Harry Vafias
STEALTHGAS INC. REPORTS THIRD QUARTER 2016 FINANCIAL AND OPERATING RESULTS
ATHENS, GREECE, November 29, 2016. STEALTHGAS INC. (NASDAQ: GASS), 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 third quarter ended September 30, 2016.
OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
- 12.4% increase in vessel calendar days in 9M 2016 compared to 9M 2015, surpassing 15,000 days.
- Operational utilization of 88.1% in Q3 2016 (94.4% in Q3 2015).
- 87% of fleet days secured on period charters for the remainder of 2016, with a total of $175 million in contracted revenues.
- Average fleet age of 9.4 years (12 years market average).
- Deferral of the deliveries for our four 22,000 cbm semi refrigerated newbuildings.
- Revenues in Q3 2016 of $ 34.4 million decreased by 4% compared to Q3 2015- in a challenging market environment.
- EBITDA in Q3 2016 of $11.2 million ($13.4 million in Q3 2015).
- Cash on hand of $60.7 million with operating cashflow of $25.2 million for 9M 2016.
Nine Months 2016 Results:
- § Revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, amounted to $106.7 million, an increase of $2.8 million, or 2.7%, compared to revenues of $103.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, primarily due to the higher number of vessels in our fleet in the 2016 period.
- § Voyage expenses and vessels’ operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 were $11.7 million and $44.3 million, respectively, compared to $13.4 million and $36.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. The $1.7 million decrease in voyage expenses was mainly due to the lower bunker prices prevailing in the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same period of 2015. The increase in operating expenses, was mainly driven by our fleet expansion and the two vessels coming off bareboat compared to the same period of 2015.
- § Drydocking Costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 were $3.2 million and $1.0 million, respectively. In the first nine months of 2016 we had nine vessels drydocked compared to two vessels in the same period of 2015.
- § Depreciation for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, was $29.2 million, a $3.0 million increase from $26.2 million for the same period of last year. This increase was due to the higher number of vessels in our fleet in the 2016 period.
- § Included in the first nine months of 2016 results are net losses from interest rate derivative instruments of $0.6 million. Interest paid on interest rate swap arrangements amounted to $0.9 million and gains from change in fair value of the same interest rate derivative instruments amounted to $0.3 million.
- § The Company realized a $0.3 million gain on sale of vessel in the first nine months of 2016.
- § As a result of the above, for the nine months ended September 30 2016, the Company reported a net loss of $3.4 million, compared to net income of $5.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. The average number of shares outstanding for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 decreased to 39.8 million compared to 41.6 million for the same period of last year, mainly due to the repurchase of 3.0 million shares from the beginning of 2015 to September 30, 2016. Loss per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 amounted to $0.09 compared to earnings per share of $0.13 for the same period of last year.
- § Adjusted net loss was $3.8 million or $0.09 per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to adjusted net income of $9.1 million or $0.22 per share for the same period last year.
- § EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 amounted to $36.9 million. Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income/(Loss), EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income/(Loss) are set forth below.
- § An average of 53.3 vessels were owned by the Company during the nine months ended September 30, 2016, compared to 47.4 vessels for the same period of 2015.
- § As of September 30, 2016, cash and cash equivalents amounted to $60.7 million and total debt amounted to $410.0 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016 debt repayments amounted to $43.4 million.
Share Repurchase Program
Since December 1, 2014 to date, the Company has repurchased a total of 3,872,232 shares at an average price of $5.24 per share for a total consideration of $20.3 million, under its $30.0 million buyback program.
Fleet Update Since Previous Announcement
The Company announced the conclusion of the following chartering arrangements:
- A one year time charter for its 2001 built chartered in LPG carrier, the Gas Cathar, to an international LPG trader until November 2017.
- A two months’ time charter for its 2006 built LPG carrier, the Gas Enchanted, to an international trading house, until December 2016.
- A four months’ time charter for its 1995 built LPG carrier, the Gas Marathon to a Middle East based energy trader, until January 2017.
- A one year time charter extension for its 1994 built LPG carrier, the Gas Emperor to an international trading house, up until January 2018.
- A one to three months’ time charter for its 1996 built LPG carrier, the Gas Nirvana, to an international petchem trader until Dec 2016 – Feb 2017.
- A six months’ time charter extension for its 1994 built LPG carrier, the Gas Icon to an Asian petchem producer until July 2017.
- A one year time charter for its 2015 built LPG vessel, the Eco Lucidity to an international LPG trader up until December 2017.
- A six months’ time charter extension for its 2014 built LPG carrier, the Eco Corsair to an international trading house up until June 2017.
- A one year time charter for its 2003 built LPG carrier, the Gas Prodigy to an international LPG trader up until September 2017.
- A five months’ time charter for its 1997 built LPG carrier, the Gas Monarch to an international trading house up until January 2017.
- A one month time charter for its 2006 built LPG carrier, the Gas Alice to an international LPG operator until December 2017.
- A one month time charter extension for its 2014 built LPG carrier, the Eco Invictus to an international trading house until December 2016.
- A two months’ time charter for its 1996 built LPG carrier, the Gas Evoluzione to an international LPG operator until January 2017.
- A one year time charter extension for its 2015 built LPG carrier, the Eco Nemesis to an international trading house until February 2018.
With these charters the Company has contracted revenues of about $175 million. Total anticipated voyage days of our fleet are 87% covered for the remainder of 2016 and 58% covered for 2017.
Board Chairman Michael Jolliffe Commented
The third quarter of 2016 was quite a difficult one. Although broader LPG demand was strong, this quarter we faced lower day rates and extended idle time due to seasonal factors which suppressed our bottom line even further. In this poor market environment, particularly a very weak spot market, our earnings potential was affected. Despite the bleak outlook we succeeded to lock in nine new period contracts, and extended five existing ones. Our period coverage up until the end of the year increased to 87% while our secured revenues are in the order of $ 175 million.
In terms of our operations, we continue to manage closely our costs, trying to contain our operating cost base, and our G&A costs. Moreover, and following our Board’s decision, we- in
About STEALTHGAS INC.
StealthGas Inc. is a ship-owning company primarily serving the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector of the international shipping industry. StealthGas Inc. currently has a fleet of 50 LPG carriers, excluding the two chartered in vessels, with a total capacity of 247,017 cubic meters (cbm), three M.R. product tankers and one Aframax oil tanker with a total capacity of 255,804 deadweight tons (dwt). The Company has agreed to acquire a further 4 LPG carriers. Giving effect to the delivery of these acquisitions, StealthGas Inc.’s fleet will be composed of 54 owned LPG carriers with a total capacity of 334,387 cubic meters (cbm). StealthGas Inc.’s shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and trade under the symbol “GASS”.
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance and may 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 forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although STEALTHGAS INC. believes 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, STEALTHGAS INC. cannot assure you that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. 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 and currencies, general market conditions, including changes in charter hire rates and vessel values, charter counterparty performance, changes in demand that may affect attitudes of time charterers to scheduled and unscheduled drydockings, shipyard performance, changes in STEALTHGAS INC’s operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, ability to obtain financing and comply with covenants in our financing arrangements, or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents and political events or acts by terrorists.
Risks and uncertainties are further described in reports filed by STEALTHGAS INC. with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
