Euronav N.V.

CMB.TECH reported Q1 2026 net profit of $368.8 million. Net finance expenses were $81 million, versus $113 million last quarter, and capital gains in Q1 were $267 million; management also said Q2 is expected to include $127 million of capital gain. Liquidity at the end of Q1 was a little above $0.5 billion, and adjusted equity to total assets was below 50%. Looking ahead, management said 2026 could generate over $1 billion of operational free cash flow at current market assumptions, excluding vessel sales and remaining CapEx, and said remaining CapEx at end-April was $1.2 billion, of which roughly $184 million is unfunded. They also said $740 million of the remaining newbuilding CapEx is due over the next three quarters, and contract backlog rose by roughly $200 million.

Alexander Saverys struck an upbeat tone, saying the company is “firing on all cylinders” and that dry bulk, tankers, and offshore energy are the main positive markets. He emphasized that the company is well positioned with large spot exposure in dry bulk and tankers, and argued that current geopolitical disruption, especially in the Middle East, is supporting ton-mile demand and freight rates. He also said the company will keep monitoring opportunistic asset sales and investments, but wants to ride the cycle first, particularly in dry bulk.

Ludovic Saverys focused on deleveraging, financing costs, and capital allocation. He said the company repaid an expensive bridge loan, reduced bank margins on nearly all financings, and that the $81 million net finance expense included only about $3 million of one-offs; additional margin reductions on roughly $2 billion of financing should only show up at the end of Q2. He also said SG&A improved from $51 million in Q4 to $27 million in Q1, and reiterated that the board will keep a full discretionary dividend policy, with historical payout levels of 50% to 60% of net profit.

Analysts pressed management on capital allocation now that leverage is near target and CapEx is largely funded. Management said dividends remain fully discretionary, but that shareholder distributions should stay a focus as leverage falls and CapEx rolls off; they also clarified the total payout was not just an increase from $0.16 to $0.20, but to $0.64 including a share-premium distribution. Questions also focused on the strong gain from the Golden Ocean acquisition, higher fleet breakevens, and the impact of the conflict on operations; management said the investment looks good on paper but they want to ride the cycle, and they acknowledged some operational disturbance at the Qatar Energy FSOs while prioritizing crew safety. They also said a couple of ships are currently in the Persian Gulf and they are not naming them for safety reasons.