Costamare Inc. yesterday reported unaudited financial results for the third quarter (“Q3 2022”) and nine-months ended September 30, 2022.
RECORD PROFITABILITY IN A THIRD QUARTER SINCE NYSE LISTING
ELEVEN NEW CHARTER ARRANGEMENTS WITH FORWARD START – FULLY EMPLOYED CONTAINERSHIP FLEET3 FOR THE YEAR AHEAD
Chartered 11 containerships on a forward basis with a leading liner company. More specifically:
III.SALE AND PURCHASE ACTIVITY
Conclusion, in October 2022, of the sale of the following 2000-built, 6,648 TEU capacity containerships:
IV.NEW DEBT FINANCING
Refinancing of existing indebtedness of two 1996-built, 8,044 TEU capacity containerships (Maersk Kleven / Maersk Kotka):
V. DIVIDEND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mr. Gregory Zikos, Chief Financial Officer of Costamare Inc., commented:
“During the third quarter revenues reached approx. $290 million and Adjusted Net Income reached $107 million, compared to $216 million and $82 million for the same period last year. As of quarter end, cash balances stood at around $745 million and total liquidity, including undrawn credit lines, was above $890 million.
Focusing on increasing visibility and our contracted cash flow base, we recently chartered with a leading liner company a total of 11 containerships with existing charters originally expiring between 2023 and 2025. Seven of those vessels were chartered for a period ranging from four to five years starting from 2025 onwards, and the remaining ships, with forward starts in 2023 and 2024. The new charters increase our contracted revenues by about $420 million and result in incremental charter coverage of about 4.5 years.
Regarding the container market, cargo volumes have been softening across several trade lanes with energy costs and inflation impacting consumer spending. Fixing activity has been at low levels and the majority of new fixtures are for short term employment. Charter rates have been under pressure, although they remain at profitable levels.
On the dry bulk market, rates for our vessels sizes remain profitable, especially for owners who entered the market the year before. We feel comfortable with the long-term supply and demand dynamics of the sector, and we view any potential softening of asset values as a compelling buying opportunity.
On the back of our increased liquidity and container charter coverage, we are focused on new investment opportunities in the shipping sector that have the potential to provide enhanced returns at acceptable risk levels.”
Results of Operations
Three-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the three-month period ended September 30, 2021
During the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, we had an average of 117.0 and 91.7 vessels, respectively, in our fleet.
During the three-month period ended September 30, 2022, we did not purchase, sell or take delivery of any vessels. In the three-month period ended September 30, 2021, we accepted delivery of the secondhand container vessel Gialova with a TEU capacity of 4,578 and we sold the container vessel Venetiko with a TEU capacity of 5,928. Furthermore, during the three-month period ended September 30, 2021, we accepted delivery of 27 secondhand dry bulk vessels (Eracle, Peace, Bernis, Sauvan, Verity, Pride, Alliance, Manzanillo, Dawn, Acuity, Seabird, Discovery, Aeolian, Comity, Clara, Serena, Merida, Progress, Miner, Parity, Uruguay, Resource, Konstantinos, Taibo, Thunder, Athena and Farmer) with an aggregate DWT of 1,337,162.
In the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, our fleet ownership days totaled 10,764 and 8,434 days, respectively. Ownership days are one of the primary drivers of voyage revenue and vessels’ operating expenses and represent the aggregate number of days in a period during which each vessel in our fleet is owned.
Voyage Revenue
Voyage revenue increased by 33.9%, or $73.3 million, to $289.5 million during the three-month period ended September 30, 2022, from $216.2 million during the three-month period ended September 30, 2021. The increase is mainly attributable to (i) revenue earned by one container vessel and three dry bulk vessels acquired during the first quarter of 2022, by one container vessel acquired during the third quarter of 2021 and 27 and 13 dry bulk vessels acquired during the third and the fourth quarter of 2021, respectively, and (ii) increased charter rates in certain of our container vessels, partly off-set by revenue not earned by one container vessel and one dry bulk vessel sold during the first and the second quarter of 2022, respectively, and three container vessels sold during the six-month period ended December 31, 2021.
