News Release

LONDON, March 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL), a containership charter owner, announced today its unaudited results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2014.

Fourth Quarter and Year To Date Highlights

• Reported revenue of $36.9 million for the fourth quarter 2014. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $138.6 million
• Reported net loss⁽¹⁾ of $0.9 million for the fourth quarter 2014. For the year ended December 31, 2014, net income was $5.0 million after a $8.6 million gain on redemption of preferred shares together with a $1.9 million non-cash mark-to-market gain and non-cash $3.0 million accelerated write off of deferred financing costs
• Generated $22.6 million of Adjusted EBITDA⁽²⁾ for the fourth quarter 2014. Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $83.3 million
• Normalized net loss⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ for the fourth quarter 2014 was the same as the reported net loss of $0.9 million. Normalized net loss, which excludes certain non-cash items, was $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2014
• Extended the time charter with Sea Consortium, doing business as X-Press Feeders, on November 17, 2014 for Ville d'Aquarius, a 4,113 TEU vessel, at a gross rate of $8,390 per day for four to six months at charterer's option
• Purchased the OOCL Tianjin, an 8,063 TEU containership, from Orient Overseas Container Lines Limited ("OOCL") for $55 million. Immediately upon delivery on October 28, 2014, the vessel commenced a fixed-rate time charter back to OOCL for a period of 36 to 39 months at $34,500 per day, which is expected to generate annual EBITDA of approximately $9.4 million and increases contracted revenue by between $37.7 million and $40.9 million
• Agreed to purchase a 2004-built 8,063 TEU containership for $53.6 million. Immediately upon delivery, which is expected to be no later than mid-March, the vessel will commence a fixed-rate time charter back to the seller for a period of 36 to 39 months at $34,500 per day, which is expected to generate annual EBITDA of approximately $9.4 million and increases contracted revenue by between $37.7 million and $40.9 million

Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, stated, "2014 was a transformational year, during which we seized multiple opportunities to enhance our financial flexibility, earnings power, and future prospects. After extending four charters with CMA CGM and successfully refinancing our restrictive debt facility early in the year, we further strengthened our balance sheet through a perpetual preferred offering in August. We also diversified our charter portfolio, adding Sea Consortium as a customer for two of our vessels. The year culminated with the successful execution of a sale and leaseback transaction with OOCL in the fourth quarter, resulting in a multi-year charter on highly attractive and accretive terms."

Mr. Webber continued, "Our positive trajectory has continued into 2015 with a second sale and leaseback transaction in early February on similarly attractive terms. The two additional vessels increase our EBITDA generation capacity by over 20% since the third quarter of 2014. We are confident that Global Ship Lease's financial flexibility and stable long-term contracts position us well to pursue our strategic priorities of accretively growing our fleet and providing our shareholders with a meaningful and sustainable dividend. We have made significant progress towards both of these priorities over the last year, and we continue to move forward with the goal of being in a position to securely pass the relevant financial test in 2015 that will enable us to initiate a dividend."

(1) Net income and Normalized net (loss) income available to common shareholders

(2) Adjusted EBITDA and Normalized net (loss) income are non-US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) measures, as explained further in this press release, and are considered by Global Ship Lease to be useful measures of its performance. Reconciliations of such non-GAAP measures to the interim unaudited financial information are provided in this Earnings Release.

Revenue and Utilization

The fleet generated revenue from fixed rate, mainly long-term time, charters of $36.9 million in the three months ended December 31, 2014, up $0.8 million on revenue of $36.1 million for the comparative period in 2013. The increase in revenue from the addition of OOCL Tianjin on October 28, 2014 was partially offset by reduced revenue on four vessels, following charter extensions by three years at a lower daily rate of $15,300 compared to $18,465 previously, effective February 1, 2014 and from 19 days additional offhire in the quarter for the regulatory drydocking of CMG CGM Utrillo and for a drydocking to modify the bulbous bow of CMA CGM Thalassa to improve fuel efficiency at slower speeds. There were no drydockings in the comparative period. There were 1,629 ownership days in the quarter, up 65 days on the comparable period in 2013, as a result of the acquisition of the OOCL Tianjin. In the fourth quarter 2014, there was a total of 20 days offhire, of which one day was unplanned, and 19 days were for planned drydockings, giving an overall utilization of 98.8%. There was one day unplanned offhire in the comparable period of 2013, giving utilization of 99.9%.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, revenue was $138.6 million, down $4.6 million on revenue of $143.2 million in the comparative period, mainly due to lower daily rates on the four extended charters, a total of 64 days idle time on the two 4,113 TEU vessels pending re-deployment on new charters, a temporary lower daily rate on Julie Delmas for 155 days during a period of reduced capability due to a damaged crane and increased offhire, and partially offset by the contribution from OOCL Tianjin.

