Nordic American Tankers Ltd, the Bermudian-based oil tanker operator, has reported first-quarter earnings of $29.3 million.

The company is in the process of acquiring four existing Suezmax tankers to add to its fleet, bringing its total number of tankers to 28. A further two new tankers are being built, with the expectation they will both be part of the fleet by early next year.

Unusually, Nordic only has one-type of ship in its fleet, Suezmax tankers, which can transport one million barrels of oil.

“A homogenous fleet reduces our operating costs, which helps to keep our cash-breakeven below $12,000 per day per vessel,” the company stated in its earnings report.

With spot rates at about $36,000 per day, the company said it produced “good results with operating cash flow of $55.9 million” in the first quarter. The rate in the first quarter of 2015 was almost identical at $37,000.

Nordic does not expect to issue any new stock in connection with the imminent acquisition of four existing “sister vessels”, which will be delivered between now and July, and the two new builds.

The company has about 89 million outstanding shares, and has announced its 75th dividend payment since it commenced operations in 1997. Shareholders of record on May 12 will receive 43 cents per share, with the dividend being paid on May 27.

Nordic said it had net income of 33 cents per share in the first quarter, surpassing the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research of 31 cents per share.

Revenue totalled $76.7 million in the January-through-March period, falling short of Wall Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $78.1 million.

In a news release about its quarterly earnings, Nordic said low oil prices had positively affected the tanker market “through increased transportation requirements and lower fuel costs”.

In a short commentary on the industry, Nordic said: “Seaborne imports of crude oil into the US have increased over the recent past. Imports to the Far East are steadily increasing. A low oil price is stimulating the world economy which is positive for the tanker market.”

At the end of the first quarter the global Suezmax fleet, excluding shuttles, stood at 458. Nordic noted that orders for 96 vessels have been placed for delivery between now and the end of 2017, representing 21 per cent of the global fleet. That compares with an order book that represented more than 50 per cent of the existing fleet in 2009.

The company has grown its fleet markedly since 2004, when it had only three vessels.

Its net operating cash flow, was $55.9 million in the first three months of this year, up about $5 million year-on-year.

Nordic has a market capitalisation of about $1.3 billion. It has a $500 million credit facility, which matures in December 2020 and has drawn $315 million from that facility. As of last month the company had cash in hand of $66 million.

Nordic American Tankers shares have decreased nearly 2 per cent since the beginning of the year. However, the stock has increased 35 per cent in the last 12 months.

Disclosure: The writer of this article owns shares in Nordic American Tankers