Voyage revenue adjusted on a cash basis (which eliminates non-cash “Accrued charter revenue”) increased by 31.4%, or $68.2 million, to $285.3 million during the three-month period ended September 30, 2022, from $217.1 million during the three-month period ended September 30, 2021. Accrued charter revenue for the three-month period ended September 30, 2022 was a negative amount of $4.3 million and for the three-month period ended September 30, 2021 was a positive amount of $1.0 million.
Voyage Expenses
Voyage expenses were $14.2 million and $4.4 million for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Voyage expenses increased period over period due to the increased size of our fleet and mainly include (i) off-hire expenses of our vessels, primarily related to fuel consumption and (ii) third party commissions.
Voyage Expenses – related parties
Voyage expenses – related parties were $4.0 million and $3.0 million for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Voyage expenses – related parties represent (i) fees of 1.25%, in the aggregate, on voyage revenues charged by a related manager and a service provider and (ii) charter brokerage fees (in respect of our container vessels) payable to two related charter brokerage companies for an amount of approximately $0.4 million and $0.3 million, in the aggregate, for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Vessels’ Operating Expenses
Vessels’ operating expenses, which also include the realized /(loss) under derivative contracts entered into in relation to foreign currency exposure, were $65.0 million and $49.7 million during the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Daily vessels’ operating expenses were $6,037 and $5,895 for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Daily operating expenses are calculated as vessels’ operating expenses for the period over the ownership days of the period.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses were $2.6 million and $2.3 million during the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and include amounts of $0.67 million and $0.63 million, respectively, that were paid to a related manager.
Management Fees – related parties
Management fees paid to our related party managers were $11.0 million and $8.2 million during the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
General and Administrative Expenses – non-cash component
General and administrative expenses – non-cash component for the three-month period ended September 30, 2022 amounted to $1.3 million, representing the value of the shares issued to a related party manager on September 30, 2022. General and administrative expenses – non-cash component for the three-month period ended September 30, 2021 amounted to $2.3 million, representing the value of the shares issued to a related party manager on September 30, 2021.
Amortization of Dry-Docking and Special Survey Costs
Amortization of deferred dry-docking and special survey costs was $3.8 million and $2.7 million during the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. During the three-month period ended September 30, 2022, three vessels underwent and completed their dry-docking and special survey and one vessel was in the process of completing her dry-docking and special survey. During the three-month period ended September 30, 2021, two vessels underwent and completed their dry-docking and special survey and three vessels were in the process of completing their dry-docking and special survey.
Depreciation
Depreciation expense for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $41.8 million and $37.3 million, respectively.
Gain on Sale of Vessels
During the three-month period ended September 30, 2022, no vessels were sold.
During the three-month period ended September 30, 2021, we recorded a gain of $16.5 million from the sale of the container vessel Venetiko, which was classified as vessel held for sale during the first quarter of 2021, and an additional gain of $0.2 million from the sale of the container vessel Halifax Express, which was sold in the first half of 2021.
Vessels Held for Sale
As of September 30, 2022, the container vessels Sealand Illinois, Sealand Michigan, York (initially classified as vessels held for sale during the fourth quarter of 2021), Sealand Washington, and Maersk Kalamata (initially classified as vessels held for sale during the first quarter of 2022) continue to be classified as vessels held for sale. No loss on vessels held for sale was recorded during the third quarter of 2022 since each vessel’s fair value less cost to sell exceeded each vessel’s carrying value.
During the three-month period ended September 30, 2021, the container vessels ZIM New York, and ZIM Shanghai were classified as vessels held for sale (initially classified as vessels held for sale as of June 30, 2021). No loss on vessels held for sale was recorded during the third quarter of 2021, since each vessel’s estimated market value exceeded each vessel’s carrying value.
Interest Income
Interest income amounted to $1.0 million and $0.1 million for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Interest and Finance Costs
Interest and finance costs were $31.2 million and $24.2 million during the three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The increase is mainly attributable to the increased average loan balances and increased financing costs during the three-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the three-month period ended September 30, 2021.
Change in Fair Value of Equity Securities / Dividend Income from Investment in Equity Securities
Change in fair value of equity securities of $7.1 million for the three-month period ended September 30, 2021, represents the difference between the aggregate fair value of 1,221,800 ordinary shares of ZIM that we owned as at September 30, 2021 compared to the fair value of such shares as of June 30, 2021. Furthermore, in the three-month period ended September 30, 2021, we received a special dividend from ZIM in the amount of $1.8 million. During the fourth quarter of 2021 we sold all the ordinary shares of ZIM we owned.
