SFL - Sale of two newbuilding Suezmax vessels at record high prices

ship finance international limited ("ship finance" or the "company"), yesterday announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell two newbuilding suezmax crude oil tankers, currently under construction in china. scheduled delivery ｆrom the shipyard is in 2009, ａnd delivery to the new owner will take place immediately after delivery ｆrom the shipyard. the gross sales price per vessel has been agreed to $111 million, ａnd net of construction costs ａnd broker commissions we expect to recognize a book profit of approximately $68 million ($0.94 per share), or approximately $34 million per vessel upon delivery to the new owner.
lars solbakken, chief ｅxecutive officer in ship finance management as, said in a comment: "we are pleased to announce this very profitable sale of two newbuildings which we ordered without long term employment two years ago. the sale is consistent with our strategy to maximize returns for our shareholders, ａnd we will book a profit of approximately $68 million on a very moderate equity investment in this project. we see significant growth opportunities across our target segments, ａnd the net proceeds ｆrom this sale will be redeployed as equity in new accretive projects that we expect will increase our long﹣term dividend capacity."