STEALTHGAS 2Q16 results

STEALTHGAS INC., a ship-owning company primarily serving the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector of the international shipping industry, announced today its unaudited financial and operating results for the second quarter ended 30 June 2016.

Operational and financial highlights

• Successful delivery of one new eco LPG carrier in the second quarter of 2016 (2Q16).
• Period on period increase of vessel calendar days by 15%.
• Operational utilisation of 91.2% in 2Q16.
• About 70% of fleet voyage days on period charters for the remainder of 2016, with close to US$180 million in contracted revenues.
• Average fleet age of 9.1 years, with 76% of company fleet below 15 years of age.
• Revenues in 2Q16 of US$35.7 million ($32.4 million in 2Q15).
• EBITDA in 2Q16 of US$11.7 million (US$9.9 million in 2Q15).
• Cash on hand of US$71.6 million with operating cashflow of US$17 million for 2Q16.
• Stock repurchase of a shade below 4 million shares for a total of US$20.3 million, from the beginning of the programme in December 2014 to date.
• Fully funded orderbook, following the finalisation of the financing terms for our last four newbuild deliveries due in 2017.

Second quarter 2016 results

Revenues for the three months ended 30 June 2016 amounted to US$35.7 million, an increase of US$3.3 million, or 10.2%, compared to revenues of US$32.4 million for the three months ended 30 June 2015, primarily due to the net addition of seven vessels which increased the number of owned vessels to 54 as at the end of June 2016. Overall revenues for the three months ended 30 June 2016 were lower than expected due to market factors such as weak seasonal demand and low freight rates, as well as company specific factors, as four of the company vessels were drydocked and one of the LPG vessels experienced a grounding incident during berthing resulting in a significant loss of revenue due to off hire.

Voyage expenses and vessels’ operating expenses for the three months ended 30 June 2016 were US$3.7 million and US$15.2 million respectively, compared to US$3.9 million and US$11.4 million respectively, for the three months ended 30 June 2015. The US$0.2 million decrease in voyage expenses was primarily due to lower bunker costs incurred due to falling oil prices, which led to a decline in voyage costs, in spite of the 5.2% increase in spot market days in the 2Q16. The 33.3% increase in operating expenses compared to the same period of 2015, is due to a net fleet expansion of seven vessels, and two vessels coming off bareboat, resulting in increased time charter and spot activity by 641 days. In addition to this, operating costs for the three months ended 30 June 2016 were also burdened by extraordinary costs as a result of the grounding incident of one of the company’s LPG vessels.

Drydocking costs for the three months ended 30 June 2016 and 2015 were US$1.5 million and US$0.4 million, respectively. The cost for the 2Q16 corresponds to the drydocking of four vessels. Overall, for the remainder of 2016 the company has scheduled drydockings for three more vessels.

Depreciation for the three months ended 30 June 2016, was US$9.7 million, a US$1.1 million increase from US$8.6 million for the same period of last year. This increase was due to the net addition of seven vessels. Included in the 2Q16 results are net losses from interest rate derivative instruments of US$0.2 million. Interest paid on interest rate derivative instruments amounted to US$0.2 million.

As a result of the above, for the three months ended 30 June 2016, the company reported a net loss of US$1.6 million, compared to net loss of US$1.3 million for the three months ended 30 June 2015. The weighted average number of shares for the three months ended 30 June 2016 decreased to 39.7 million compared to 41.5 million for the same period of last year, mainly due to the repurchase of 2.1 million shares from April 2015 to 30 June 2016. Loss per share, basic and diluted, for the three months ended 30 June 2016 amounted to US$0.04 compared to US$0.03 for the same period of last year.

Adjusted net loss was US$1.5 million or US$0.04 per share for the three months ended 30 June 2016 compared to adjusted net income of US$2.4 million or US$0.06 per share for the same period of last year.

EBITDA for the three months ended 30 June 2016 amounted to US$11.7 million. Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income/(Loss), EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income/(Loss) are set forth below.

An average of 53 vessels were owned by the company during the three months ended 30 June 2016, compared to 46 vessels for the same period of 2015.

Adapted from press release by Francesca Brindle

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/26082016/stealthgas-reports-second-quarter-2016-financial-results-3979/