GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Nov. 9, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Concordia Maritime AB:
-- The public offering in the U.S. of newly formed Arlington Tankers
Ltd has now been completed and Concordia Maritime's sale of the
two V-MAX tankers will be closed on 10 November
-- New full-year forecast after the sale of the V-MAX tankers:
Profit before tax of SEK 750 million (SEK 15.71 per share) --
previous forecast: SEK 170 million (SEK 3.56 per share)
In a press release on 21 October, Concordia Maritime announced that the company would sell its two V-MAX tankers, the Stena Vision and the Stena Victory, to Arlington Tankers Ltd, a newly formed company on the Bermudas, on condition that the public offering of the company in the U.S. went according to plan. This public offering was completed at the end of last week. The Arlington share was traded for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, 5 November.
This means that the sale of the two V-MAX tankers will take place. The date for finalising the sale is set for 10 December.
The final price of the Arlington share proved to be higher than the price indicated in Arlington's preliminary subscription prospectus. This means that the selling price of the V-MAX tankers will also be higher. The total selling price for both vessels is approx. USD 240 million (in the press release on 21 October, a price of USD 220 million was indicated).
Approx. USD 185 million of the sales proceeds will be paid in cash (compared with USD 170 million stated earlier) and the remaining amount, approx. USD 55 million (previously USD 50 million) will be paid in the form of shares in Arlington Tankers.
After the transaction has been completed, Concordia will hold approx. 2.7 million of the total of 15.5 million shares in Arlington Tankers. The investment banks underwriting the deal have the option to purchase shares from Concordia's allotment and this could reduce the holding to about 1.5 million shares and, as a consequence, the amount of the sales proceeds paid in cash would increase correspondingly.
After the sale of the V-MAX tankers, Concordia will not own any vessels apart from the newbuildings under construction (see enclosure) for a period of about one year.
The forecast for the full year, including the capital gain on the sale of the V-MAX tankers, is a profit of SEK 750 million before tax (SEK 15.71 per share) based on the current SEK/USD exchange rate. The previous forecast was a profit of SEK 170 million before tax (SEK 3.56 per share).
Gothenburg, 8 November, 2004 CONCORDIA MARITIME AB (publ)
Hans Noren President
Vessels on order
In 2003, six vessels, which will be built in accordance with the MAX concept, were ordered. These vessels, Stena P-MAX, are product tankers of about 49,900 dwt. In line with MAX concept, the vessels have been designed for maximum cargo intake in shallow waters. In addition to having mandatory double hulls, the vessels are being built according to a new concept for safer oil transportation with double main engines in two completely separate engine rooms, double rudders and steering gear, two propellers and double control systems.
In 2004, two Panamax tankers of about 75,000 dwt and with ice class 1A, in which the company has a 50 per cent share, were ordered.
The new vessels will be delivered over a 2-year period from December, 2005.
Name Type Employment on Period
delivery
Stena Paris P-MAX Time-chartered TOTAL Q4, 2005 -- Q4, 2010
Stena Provence P-MAX Time-chartered TOTAL Q1, 2006 -- Q1, 2011
Stena Primorsk P-MAX Time-chartered Progetra Q3, 2006 -- Q3,
2016
Stena Progetra P-MAX Time-chartered Progetra Q4, 2007 -- Q4,
2017
Stena
Performance P-MAX Open market Q4, 2007
Stena Progress P-MAX Open market Q1, 2008
Stena Polaris
(50%) Panamax 1A Time-chartered Fortum Q4, 2006 -- Q4,
2016
Stena Poseidon
(50%) Panamax 1A Time-chartered Fortum Q1, 2007 -- Q1,
2017
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