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mttssn research · Nordic Deep Dive
MPC Container Ships (MPCC.OL)
Shipping · Feeder container tonnage provider · LTM Q1 2026
Analysis date: 2026-07-07
Price at analysis: $24.62
Method: mttssn_streamlined_v1
Conviction: LOW
HOLD
Conviction: LOW
A conservatively levered feeder-tonnage provider earning cycle-elevated charter rates. Adjusted ROIC 17.8% vs 8% WACC and USD 113.5m economic profit are real, but the normalized LTM EBIT of USD 206.7m excludes 36.7m of vessel gains and Q1 2026 revenue fell 6.5% y/y. At NOK 24.62 the EV already prices roughly half of LTM NOPAT in perpetuity — about right for a through-cycle base. HOLD; distributions carry the return from here.
Adj. ROIC
17.8%
WACC 8% → spread +9.8pp
Economic Profit
+$114M
+USD 113.5m; 9.8pp spread, cycle-elevated
FCF Yield
n/a
Not extracted (streamlined); ~13% trailing dividend yield
Price / Target
NOK 25 → NOK 26
+6% base; HOLD
Revenue (LTM)
$510M
LTM USD 509.6m; Q1 2026 -6.5% y/y
EBIT Margin
47.8%
EBIT 40.6% ex vessel gains — peak-cycle
EV / IC
1.13×
Enterprise value / invested capital
Net Debt
n/a
USD 202.5m; 0.2x equity, no pension/goodwill
Thesis

MPCC charters 73 feeder and intermediate containerships to liner operators on time charters, focused on intra-Asia and Europe-Mediterranean trades. The Marshall Islands/Cayman structure delivers a 0.09% effective cash tax, so EBIT converts almost fully to NOPAT: LTM Q1 2026 revenue USD 509.6m, normalized EBIT 206.7m (40.6% margin, ex USD 36.7m vessel disposal gains), adjusted ROIC 17.8% on USD 1,162m invested capital, economic profit +113.5m.

The print is cycle-elevated. Suez/Red Sea re-routing has absorbed tonnage and held charter rates up; Q1 2026 revenue was already -6.5% y/y. The feeder segment is structurally steadier than mainlane — shorter charters, more counterparties, a lower relative orderbook — but MPCC remains a rate-taker whose earnings level resets at each re-chartering. Charter backlog coverage is not in the record, so the duration of today's economics cannot be verified here — that is the single most important number to confirm at the next report.

The balance sheet is built for the down-leg: net debt USD 202.5m (0.2x equity), no pension, no goodwill, and heavy dividend distributions (~13% trailing yield per the screen composite). Reporting is candid — the company's own ex-gain EBIT of 209.3m ties to our normalization within 1.2%. The question is not the quality of the LTM print but its durability.

Valuation · reverse-DCF & scenarios

The reverse-EP read does the work: EV of USD 1,312.5m is 1.13x IC with NOPAT/EV at 15.7%, so at the record's 8% WACC the market capitalizes ~USD 105m of perpetual NOPAT — roughly half the LTM 206.5m. Zero-growth EBV on the LTM print would be ~NOK 53/share, but that number is meaningless for a cyclical at elevated rates; on an assumed through-cycle NOPAT of USD 90-120m (assumption, not observed — flagged), conservative equity value lands near NOK 23-28. Price sits inside that band.

Base NOK 26 (NOPAT fades toward ~USD 110m durable, 8% WACC, net debt bridge); bull NOK 33 (Suez disruption persists into 2027-28 and re-charterings print near current levels, ~USD 150m durable); bear NOK 16 (2023-style rate crash, EP to zero, EV toward and briefly below IC). Dividends accrue on top in base and bull. Note the WACC sensitivity: a shipping-appropriate 10% cuts EP to ~USD 90m and pulls the base toward price.

Market-implied growth
-29.2%
NOPAT CAGR over 5y the EV already requires
No-growth value / share
$6
26% of price; rest = priced-in growth
ROIC − WACC
+9.8 pp
ROIC 17.8% vs WACC 8.0% — positive = value creation
CAP (priced-in)
0.0 yrs
years of excess returns the price implies (fades to WACC)

The market pays today’s enterprise value for roughly -29.2% NOPAT growth over 5 years. The business earns 18% on capital against a 8% cost of capital (spread +9.8 pp); the no-growth value is $6/share (26% of price), so the rest is priced-in growth.