Income from Equity Method Investments
Income from equity method investments for the three-month period ended September 30, 2022 was $0.8 million ($7.1 million for the three-month period ended September 30, 2021) representing our share of the income in jointly owned companies set up pursuant to the Framework Deed dated May 15, 2013, as amended and restated from time to time (the “Framework Deed”), with York. As of September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021 five and six companies, respectively, were jointly owned pursuant to the Framework Deed out of which four and four companies, respectively, owned container vessels. The decreased income from equity method investments in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the third quarter of 2021 is mainly attributable to the recorded capital gain on the sale of one jointly owned vessel during the third quarter of 2021.
Loss on Derivative Instruments
As of September 30, 2022, we hold 28 interest rate derivatives and two cross currency rate swaps all of which qualify for hedge accounting. As a result, the change in the fair value of each instrument is recorded in “Other Comprehensive Income” (“OCI”). As of September 30, 2022, the fair value of these instruments, in aggregate, amounted to a net asset of $36.7 million. During the three-month period ended September 30, 2022, a gain of $21.2 million has been included in OCI and a loss of $0.1 million has been included in Loss on Derivative Instruments.
Cash Flows
Three-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash flows provided by operating activities for the three-month period ended September 30, 2022, increased by $15.9 million to $141.8 million, from $125.9 million for the three-month period ended September 30, 2021. The increase is mainly attributable to increased cash from operations of $68.1 million; partly off-set by the unfavorable change in working capital position, excluding the current portion of long-term debt and the accrued charter revenue (representing the difference between cash received in that period and revenue recognized on a straight-line basis) of $6.2 million, by the increased payments for interest (including swap payments) of $4.8 million during the three-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the three-month period ended September 30, 2021 and by the increased dry-docking and special survey costs of $3.3 million during the three-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the three-month period ended September 30, 2021.
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $17.5 million in the three-month period ended September 30, 2022, which mainly consisted of payments (i) for upgrades for certain of our container and dry bulk vessels and (ii) for the purchase of short-term investments in US Treasury Bills.
Net cash used in investing activities was $395.8 million in the three-month period ended September 30, 2021, which mainly consisted of (i) payments for the acquisition of 10 secondhand dry bulk vessels, (ii) settlement payments for the delivery of one container vessel and 15 secondhand dry bulk vessels, (iii) advance payments for the acquisition of five secondhand dry bulk vessels, (iv) payments for the acquisition of the equity interest of sixteen companies (which owned or had committed to acquire dry bulk vessels) owned by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Konstantinos Konstantakopoulos, pursuant to the Share and Purchase Agreement dated June 14, 2021 (agreed to acquire the equity interest of these companies at cost with no mark-up or premium payable to Mr. Konstantakopoulos or his affiliated entities) and (v) payments for upgrades for certain of our container and dry bulk vessels, partly off-set by proceeds we received from the sale of one container vessel and by return of capital we received from one entity jointly -owned with York pursuant to the Framework Deed.
Net Cash Provided by / (Used in) Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities was $96.3 million in the three-month period ended September 30, 2022, which mainly consisted of (a) $66.2 million net payments relating to our debt financing agreements (including proceeds of $46.0 million we received from one of our debt financing agreements), (b) $7.7 million we paid for the re-purchase of 0.6 million of our common shares, (c) $10.3 million we paid for dividends to holders of our common stock for the second quarter of 2022, (d) $0.9 million we paid for dividends to holders of our 7.625% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series B Preferred Stock”), $2.1 million we paid for dividends to holders of our 8.500% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series C Preferred Stock”), $2.2 million we paid for dividends to holders of our 8.75% Series D Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series D Preferred Stock”) and $2.5 million we paid for dividends to holders of our 8.875% Series E Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series E Preferred Stock”) for the period from April 15, 2022 to July 14, 2022.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $219.3 million in the three-month period ended September 30, 2021, which mainly consisted of (a) $240.6 million net proceeds relating to our debt financing agreements (including proceeds of $300.9 million we received from our debt financing agreements), (b) $10.8 million we paid for dividends to holders of our common stock for the second quarter of 2021 and (c) $0.9 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series B Preferred Stock, $2.1 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series C Preferred Stock, $2.2 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series D Preferred Stock and $2.5 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series E Preferred Stock for the period from April 15, 2021 to July 14, 2021.
Nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021
During the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, we had an average of 117.4 and 75.4 vessels, respectively, in our fleet.
In the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, we accepted delivery of (i) the secondhand container vessel Dyros with a TEU capacity of 4,578 and (ii) the secondhand dry bulk vessels Oracle, Libra and Norma with an aggregate DWT of 172,717. Furthermore, in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, we sold the container vessel Messini, with a TEU capacity of 2,458, and the dry bulk vessel Thunder, with DWT of 57,334.
In the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, (i) we accepted delivery of the newbuild container vessels YM Target and YM Tiptop with an aggregate TEU capacity of 25,380, the secondhand container vessels Aries, Argus, Glen Canyon, Androusa, Norfolk, Porto Cheli, Porto Kagio, Porto Germeno and Gialova with an aggregate TEU capacity of 49,909 and we sold the container vessels Halifax Express, Prosper and Venetiko with an aggregate TEU capacity of 12,322 and (ii) we acquired (a) the 75% equity interest of York Capital Management in each of the 11,010 TEU container vessels Cape Kortia and Cape Sounio and (b) the 51% equity interest of York Capital Management in each of the 11,010 TEU container vessels Cape Tainaro, Cape Artemisio and Cape Akritas and as a result we obtained 100% of the equity interest in each of these five vessels.
Furthermore, in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, we acquired all of the equity interest of sixteen companies (which owned or had committed to acquire dry bulk vessels) owned by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Konstantinos Konstantakopoulos. We agreed to acquire these companies from Mr. Konstantakopoulos at cost with no mark-up or premium payable to Mr. Konstantakopoulos or his affiliated entities. Mr. Konstantakopoulos did not receive a profit as a result of the acquisition. Fifteen of the dry bulk vessels (Pegasus, Builder, Adventure, Eracle, Peace, Sauvan, Pride, Alliance, Manzanillo, Acuity, Seabird, Aeolian, Comity, Athena and Farmer) that were part of the acquisition with an aggregate DWT of 850,163, were delivered to us during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. In addition, in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, we accepted delivery of another fifteen secondhand dry bulk vessels (Bernis, Verity, Dawn, Discovery, Clara, Serena, Merida, Progress, Miner, Parity, Uruguay, Resource, Konstantinos, Taibo and Thunder) with an aggregate DWT of 659,021.
In the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, our fleet ownership days totaled 32,043 and 20,583 days, respectively. Ownership days are one of the primary drivers of voyage revenue and vessels’ operating expenses and represent the aggregate number of days in a period during which each vessel in our fleet is owned.
Consolidated Financial Results and Vessels’ Operational Data (1)
Voyage Revenue
Voyage revenue increased by 66.5%, or $338.7 million, to $848.4 million during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, from $509.7 million during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. The increase is mainly attributable to (i) revenue earned by one container vessel and three dry bulk vessels acquired during the first quarter of 2022, as well as by revenue earned by 16 container vessels and 43 dry bulk vessels acquired during the year ended December 31, 2021, and (ii) increased charter rates in certain of our container vessels during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, partly off-set by revenue not earned by one container vessel and one dry bulk vessel sold during the first and the second quarter of 2022, respectively, and five container vessels sold during the year ended December 31, 2021.
Voyage revenue adjusted on a cash basis (which eliminates non-cash “Accrued charter revenue”), increased by 65.8%, or $337.0 million, to $849.4 million during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, from $512.4 million during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. Accrued charter revenue for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was a positive amount of $0.8 million and $3.2 million, respectively.
Voyage Expenses
Voyage expenses were $34.0 million and $7.5 million for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Voyage expenses increased period over period primarily due to the increased number of vessels in our fleet, and mainly include (i) off-hire expenses of our vessels, primarily related to fuel consumption and (ii) third party commissions.
