Euronav NV (NYSE:EURN) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Page 3 of 10

Hugo De Stoop: Yes. So on the first part, you’re absolutely right. We will continue to have a balanced strategy between dividends and share buyback when it comes to return to shareholders. And obviously, the share price will be a very important factor that we take into account as much as the outlook and to a certain extent, capital allocation, but that’s no different than what we did in the past. On the second part — it’s — well, it’s very complicated. But I — we certainly do not believe that we will need to wait until a judgment on the merits to be able to distribute capital. I mean that’s — there are many intermediary steps that can be taken. And what will happen next week will be very important in terms of which closes of the combination agreement needs to remain in place for that duration.

So until next Tuesday, it’s difficult to give you an exact or precise date, especially because even on the merits, we don’t know how long it will be, but quite frankly, we’re all business plan. So — we focus on the business first. I mean, this is a very important transaction, as you can imagine, but not being able to return any capital to shareholders for launch period of time would not be ideal for the business. So again, that is a problem, we will find a solution.

Jon Chappell: All right. That’s very helpful. My second one kind of goes along the lines of how you defended that answer, focusing on the business, but being businessmen. I understand the sensitivities here again, but I’m just trying to understand like what’s the ideal outcome here for you? — to 25% shareholders, if the arbitration goes 100% in your favor, I would think the next step would be a shareholder vote, but a shareholder vote would be the merger, we have 2 25% shareholders who apparently don’t want it. So it seems like it’s almost impossible. So to the extent that you can say, in your ideal world, once a solution is arrived at, how do you move forward from there?

Hugo De Stoop: I’m not going to be able to answer that because it’s too sensitive I appreciate that there is a lot of systems and we’re all very . It’s only a couple of days away, and I really don’t want to risk anything by commenting on something that would be great. So I’m not going to be as well to ask .

Jon Chappell: Completely fair. Thank you.

Operator: The next question comes from Thijs Berkelder from ABN AMRO.

Thijs Berkelder: Yes, thank you. The first question is, operationally, I’ve seen that your reported breakeven, the breakeven for the P&L has gone quite a lot. Can you maybe explain what can be expected there looking at 2023, also given the strong rise in inflation and in wages. And the second question, yes, is on corporate governance — have you agreed with the future marriage with frontline and now certainly your husband-wife, no longer wants to marry without giving any reason at all and really stepping you and your team in the back. why would you, as you’re now managing board supervisory board still seek a manage if the partner has proven so unreliable? And how is it possible you in the preliminary agreement did not have a clause defining a penalty payment for breaking the agreement for this kind of events.

And then maybe finally, what kind of financial compensation should we be looking for? Is it purely legal costs? Or can we assume a more financial compensation to come in?

Page 3 of 10