The table below shows fleet utilization for the three months and year ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 and for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

There were two drydockings in the fourth quarter 2014 and none in the comparative period. Three vessels were drydocked in the year ended December 31, 2014. The one regulatory drydocking scheduled for 2015 - OOCL Tianjin - was completed in January.

Vessel Operating Expenses

Vessel operating expenses, which include costs of crew, lubricating oil, spares and insurance, were $12.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014. The average cost per ownership day in the quarter was $7,736, compared to $7,511 for the 2013 period, up $225 or 3.0%. The increase is primarily attributable to higher crew costs. Fourth quarter 2014 average cost per ownership day was up only $14, or 0.2%, on $7,722 for the rolling four quarters ended September 30, 2014 with the four quarter period including the cost of bunkers consumed, for owners account, while the two 4,113 TEU vessels were idle, as well as the cost of positioning them for the commencement of their new charters in May and July 2014, respectively. There were no such bunker costs in the fourth quarter of 2014.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, vessel operating expenses were $48.8 million or an average of $7,778 per day, compared to $46.0 million in the comparative period or $7,421 per day. A large portion of the increase of $357 per day, or 4.8%, is due to the cost of bunkers consumed by the two 4,113 TEU vessels.

Depreciation

Depreciation for the three months ended December 31, 2014 was $11.0 million, compared to $10.1 million in the fourth quarter 2013. The increase is due to the addition of the OOCL Tianjin to the fleet.

Depreciation for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $41.1 million, compared to $40.4 million in the comparative period.

General and Administrative Costs

General and administrative costs were $1.9 million in the three months ended December 31, 2014, compared to $1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, general and administrative costs were $7.0 million, compared to $6.0 million for 2013. The increase is due mainly to costs associated with the issuance in March 2014 of our 10.0% First Priority Secured Notes, which could not be capitalized.

Other Operating Income

Other operating income in the three months ended December 31, 2014 was $0.2 million, compared to $0.1 million in the fourth quarter 2013.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, other operating income was $0.5 million, compared to $0.4 million for 2013. 

Adjusted EBITDA

As a result of the above, Adjusted EBITDA was $22.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014, down from $22.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2013.

Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $83.3 million, compared to $91.5 million for the comparative period.

Interest Expense

Until March 19, 2014, the Company's borrowings comprised amounts outstanding under its credit facility, which carried interest at US $ LIBOR plus a margin, most recently 3.75%, and $45 million Series A preferred shares, which carried interest at US $ LIBOR plus a margin of 2.00%. The Company hedged its interest rate exposure by entering into derivatives that swapped floating rate debt for fixed rate debt to provide long-term stability and predictability to cash flows.

On March 19, 2014, the outstanding borrowings under the credit facility totaling $366.4 million were repaid out of the proceeds of $420.0 million aggregate principal amount of 10.0% First Priority Secured Notes due 2019 (the "Notes"). In addition, the $277.0 million nominal amount of interest rate derivatives outstanding were terminated on March 19, 2014 for a final payment of $19.3 million.

The $45.0 million Series A preferred shares were redeemed on August 22, 2014, principally from the proceeds of an issuance of Series B cumulative perpetual preferred shares.

Interest expense for the three months ended December 31, 2014, including interest and the amortization of deferred financing costs and of the original issue discount on the Notes and the commitment fee on the Company's undrawn $40.0 million revolving credit facility, was $11.8 million.

In the fourth quarter 2013, interest expense, including amortization of deferred financing costs, was $4.5 million, on borrowings under the Company's credit facility and on the $45.0 million Series A preferred shares.  

For the year ended December 31, 2014, interest expense (including the amortization of deferred financing costs and, from March 19, 2014, of the original issue discount on the Notes) on borrowings under the credit facility up to March 19, 2014, on the Notes from that date, on the $45.0 million Series A preferred shares until their redemption on August 22, 2014 and including the commitment fee on the $40.0 million revolving credit facility was $43.9 million. Amortization of deferred financing costs includes accelerated write off of $3.0 million in March 2014 being the balance of such costs associated with the credit facility. 

Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2013 was $18.8 million on the amount outstanding on the credit facility and the Series A preferred shares during that period which averaged $450.1 million.

Interest income for the three months and years ended December 30, 2014 and 2013 was not material.

Change in Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company hedged its interest rate exposure by entering into derivatives that swap floating rate debt for fixed rate debt. These hedges did not qualify for hedge accounting under US GAAP and the outstanding hedges were marked to market at each period end with any change in the fair value being booked to the income and expenditure account. The Company's derivative hedging instruments were terminated on March 19, 2014 and consequently had no effect in the three months ended December 31, 2014. They gave a realized loss of $2.9 million in the three months ended December 31, 2013 for settlements in the period, as US $ LIBOR rates were lower than the average fixed rates. Further, there was a $2.5 million unrealized gain for revaluation of the balance sheet. 

For the year ended December 31, 2014, the realized loss from hedges was $2.8 million and the unrealized gain was $1.9 million. This compares to a realized loss of $14.0 million and an unrealized gain of $14.3 million in the year ended December 31, 2013.

Gain on Redemption of Series A Preferred Shares

On August 22, 2014, the Company repurchased all of its outstanding Series A Preferred Shares for cash of $36.4 million, a discount to their liquidation value of $45.0 million, giving rise to a non-cash gain of $8.6 million.

The purchase was funded with the net proceeds from the Company's offering of $35.0 million Series B cumulative perpetual preferred shares, which closed on August 20, 2014, and cash on hand.

Taxation

Taxation for the three months ended December 31, 2014 was $17,000, compared to $34,000 in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Taxation for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $75,000, compared to $97,000 for 2013. 

Earnings Allocated to Preferred Shares

The new Series B preferred shares carry a coupon of 8.75%, the cost of which for the three months ended December 31, 2014 was $0.8 million. The total cost for 2014, from the closing of the offering on August 20, 2014 to the end of the year, was $1.1 million.

Net Loss/Income Available to Common Shareholders

Net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2014 was $0.9 million.  For the three months ended December 31, 2013, net income was $7.9 million, after the $2.5 million non-cash interest rate derivative mark-to-market gain. Normalized net loss, which excludes, where applicable, the effect of the non-cash interest rate derivative mark-to-market gain, was $0.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014, which is the same as the reported net loss. Normalized net income was $5.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2013. 

Net income was $5.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, after a $1.9 million non-cash mark-to-market gain on interest rate derivatives, a non-cash $3.0 million accelerated write off of deferred financing costs and the $8.6 million gain on redemption of the preferred shares. For the year ended December 31, 2013, net income was $32.5 million after a $14.3 million non-cash interest rate derivative mark-to-market gain. 

Dividend

The board of directors is committed to paying a meaningful dividend once this can be sustained and provided that it is in the best interests of shareholders at the time. In the meantime, Global Ship Lease is not paying a dividend on common shares.

Fleet

The following table provides information as at December 31, 2014 about the on-the-water fleet of 18 vessels, of which 15 are chartered to CMA CGM, two to Sea Consortium, doing business as X-Press Feeders, and one to Orient Overseas Containerline Limited ("OOCL").

(1) Twenty-foot Equivalent Units.

(2) As at December 31, 2014. Plus or minus 90 days, other than as below.

(3) Ville d'Orion on charter from July 17, 2014 for a minimum of six months and maximum of 12 months at charterer's option and 30 days' notice.

(4) Ville d'Aquarius on charter from December 3, 2014 for a minimum of four months and maximum of six months at charterer's option and 30 days' notice.

(5) OOCL Tianjin on charter from October 28, 2014 for a minimum of 36 months and maximum of 39 months at charterer's option and 30 days' notice.

Conference Call and Webcast

Global Ship Lease will hold a conference call to discuss the Company's results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2014 today, Tuesday March 3, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. There are two ways to access the conference call:

(1) Dial-in: (877) 445-2556 or (908) 982-4670; Passcode: 90129709  

Please dial in at least 10 minutes prior to 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time to ensure a prompt start to the call.   

(2) Live Internet webcast and slide presentation: http://www.globalshiplease.com

If you are unable to participate at this time, a replay of the call will be available through Thursday, March 19, 2015 at (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406. Enter the code 90129709 to access the audio replay. The webcast will also be archived on the Company's website: http://www.globalshiplease.com.

