Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ: GOGL / OSE: GOGL) (the "Company" or "Golden Ocean"), a leading dry bulk shipping company, today announced its results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018.


Highlights

* Net income of $16.7 million and earnings per share of $0.12 for the first quarter of 2018, compared with net income of $27.1 million and earnings per share of $0.19 for the fourth quarter of 2017 and net loss of $17.9 million and loss per share of $0.17 for the first quarter of 2017
* Adjusted EBITDA of $53.3 million for the first quarter of 2018, compared with $65.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 and $17.5 million for the first quarter of 2017
* Completed newbuilding program by taking delivery of five Capesize newbuildings
* Took delivery of the Golden Monterrey, a Capesize vessel acquired in October 2017
* Entered into a $120 million loan facility to refinance 10 vessels at favorable terms
* Agreed to sell the Golden Eminence, a Panamax vessel, for $14.7 million to an unrelated third party
* Announces a cash dividend of $0.10 per share for the first quarter of 2018

Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Ocean Management AS, commented:

"Golden Ocean continued to generate positive results in the first quarter of 2018 despite some seasonal weakness late in the quarter, reflecting primarily a strong entry into the year and period charters at decent rates. We are pleased to have taken delivery of the final five Capesize vessels in our newbuilding program as we continue to grow and modernize our operating fleet. As market conditions improve, we are well positioned to generate substantial cash flow with a large, modern fleet and competitive cash break-even levels."

Per Heiberg, Chief Financial Officer of Golden Ocean Management AS, commented:

"Our new $120 million loan facility that refinanced 10 vessels was completed on attractive terms. It reduces our interest expense and pushes out the average tenor of our debt. We remain focused on maintaining a moderate amount of leverage on our balance sheet, and have repeatedly been successful at accessing attractively priced capital."


The Board of Directors
Hamilton, Bermuda
May 30, 2018


Questions should be directed to:

Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal: Chief Executive Officer, Golden Ocean Management AS
+47 22 01 73 53

Per Heiberg: Chief Financial Officer, Golden Ocean Management AS
+47 22 01 73 45


The full report is available in the link below.

Forward Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this report may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements, which include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. Words such as "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "will," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this report are based upon various assumptions. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication.

In addition to these important factors and matters discussed elsewhere herein, important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies, fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the dry bulk market, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, political events or acts by terrorists, and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.


This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

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