Global Ship Lease (GSL) has surpassed Wall Street's expectations for the third quarter by strengthening its balance sheet amid a strong market.

The Ian Webber-led boxship owner posted $9.95m in net income attributable to common shareholders, up from $3.86m during the same period last year.

Those results translated into $0.43 earnings per share, beating the analyst consensus by $0.06.

Chief executive Ian Webber chalked up the improved results to the company's refinancing