ATHENS, Greece, March 15, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (TEN) (NYSE:TNP) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared the Company's semi-annual dividend of $0.30 per share payable April 29th 2010 with a record date of April 23rd 2010 and an ex-dividend date of April 21st 2010.
"We are pleased to announce the second semi-annual dividend for fiscal 2009 of $0.30, raising the total distribution for the year to $0.60 per share. The sustainability of our dividend distributions is a testament to TEN's fleet, operational and commercial strategies, the strong balance sheet and overall capital structure, which enables the Company to remain profitable and to generate positive cash flows even in difficult economic climates" commented Mr. D. John Stavropoulos, Chairman of the Board. "In these most testing times for the world's economy, TEN is proud to be navigating a steady ship and maintaining its ability to reward its shareholders with healthy dividend distributions."
TEN intends to continue to pay cash dividends representing between one-quarter and one-half of ordinary net income. Such payments are subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors and depend on available cash, anticipated cash needs, overall financial condition, loan agreement restrictions, capital commitments, future prospects for earnings and cash flows, as well as other relevant factors. The Company pays a semi-annual dividend for a given fiscal year in October of that year and in April of the following year.
TEN will have distributed $8.175 per share in dividends to its shareholders since the Company was listed on the NYSE in March of 2002. The listing price was $7.50 per share accounting for the 2-1 share split of November 14th, 2007.
ABOUT TSAKOS ENERGY NAVIGATION
TEN's pro forma fleet consists of 49 double-hull vessels of 5.2 million dwt and includes two DNA-aframax crude carriers and two suezmax tankers currently under construction totaling 526,000 dwt.
TEN's balanced fleet profile is reflected in 24 crude tankers ranging from VLCCs to aframaxes and 24 product carriers ranging from aframaxes to handysize and one LNG.
TEN's employment profile:
| Type of Employment | Vessels |
| Period Employment – Fixed, fixed w/profit share & min max | 31 |
| CoA – Market related | 4 |
| Pool – Market related | 6 |
| Spot – Market related | 4 |
TEN's current newbuilding program:
| Aframax | DWT | Hull Type / Design | Delivery | |||
| 1. Sapporo Princess | 105,000 | DH / DNA | April 14th 2010 | |||
| 2. Uraga Princess | 105,000 | DH / DNA | July 2nd 2010 | |||
| 3. S2034 | 158,000 | DH | Q2 2011 | |||
| 4. S2035 | 158,000 | DH | Q2 2011 | |||
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DH: Double Hull DNA: Design New Aframax |
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted by such forward-looking statements. TEN undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.