of tariffs on trade.
• Weak coal fundamentals and rising renewable energy production in China creating downside risks for coal trade.
• Uncertainty around the effect of IMO carbon regulations implementation.

Q: Just given the recent strengthening in the midsized segment in terms of the rates, do you have any expectations around further divestment of older tonnage in kind of the smaller segments? Or do you expect to target maybe one particular segment or another or just particular age profiles going forward?

A: Disposals of smaller ships. The intention is to continue disposing of smaller, older and inefficient vessels going forward. And that is also a kind of a hedge in case the market does not go the way we think it will.

Q: Just wanted to ask about the market, and you touched on it a little bit. But we have seen a bit of a resurgence here, perhaps not maybe substantially, but definitely an improvement from the first half, which maybe seems a bit unexpected, I would say, for this time of year. Can you give me just a sense of what's behind this move from your angle? And especially given that we're seeing it across all segments, what's it telling us about seasonality and perhaps maybe your outlook as a result of what we're seeing today?

A: Seasonality is a factor. June exports hit an all-time high. Part of it is expediting import exports prior to potential effects of the tariffs. Ocean imbalance, extra grain exports from Brazil. Positive about Q4, second half has more trade. Relatively good year for 2026 expected.

Q: Given, obviously, the stock has done well this year and recently, you've been very active buying back the stock. You just recharged with the $100 million buyback. How do you view kind of the use of the buyback here in the second half? You obviously, again, you're fairly active in the past few months. The stock has reacted favorably. Do you continue this path? Or do you kind of maybe go back to the idea of the dividend taking up a bigger percentage of the free cash flow?

A: We are basically going to try to do what's the right thing for the shareholders. If our stock gets cheaper, we'll probably use cash flow to buy back stock. If our stock does well, we'll build up a reserve. Probably not increase dividend above roughly 60% of cash flow, but will pay a dividend.