Benzinga | Aug 6, 2021 07:14AM EDT

Star Bulk Carriers Stock Gains On Q2 Earnings Beat, Declares Dividend, Plans $50M Share Repurchase

* Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) reported second-quarter voyage revenue growth of 113.1% year-over-year to $311.41 million, beating the consensus of $296.110 million.

* Adjusted EPS improved to $1.26 from $(0.19) in 2Q20, beating consensus of $1.25.

* TCE Revenues increased by 163% Y/Y to $254.93 million, and the TCE rate was $22,927 compared to $9,402 for 2Q20.

* Daily OPEX per vessel increased to $4,618 from $4,027 in 2Q20. Daily Net Cash G&A expenses per vessel were at $1,099 compared to $1,035 a year ago.

* Adjusted EBITDA was $182.48 million, compared to $35.2 million in 2Q20.

* The average Number of Vessels increased to 126 vs. 116 in 2Q20.

* Star Bulk Carriers generated cash from operating activities year-to-date of $219.67 million, compared to $55.46 million a year ago.

* The company's chartering coverage for Q3 is at $28,345 for 65.7% of Q3 available days.

* Star Bulk Carriers declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.70 per share payable on September 8, 2021, to all shareholders of record as of August 23, 2021.

* The company also authorized a share repurchase program of up to an aggregate of $50 million.

* Price Action: SBLK shares are trading higher by 4.18% at $20.42 during the pre-market session on the last check Friday.