GNK - Genco Shipping & Trading Highlights Strong Results and 19th Consecutive Quarterly Dividend in Letter to Shareholders | Benzinga
Successfully Executing on its Comprehensive Value Strategy
Reminds Shareholders to Vote "FOR" Genco's Nominees on the WHITE Proxy Card
NEW YORK, May 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK) ("Genco" or the "Company"), the largest U.S. headquartered drybulk shipowner focused on the global transportation of commodities, today mailed a letter to shareholders in connection with the Company's 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "Annual Meeting"), scheduled to be held on May 23, 2024. Shareholders of record as of March 28, 2024 will be entitled to vote at the meeting. The letter and information about how to vote at the meeting is available at www.VoteForGenco.com.
The full text of the letter follows:
Dear Genco shareholders,
The Annual Meeting is approaching quickly, and we need your vote "FOR" the re-election of each of Genco's nominees to help realize the upside potential of your Genco investment.
Vote FOR Genco's Comprehensive Value Strategy
Our Board and management team are successfully executing on our clear strategy in which Genco is capturing opportunities today and positioning the business to generate growth and shareholder returns through drybulk market cycles. Our recent quarterly earnings results reflect the progress we are making:
- Compelling dividends: Our Board authorized a $0.42 per share dividend for the first quarter of 2024, a quarter-over-quarter increase and the 19th consecutive quarterly dividend payment the Company has made. Since 2021, we have returned $5.575 per share in total or nearly 25% of our stock price.1
- Reducing debt: We further reduced our debt during the quarter and have lowered our debt by 62% since 2021. We are continuing to reduce our cash flow breakeven rate to the lowest in our U.S.-listed drybulk peer group.2
- Investing in growth and fleet renewal: We continued taking steps to renew the fleet, closing on the sales of three older Capesize vessels scheduled for special surveys in 2024.
As we execute our strategic initiatives, we are committed to maintaining our industry-leading corporate governance practices which have us ranked #1 in the annual Webber Research ESG Scorecard three years in a row.3 Genco's directors are also highly qualified, active and engaged business leaders, all of whom we believe bring the right balance of skills and experience in areas relevant to our business.
You can learn more about our Comprehensive Value Strategy and our Board of Directors at www.VoteForGenco.com.
The Choice Between the Genco Board and George Economou and his Nominee is Clear
George Economou is continuing his proxy fight against Genco and has nominated Robert Pons as a director candidate for our Board. Nonetheless, Economou has reported selling over half his Genco shares since the beginning of April.4
Consistent with our commitment to strong corporate governance, our Board and management team have engaged with Economou over the last several months. With the assistance of its advisors, our Board thoroughly reviewed his suggestions for the Company of a share buyback or a tender offer. Our Board concluded these suggestions are not in the best interest of Genco or our shareholders. Our Board considered that detailed analyses did not establish that the suggestions would enhance long-term share price performance, implementing these suggestions could materially hinder our value proposition by increasing our net debt and ...