🧾 What This Document Is

This is CMB.TECH's official press release announcing its final financial results for the full year 2025. It's a 6-K filing with the SEC, which means it's a report of important events that shareholders should know about. You'll find the full financial tables, a recap of major business moves, and a look ahead.

🏢 What The Company Does

👉 In simple terms, CMB.TECH is a giant, diversified shipping company. Think of it as a global logistics fleet that transports all sorts of goods—oil, chemicals, dry bulk like iron ore, and even supports offshore wind farms. They own about 250 vessels. Increasingly, they're also investing in future fuels like ammonia and hydrogen to power their ships.

💰 Financial Highlights

The numbers tell a story of significant growth, but also change. Here’s what matters:

Profit: They made $139.1 million in profit for the entire year. While that sounds good, it's way down from the $870.8 million in 2024. Why? 2024 had a huge, one-time boost from selling vessels.
Revenue: Revenue jumped massively to $1.67 billion, up from $940 million. This is a clearer sign of their growing business operations.
EBITDA: (A key cash flow measure) was $944.2 million for the year. In the last quarter alone, it was $323.4 million, which is nearly double what it was in Q4 2024.
Earnings Per Share (EPS): Was $0.70 for the year, down from $4.44 in 2024, again due to those large 2024 asset sales.

👉 The key takeaway: 2025's profit looks smaller, but it’s a more "normal" year compared to 2024's windfall from selling ships. The big jump in revenue and strong quarterly EBITDA show the core business is scaling up.

🚀 Key Moves: A Year of Big Changes

2025 was a transformational year. Here’s what they did:

Fleet Rejuvenation: They were very active, taking delivery of 17 new ships (like large Newcastlemax carriers and wind farm vessels) and selling 12 older ones. This modernizes their fleet for efficiency and future fuels.
The Golden Ocean Merger: In a major deal, they acquired and then merged with Golden Ocean, a large dry bulk company. This dramatically expanded their fleet and size. The merger closed on August 20, 2025.
Future Fuel Investments: They signed landmark deals for ammonia-powered vessels with Fortescue and Mitsui (MOL). They also started investing in China's ammonia supply chain.
Capital Gains: Selling old ships generated $192.6 million in capital gains in 2025. They expect an even bigger gain of ~$269.3 million from sales in early 2026.

📦 Financial Position: A Much Larger Company

The merger and fleet investments massively changed their balance sheet.

Total Assets ballooned to $8.41 billion, more than double the $3.91 billion at the end of 2024.
This growth comes from adding Golden Ocean's assets and new ships.
Debt also increased to fund this expansion. Bank loans and other borrowings now total over $5.2 billion.
Shareholder Equity grew to $2.62 billion.

👉 Why it matters: CMB.TECH is now a fundamentally larger, more complex company. Managing this bigger asset base and the associated debt will be a key focus going forward.

💸 Cash Flow Story

Operations: The business generated $426 million in cash from its day-to-day operations, down from $458 million in 2024.
Investing: They spent heavily ($1.61 billion net) on new vessels and the Golden Ocean acquisition. This was partially offset by cash from selling older vessels.
Financing: They raised a lot of new debt ($6.47 billion) to pay for investments and also repaid older loans. They paid a $29 million dividend during the year.

🔮 What's Next: Plans for 2026

The company is already moving fast in 2026:

Selling More Ships: They've already sold 8 VLCCs and 2 Capesize vessels in Q1 2026, locking in massive profits.
Management Change: CFO Benoit Timmermans resigned and will not be replaced; his duties are shared among other board members.
Divesting Non-Core Assets: They sold their stake in the Tankers International Pool in January 2026.
Next Report: They will announce Q1 2026 results on May 19, 2026.

⚖️ Big Picture: Strengths & Risks

👍 Strengths:

Diversification: They operate across many shipping sectors (dry bulk, tankers, offshore), reducing reliance on one market.
Future-Proofing: Aggressive investment in ammonia/hydrogen-powered ships positions them well for stricter environmental rules.
Active Portfolio Management: They skillfully buy and sell ships to capitalize on market cycles and generate profits.

⚠️ Risks:

High Debt: The rapid expansion has significantly increased financial leverage.
Market Cyclicality: Shipping is notoriously tied to the global economy; a downturn could hurt earnings and cash flow.
Integration Risk: Successfully merging and managing the much larger combined fleet with Golden Ocean presents operational challenges.

🧠 The Analogy

CMB.TECH is like a real estate investor who sold off some old, rundown apartment buildings in 2024 for a huge profit. In 2025, they used that cash and took out big loans to buy a major apartment complex (Golden Ocean) and renovate their remaining properties with new, efficient appliances (new ships). Now in 2026, they're selling off a few more old buildings to pay down some of that loan and prepare for the next phase. Their business is now much bigger, but the mortgage (debt) is also larger.

📇 Key Contacts & People

Head of Marketing & Communications: Katrien Hennin
- Tel: +32 499393470
- Email: [email protected]
Head of Investor Relations: Joris Daman
- Tel: +32 498617111
- Email: [email protected]
CEO: Alexander Saverys
CFO: Ludovic Saverys
Chairman of Supervisory Board: Patrick de Brabandere

🧩 Final Takeaway

CMB.TECH completed a transformative year in 2025, merging with Golden Ocean to become a top-tier diversified maritime group. While headline profits fell from a record 2024, the core business grew strongly. The company is now aggressively modernizing its fleet for future fuels while actively managing its assets—signaling a strategic shift toward scale and sustainability, financed with higher leverage.

CMB.TECH NV — 6-K Filing