Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) has announced that it is chartering six more vessels. Zim will charter six 5,500 TEU wide beam newly built vessels with a group of investors led by MPC Capital.
Zim will charter the vessels for seven years for up to $600 million. The vessels will be built at Korean-based shipyard HJ Shipbuilding & Construction and are scheduled to be delivered between May 2023 and February 2024.
Zim President and CEO Eli Glickman said, "We are pleased to announce another attractive chartering transaction for new-build vessels, securing modern and efficient tonnage vessels which are ideally suited to serve on our expanded network of expedited services, as well as other regional services.
He added, "We continue to advance our strategy of chartering in highly versatile vessels to strengthen our commercial prospects, maintain our flexibility and enhance our position as an innovative provider of seaborne transportation."
Over the past year, Zim has announced several charter deals that will increase its fleet in the coming years. Shortly after its IPO on the NYSE in January the company chartered 10 LNG-fueled vessels and two months ago, Zim announced it had chartered three new vessels, each with a capacity for 7,000 TEU, from a shipping company affiliated with Kenon Holdings (NYSE: KEN; TASE: KEN), controlled by Idan Ofer, and which is also Zim's biggest shareholder. That deal was worth $400 million.
Last month, Zim announced a charter agreement with Navios Maritime Partners for 13 container vessels, comprising five secondhand vessels and eight newly built vessels for total charter hire consideration of $870 million.
Zim's share price fell 1.53% on the NYSE to $72.83, giving a market cap of $8.86 billion. The share price has risen nearly five-fold since the company's IPO in January 2021. The company's revenue rose 169% in 2021 to $10.7 billion and net profit jumped nine-fold to $4.65 billion.
Zim is benefitting from soaring shipping prices in the wake of the Covid pandemic. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the average price per container was $3,630, and the average price in 2021 was $2,786, up 227% from 2020.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 31, 2022.
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