Voyage Expenses – related parties
Voyage expenses – related parties were $11.7 million and $7.3 million for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Voyage expenses – related parties represent (i) fees of 1.25% in the aggregate on voyage revenues charged by a related manager and a service provider and (ii) charter brokerage fees (in respect of our container vessels) payable to two related charter brokerage companies for an amount of approximately $1.1 million and $0.9 million, in the aggregate, for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Vessels’ Operating Expenses
Vessels’ operating expenses, which also include the realized /(loss) under derivative contracts entered into in relation to foreign currency exposure, were $198.3 million and $119.3 million during the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Daily vessels’ operating expenses were $6,189 and $5,797 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The increase in the daily operating expenses during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 is mainly attributable to increased crew costs related to COVID-19 pandemic measures. Daily operating expenses are calculated as vessels’ operating expenses for the period over the ownership days of the period.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and Administrative Expenses – non-cash component
General and administrative expenses – non-cash component for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 amounted to $5.7 million, representing the value of the shares issued to a related party manager on March 30, 2022, on June 30, 2022 and on September 30, 2022. General and administrative expenses – non-cash component for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021 amounted to $5.5 million, representing the value of the shares issued to a related party manager on March 31, 2021, on June 30, 2021 and on September 30, 2021.
Amortization of Dry-Docking and Special Survey Costs
Amortization of deferred dry-docking and special survey costs was $9.5 million and $7.6 million during the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, 15 vessels underwent and completed their dry-docking and special survey and one vessel was in the process of completing her dry-docking and special survey. During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, 11 vessels underwent and completed their dry-docking and special survey and three vessels were in the process of completing their dry-docking and special survey.
Depreciation
Depreciation expense for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 was $124.2 million and $96.0 million, respectively.
Gain on Sale of Vessels, net
During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, we recorded an aggregate gain of $21.3 million from the sale of the container vessel Messini (vessel classified as held for sale during the fourth quarter of 2021) and the dry bulk vessel Thunder (vessel classified as held for sale during the first quarter of 2022). During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, we recorded a net gain of $18.1 million from the sale of the container vessels Halifax Express (vessel classified as held for sale during the fourth quarter of 2020), Prosper and Venetiko (both vessels were classified as held for sale during the first quarter of 2021).
Vessels Held for Sale
During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, the container vessels Sealand Washington and Maersk Kalamata were classified as vessels held for sale and the container vessels Sealand Illinois, Sealand Michigan and York (initially classified as vessels held for sale during the fourth quarter of 2021) continued to be classified as vessels held for sale. No loss on vessels held for sale was recorded during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, since each vessel’s fair value less cost to sell, exceeded each vessel’s carrying value.
During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, the container vessels Zim New York and Zim Shanghai were classified as vessels held for sale (initially classified as vessels held for sale on June 30, 2021). No loss on vessels held for sale was recorded during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, since each vessel’s fair value less cost to sell, exceeded each vessel’s carrying value.
Interest Income
Interest income amounted to $1.1 million and $1.6 million for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Fair value measurement of equity securities / Dividend Income from Investment in Equity Securities
Fair value measurement of equity securities of $58.1 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, represents the difference between the aggregate fair value of 1,221,800 ordinary shares of ZIM that we owned as at September 30, 2021 of $61.9 million compared to the book value of these shares of $3.8 million as of December 31, 2020. Furthermore, in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, we received a special dividend from ZIM in the amount of $1.8 million. During the fourth quarter of 2021 we sold all the ordinary shares of ZIM we owned. ZIM completed its initial public offering and listing on the New York Stock Exchange of its ordinary shares on January 27, 2021.
Income from Equity Method Investments
Income from equity method investments for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, was $1.6 million ($12.0 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021), representing our share of the income in jointly owned companies set up pursuant to the Framework Deed dated May 15, 2013, as amended and restated from time to time (the “Framework Deed”), with York. As of September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021 five and six companies, respectively, were jointly owned pursuant to the Framework Deed out of which four and four companies, respectively, owned container vessels. The decreased income from equity method investments in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021 is mainly attributable to the recorded capital gain on the sale of one jointly owned container vessel during the third quarter of 2021.
Loss on Derivative Instruments
As of September 30, 2022, we hold 28 interest rate derivatives and two cross currency rate swaps, all of which qualify for hedge accounting. As a result, the change in the fair value of each instrument is recorded in “Other Comprehensive Income” (“OCI”). As of September 30, 2022, the fair value of these instruments, in aggregate, amounted to a net asset of $36.7 million. During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, a gain of $50.0 million has been included in OCI and a loss of $0.3 million has been included in Loss on Derivative Instruments.