Scenario24m targetImpl. gUpsideProb.Driver
Bull$33≥17%+34%20%Suez shut into 2027-28; re-charters near current rates
Base$26≥17%+6%50%NOPAT fades to ~USD 110m through-cycle; dividends carry
Bear$16≥17%-35%30%Rate crash; EP to zero, EV toward IC
Prob-weighted$24-1%100%Scenario-weighted expected value

Sensitivity — fair value / share at WACC × growth

WACC \ g0%3%5%8%10%15%
6.50%91011121315
7.25%889101012
8.00% (base)6788910
8.75%667789
9.50%556677

Green = fair value above the current price of $24.62. The reverse-DCF conclusion is dominated by WACC and growth — see the whole surface, not a single fair value.

Method & data. NOPAT $206, invested capital and ROIC 17.8% are observed (adjustments.json); WACC 8.0% and terminal g 2.5% are assumptions. EV→equity uses net debt $202. The model holds ROIC constant (no fade) over the explicit horizon; the CAP figure instead fades excess returns to WACC.

⤓ Download the full model (.xlsx) — formula-driven sheets; flex the blue input cells and the model cascades in Excel.

Key drivers

1. Charter re-pricing

LTM economics ride time charters struck at elevated rates; every re-chartering resets the earnings level — backlog coverage is the key unverified variable.

2. Suez/Red Sea routing

Re-routing absorbs tonne-miles and props rates; a reopening releases effective capacity and is the largest single swing factor, in both directions.

3. Feeder supply balance

Lower relative orderbook and an ageing feeder fleet versus mainlane support scrapping-led balance — the structural argument for rate resilience.

4. Capital returns

~13% trailing dividend yield with 0.2x net debt/equity; payouts are fundable through a normal downturn and are the main vehicle of shareholder return at this price.

5. Tax structure

0.09% effective rate converts nearly all EBIT to distributable NOPAT — a genuine cash-conversion edge, though it also flatters ROIC comparisons.

Key risks
Conclusion

MPCC is a well-run, conservatively financed feeder-tonnage provider at an elevated point in its rate cycle. The 17.8% ROIC and +USD 113.5m EP are observed, but the market already discounts roughly half the LTM NOPAT in perpetuity, which is where a conservative through-cycle base belongs. HOLD, low conviction; base NOK 26 with distributions carrying the return.

We would turn constructive nearer NOK 16-19, where EV approaches invested capital and the bear case is in the price — and more cautious on a Suez reopening or evidence of re-charterings printing materially below expiring rates.

Footnote evidence & sources

Every adjustment traces to the cited note/page in the source filing — click to open it there. Source reports archived locally.

NOPAT adjustments: other_one_off_addback: vessel disposal gains LTM Q1 2026 = USD 36.7M removed (FY 48.4M − Q1'25 11.7M + Q1'26 0M). Marshall Islands/Cayman structure: effective tax 0.09% — tax shield on adjustment effectively zero.

Post-tax add-backs: No goodwill. No intangible assets. No PPE impairment in LTM period.

Company add-backs we reject: SBC immaterial: USD 286K FY2025. No PPA amortization. Operating lease ROU USD 264K — essentially zero.

Invested capital: BS from Q1 2026 (31.03.2026). IB debt: non-current 408.8M + current 54.1M = 462.9M. Cash 260.4M. Operating lease liability 264K excluded (immaterial). No pension obligations. Incorporated in Marshall Islands; Cayman Islands subsidiary structure.

Pages read — FY: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80] · Q: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]  

Analysis history

How the mttssn view has evolved — each prior dated note is preserved.

Quality · Buffett tenets8 / 15
Understandable business
73 feeder/intermediate boxships time-chartered to liners; revenue = fleet x charter rate, USD 509.6m LTM at 40.6% EBIT margin ex vessel gains. Simple economics, though the Marshall Islands/Cayman holding structure adds a layer of opacity.
Durable moat
None in the Buffett sense — tonnage is a commodity and MPCC is a rate-taker. Feeder-niche scale and a lower segment orderbook are positioning, not a structural advantage; the LTM margin is the cycle's, not the company's.
Management & capital allocation
Conservative balance sheet (net debt USD 202.5m, 0.2x equity), heavy distributions (~13% trailing yield per screen), SBC immaterial at USD 286k, and the company's own 'EBIT excl. vessel gains' ties to our normalization within 1.2% — candid reporting.
Financial strength & returns
Adjusted ROIC 17.8% vs 8% WACC, EP +USD 113.5m, no goodwill, no pension, 0.09% cash tax. Real strength today, but the spread is rate-driven and the 8% default WACC flatters a shipping cyclical.
Valuation margin of safety
At NOK 24.62, EV USD 1,312.5m (1.13x IC) capitalizes ~USD 105m perpetual NOPAT at the record WACC — roughly half the LTM print. Fair against a conservative through-cycle base; no cushion below it.