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Forward contract cover locked in for 99% of 2026 and 81% of 2027.
Earnings, cashflow, forward visibility, and return of capital to shareholders materially increased y-o-y maximizing strategic optionality.
Annualized dividend increased to $2.50 per Class A Common Share.
Athens, Greece - March 05, 2026
Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE: GSL) (the "Company", "Global Ship Lease" or "GSL"), an owner of containerships, announced today its unaudited results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2025.
Full Year and Fourth Quarter Highlights and Other Recent Developments
• 4Q 2025 operating revenue of $190.9 million. Full year operating revenue of $766.5 million, up 7.8% on 2024.
• 4Q 2025 net income available to common shareholders of $100.2 million, or $2.79 Earnings per Share ("EPS"). Full year 2025 net income available to common shareholders of $406.9 million, or $11.40 EPS, up 18.3% on 2024.
• 4Q 2025 normalized net income (a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure, described below)3 of $83.2 million, or $2.32 normalized EPS. Full year 2025 normalized net income of $366.4 million, or $10.26 normalized EPS, up 3.9% on 2024.
• 4Q 2025 Adjusted EBITDA (a non-U.S. GAAP financial measure, described below)3 of $124.7 million. Full year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA of $521.4 million; up 5.4% on 2024.
• Added $1.26 billion of contracted revenues during 2025 and the first two months of 2026, bringing total contracted revenues as of December 31, 2025, as adjusted to include all charters agreed through February 28, 2026, to $2.24 billion, over a weighted average remaining duration of 2.7 years.
• On February 11, 2026, declared a dividend of $0.625 per Class A common share for the fourth quarter of 2025, to be paid on or about March 6, 2026 to common shareholders of record as of February 24, 2026. Paid a dividend of $0.625 per Class A common share for the third quarter of 2025 on December 4, 2025.
• On December 1, 2025, announced the purchase of three 8,600 TEU Korean built containerships with ECO upgrades (the "Three Newly Acquired Vessels") for an aggregate purchase price of $90.0 million. The Three Newly Acquired Vessels have attached charters with a leading liner company. Two of the Three Newly Acquired Vessels were delivered to us in December 2025 and the third was delivered to us in January 2026.
• On July 8, 2025, announced updates by three leading credit rating agencies. Moody’s Investor Service maintained its Ba2 Corporate Family Rating for Global Ship Lease, with a stable outlook; S&P Global Ratings affirmed its long-term issuer credit rating of BB+, with a stable outlook; and Kroll Bond Rating Agency ("KBRA") maintained the Company’s corporate credit rating at BB+, with a stable outlook, while also affirming the BBB/stable investment grade rating and stable outlook for the 5.69% Senior Secured Notes due July 15, 2027 (the "2027 Secured Notes").
• In May 2025, Dimitris Y (5,900 TEU, built 2000) was contracted to be sold for $35.6 million. On October 13, 2025 the vessel was delivered to her new buyers, for a gain of $17.9 million. We have also completed the sales of Tasman (5,900 TEU, built 2000), Akiteta (2,200 TEU, built 2002), and Keta (2,200 TEU, built 2003) for an aggregate gain of $28.3 million; the vessels were delivered to their new owners in the first quarter of 2025.
• Agreed, in March 2025, to an $85.0 million Credit Facility with UBS to fully prepay certain of our outstanding credit facilities which would otherwise have matured between May 2026 and July 2026. The new loan bears interest at SOFR + 2.15%, and matures in the second quarter of 2028.
• Took delivery, in January 2025, of Czech, the last in a series of four high-reefer, ECO-9,000 TEU containerships contracted for purchase with charters attached in the fourth quarter of 2024 (the "Four Newly Acquired Vessels").
George Youroukos, our Executive Chairman, stated: "We are proud to have closed out 2025 with significant positive momentum, both operationally and financially, and taking full advantage of continued market demand and a scarce supply of flexible mid-size and smaller containerships like those in our fleet. Our longstanding emphasis on maximizing optionality has served us well in a volatile and unpredictable environment marked by ever-shifting tariff policies and geopolitical instability which have combined to re-shape trade patterns and fragment supply chains. The recent outbreak of hostilities in and around Iran has introduced yet a further source of volatility and uncertainty to global containerized trade, most notably by turning the Strait of Hormuz into a chokepoint. The situation in Iran remains highly dynamic and the longer-term implications are difficult to predict, but seafarer safety is the paramount concern.
"These changing dynamics have once again put a spotlight on the practical value of containerships that provide a combination of deployment flexibility and efficiency, such as those in the GSL fleet. In addition, decentralized and dispersed supply chains are inherently more inefficient than the streamlined model that prevailed in years past, requiring more ships to transport the same aggregate volume of cargo. This was further compounded in 2025 as underlying containerized volumes increased by 5% year-over-year. By remaining agile during this period, we now have 2.7 years of contract cover and $2.2 billion in contracted revenues, with 99% of our open positions covered for 2026 and 80% for 2027. As the year drew to a close, we were pleased to have pounced upon the opportunity to buy three 8,600 TEU ships with ECO-upgrades: great ships, purchased at a great price, with minimal downside risk and lots of upside potential.
"Our outperformance in 2025 caps a 5-year period during which GSL has undergone a profound transformation. Our cashflow, earnings, leverage profile, forward visibility, credit ratings, and return of capital to shareholders have all improved dramatically, such that we are better positioned operationally, financially, and strategically than we have ever been before. Our financial strength, ability to act decisively and selectively on acquisition opportunities, and robust, visible cash flows have us ideally poised to continue building value for shareholders throughout the cycle."
Thomas Lister, our Chief Executive Officer, stated: "Amidst a market that has only grown more complex and unpredictable over time, we have continued to focus on maximizing our optionality throughout the fourth quarter and 2025 as a whole. We have reduced our financial leverage to 0.5x, and lowered our average breakeven rates per vessel to only a fraction of current market rates and – equally importantly – to levels that afford resilience at more challenging phases of the cycle. These steps, alongside our growing contracted revenues and charter coverage, have enabled us to build a fortress balance sheet. Our progress has been reflected not only by our strong credit ratings from leading rating agencies, but also by our ability to move fast and execute on value-accretive transactions when such opportunities arise. As we move ahead into 2026 and beyond, we are pleased to be operating from a position of strength to both mitigate the risks and capitalize on the opportunities provided by the natural cyclicality of our industry and the heightened volatility driven by an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical backdrop."
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About Global Ship Lease
Global Ship Lease is a leading independent owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under fixed-rate charters to top tier container liner companies. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2008.
Our fleet of 71 vessels as of December 31, 2025, including the third of the Three Newly Acquired Vessel (Cypress) delivered in January 2026, had an average age weighted by TEU capacity of 17.9 years. 41 ships are wide-beam Post-Panamax.
As of December 31, 2025, including the last of the Three Newly Acquired Vessel, Cypress, delivered on January 9, 2026 and all charters agreed during 2025 and through February 28, 2026, the average remaining term of the Company’s charters, to the mid-point of redelivery, including options under the Company’s control and other than if a redelivery notice has been received, was 2.7 years on a TEU-weighted basis. Contracted revenue on the same basis was $2.24 billion. Contracted revenue was $2.77 billion, including options under charterers’ control and with latest redelivery date, representing a weighted average remaining term of 3.6 years.
Global Ship Lease press release