Cash Flows
Nine-month periods ended September 30, 2022 and 2021
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash flows provided by operating activities for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, increased by $156.1 million to $457.2 million, from $301.1 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021. The increase is mainly attributable to increased cash from operations of $336.9 million; partly off-set by the unfavorable change in working capital position, excluding the current portion of long-term debt and the accrued charter revenue (representing the difference between cash received in that period and revenue recognized on a straight-line basis) of $13.5 million, by the increased payments for interest (including swap payments) of $15.8 million during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021 and by the increased dry-docking and special survey costs of $12.2 million during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022 compared to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021.
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $39.4 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, which mainly consisted of (i) payments for the acquisition of two secondhand dry bulk vessels, (ii) settlement payment for the delivery of one secondhand dry bulk vessel, (iii) payment for the purchase of short-term investments in US Treasury Bills and (iv) payments for upgrades for certain of our container and dry bulk vessels; partly off-set by proceeds we received from (i) the sale of the container vessel Messini and the dry bulk vessel Thunder and (ii) the maturity of part of short-term investments in US Treasury Bills.
Net cash used in investing activities was $677.2 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, which mainly consisted of (i) net payments for the acquisition of the 75% equity interest in two companies and of the 51% equity interest in three companies, previously jointly owned with York pursuant to the Framework Deed, (ii) payments for the delivery of two newbuild container vessels, nine secondhand container vessels and 28 dry bulk vessels, (iii) advance payments for the acquisition of one secondhand container vessel and six secondhand dry bulk vessels (iv) payments for the acquisition of the equity interest of sixteen companies (which owned or had committed to acquire dry bulk vessels) owned by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Konstantinos Konstantakopoulos, pursuant to the Share and Purchase Agreement dated June 14, 2021 (agreed to acquire the equity interest of these companies at cost with no mark-up or premium payable to Mr. Konstantakopoulos or his affiliated entities) and (v) payments for upgrades for certain of our container and dry bulk vessels, partly off-set by proceeds we received from the sale of three container vessels and by return of capital we received from one entity jointly -owned with York pursuant to the Framework Deed.
Net Cash Provided by / (Used in) Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities was $55.4 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, which mainly consisted of (a) $125.3 million net proceeds relating to our debt financing agreements (including proceeds of $816.4 million we received from our debt financing agreements), (b) $60.1 million we paid for the re-purchase of 4.7 million of our common shares, (c) $78.5 million we paid for dividends to holders of our common stock for the fourth quarter of 2021, the first quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2022 (including a special dividend paid to holders of our common stock of $46.7 million for the first quarter of 2022) and (d) $2.8 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series B Preferred Stock, $6.3 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series C Preferred Stock, $6.6 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series D Preferred Stock and $7.6 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series E Preferred Stock for the periods from October 15, 2021 to January 14, 2022, January 15, 2022 to April 14, 2022 and April 15, 2022 to July 14, 2022.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $482.6 million in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, which mainly consisted of (a) $550.0 million net proceeds relating to our debt financing agreements (including proceeds we received (i) from the issuance of €100.0 million unsecured bond on the Athens Exchange and (ii) from our debt financing agreements of an amount of $944.0 million), (b) $29.6 million we paid for dividends to holders of our common stock for the fourth quarter of 2020, the first quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2021 and (c) $2.8 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series B Preferred Stock, $6.3 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series C Preferred Stock, $6.6 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series D Preferred Stock and $7.5 million we paid for dividends to holders of our Series E Preferred Stock for the periods from October 15, 2020 to January 14, 2021, January 15, 2021 to April 14, 2021 and April 15, 2021 to July 14, 2021.
Liquidity and Unencumbered Vessels
Cash and cash equivalents
As of September 30, 2022, we had Cash and cash equivalents of $715.9 million, consisting of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and $24.9 million invested in short-dated US Treasury Bills (Short-term investments). Furthermore, as of September 30, 2022, our liquidity stood at $897.3 million including (a) our share of cash amounting to $4.0 million held in joint venture companies set up pursuant to the Framework Deed and (b) $152.5 million of available undrawn funds from our two hunting license facilities.