Annual Report on Form 20F

The Company's Annual Report for 2013 is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A copy of the report can be found under the Investor Relations section (Annual Reports) of the Company's website at http://www.globalshiplease.com   Shareholders may request a hard copy of the audited financial statements free of charge by contacting the Company at info@globalshiplease.com or by writing to Global Ship Lease, Inc, care of Global Ship Lease Services Limited, Portland House, Stag Place, London SW1E 5RS or by telephoning +44 (0) 207 869 8806.

About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease is a containership charter owner. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under mainly long-term, fixed rate charters to top tier container liner companies. 

Global Ship Lease currently owns 18 vessels with a total capacity of 74,412 TEU and an average age, weighted by TEU capacity, at December 31, 2014 of 10.7 years. All 18 vessels are currently fixed on time charters, 15 of which are with CMA CGM. The average remaining term of the charters is 5.9 years or 6.4 years on a weighted basis, excluding Ville d'Aquarius and Ville d'Orion, which are deployed in the short-term charter market. 

Reconciliation of Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Measures

A. Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA represents Net income (loss) before interest income and expense including amortization of deferred finance costs, realized and unrealized gain (loss) on derivatives, income taxes, and earnings allocated to preferred shares, non-cash gains on redemption of preferred shares, depreciation, amortization and impairment charges. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-US GAAP quantitative measure used to assist in the assessment of the Company's ability to generate cash from its operations.  We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors because it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry. Adjusted EBITDA is not defined in US GAAP and should not be considered to be an alternate to Net income (loss) or any other financial metric required by such accounting principles. 

B. Normalized net income

Normalized net income represents Net income (loss) adjusted for the unrealized gain (loss) on derivatives, the accelerated write off of a portion of deferred financing costs, impairment charges and gain of redemption of preferred shares. Normalized net income is a non-GAAP quantitative measure which we believe will assist investors and analysts who often adjust reported net income for non-operating items such as change in fair value of derivatives to eliminate the effect of non cash non-operating items that do not affect operating performance or cash generated. Normalized net income is not defined in US GAAP and should not be considered to be an alternate to Net income (loss) or any other financial metric required by such accounting principles.

Safe Harbor Statement

This communication contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide Global Ship Lease's current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about Global Ship Lease's expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "will" or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and Global Ship Lease cannot assure you that these projections included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.

The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to:

• future operating or financial results;
• expectations regarding the future growth of the container shipping industry, including the rates of annual demand and supply growth;
• the financial condition of Global Ship Lease's charterers, particularly CMA CGM, the Company's principal charterer and main source of operating revenue, and their ability to pay charterhire in accordance with the charters;
• Global Ship Lease's financial condition and liquidity, including its ability to obtain additional waivers which might be necessary under the existing credit facility or obtain additional financing to fund capital expenditures, vessel acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
• Global Ship Lease's ability to meet its financial covenants and repay its credit facility;
• Global Ship Lease's expectations relating to dividend payments and forecasts of its ability to make such payments including the availability of cash and the impact of covenant constraints;
• future acquisitions, business strategy and expected capital spending;
• operating expenses, availability of crew, number of off-hire days, drydocking and survey requirements and insurance costs;
• general market conditions and shipping industry trends, including charter rates and factors affecting supply and demand;
• assumptions regarding interest rates and inflation;
• changes in the rate of growth of global and various regional economies;
• risks incidental to vessel operation, including piracy, discharge of pollutants and vessel accidents and damage including total or constructive total loss;
• estimated future capital expenditures needed to preserve its capital base;
• Global Ship Lease's expectations about the availability of ships to purchase, the time that it may take to construct new ships, or the useful lives of its ships;
• Global Ship Lease's continued ability to enter into or renew long-term, fixed-rate charters;
• the continued performance of existing long-term, fixed-rate time charters;
• Global Ship Lease's ability to capitalize on its management's and board of directors' relationships and reputations in the containership industry to its advantage;
• changes in governmental and classification societies' rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities;
• expectations about the availability of insurance on commercially reasonable terms;
• unanticipated changes in laws and regulations including taxation;
• potential liability from future litigation.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Global Ship Lease's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements for many reasons specifically as described in Global Ship Lease's filings with the SEC.  Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this communication. Global Ship Lease undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this communication or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should, however, review the factors and risks Global Ship Lease describes in the reports it will file from time to time with the SEC after the date of this communication.

CONTACT: Investor and Media Contacts:

         The IGB Group

         Bryan Degnan

         646-673-9701

         or

         Leon Berman

         212-477-8438