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STEALTHGAS INC. Capitalises on Improved First Quarter LPG Market

STEALTHGAS INC., a ship-owning company serving the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector of the international shipping industry, announced today its unaudited financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022.

OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

About 59% of fleet days are secured on period charters for the remainder of 2022, with total fleet employment days for all subsequent periods generating approximately $70 million (excl. JV vessels) in contracted revenues.

A decrease of $1.5 million in voyage revenues compared to Q1 21’, as a result of having 35 vessels at the end of Q1 22’ compared to 42 vessels at the end of Q1 21’, including the spin-off of the four tanker vessels.

A decrease of $7.4 million in voyage expenses, operating expenses and depreciation in aggregate compared to Q1 21’.

Sale in Q2 22’ of our 5,000 cbm LPG vessel, the Gas Monarch (1997 built), for further trading to unaffiliated third party. Impairment charge of $0.5 million in Q1 22’ as a result of the sale.

Net Income of $7.6 million for Q1 22’ corresponding to an EPS of $0.20.

Adjusted Net Income1 of $8.8 million for Q1 22’ corresponding to an Adjusted EPS1 of $0.23.

Total cash, including restricted cash, of $82.4 million as of March 31, 2022 compared to $45.7 million as of December 31, 2021.
First Quarter 2022 Results:

Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2022 amounted to $35.9 million, a decrease of $1.5 million, or 4.0%, compared to revenues of $37.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, mainly due to a decline in revenues stemming from the spin-off of our 4 tanker vessels which were accounted for in SteatlhGas’ financials up to December 3, 2021, the spin-off completion date, partially offset by the 11.3% increase of our time charter revenues generated from our LPG vessels.
Voyage expenses and vessels’ operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2022 were $4.2 million and $12.9 million, respectively, compared to $6.9 million and $15.1 million, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The $2.7 million decrease in voyage expenses is attributed to the fewer number of vessels in the spot market. Overall, spot days were reduced by 65%. On the other hand there was a rise of daily bunker costs by almost $2,044 (62.3%). The $2.2 million decrease in vessels’ operating expenses compared to the same period of 2021 is due to fewer vessels in the fleet, along with a further increase of our crew costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic by $0.2 million.
Drydocking costs for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 were $0.4 million and $0.6 million, respectively. Drydocking expenses during the first quarter of 2022 relate to the drydocking of one vessel compared to the drydocking of one vessel and to the drydocking preparation of four vessels in the same period of last year.
Depreciation for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 was $7.0 million and $9.5 million, respectively, as the number of our vessels declined following the spin-off of our four tanker vessels.
Impairment loss for the three months ended March 31, 2022 was $0.5 million, relating to one vessel, for which the Company entered into agreement to sell it to third parties.
Loss on sale of vessels for the three months of ended March 31, 2022 was $0.4 million mainly relating to one of the two vessels sold during the quarter.
Interest and finance costs for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, were $2.4 million and $3.1 million, respectively. The $0.7 million decrease from the same period of last year is mostly due to the decline of debt outstanding and reductions in margins due to refinancing of certain loans.
Equity earnings in joint ventures for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 was a gain of $1.7 million and $1.1 million, respectively. The $0.6 million increase from the same period of last year is mainly due to increased voyage revenues of the vessels in our joint venture arrangements.
As a result of the above, for the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company reported net income of $7.6 million, compared to net income of $0.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The weighted average number of shares outstanding for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 was 37.9 million and 37.9 million, respectively.
Earnings per share, basic and diluted, for the three months ended March 31, 2022 amounted to $0.20 compared to earnings per share of $0.02 for the same period of last year.
Adjusted net income was $8.8 million corresponding to an Adjusted EPS of $0.23 for the three months ended March 31, 2022 compared to Adjusted net income of $0.6 million corresponding to an Adjusted EPS of $0.02 for the same period of last year.
EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2022 amounted to $17.0 million. Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income are set forth below.
An average of 36.5 vessels were owned by the Company during the three months ended March 31, 2022 compared to 41.6 vessels for the same period of 2021.
As of March 31, 2022, cash and cash equivalents amounted to $70.4 million and total debt amounted to $299.8 million.

Fleet Update Since Previous Announcement

The Company announced the conclusion of the following chartering arrangements:

A one-year time charter for its 2015 built LPG carrier the Eco Green, to an Oil Major up until May 2023.
An eleven months’ time charter for its 2017 built LPG carrier the Eco Ice, to an international LPG trader up until March 2023.

A six months’ time charter for its 2009 built LPG carrier the Gas Astrid, to an international trading house until October 2022 with a charterer’s option to extend a further six months.
A six months’ time charter for its 2016 built LPG carrier the Eco Nical, to an international trading house until October 2022 with a charterer’s option to extend a further six months.
A three months’ time charter extension for its 2020 built LPG carrier the Eco Alice, to an international trading house up until July 2022.
A two months’ time charter for its 2014 built LPG carrier the Eco Stream, to an international trading house until July 2022.
A one months’ time charter extension for its 2003 built LPG carrier the Gas Prodigy, to an international LPG trader until May 2022.
A one month time charter for its 2017 built LPG carrier the Eco Freeze, to an international LPG trader until May 2022.
With these charters, the Company has total contracted revenues of approximately $70 million.

For the remainder of the year 2022, the Company has about 59% of fleet days secured under period contracts.

Board Chairman Michael Jolliffe Commented

Following the strategic decision to become a pure player in the broader LPG market, this was the first quarter that the Stealthgas fleet consisted of only LPG carriers of various sizes. During the first quarter the improving LPG market continued its upward trend and we managed to capitalise, posting improved profits of $7.6 million, one of the best quarterly results in many years. On an adjusted basis our EPS for the quarter was $0.23. We also managed to contain cost pressures particularly related to crew and bunker prices that continue to push our cost base.

That being said, we continue to operate in a challenging geopolitical environment with the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with regards to the situation in China, still ongoing creating more uncertainty for the future. Now we can also add economic uncertainty as a result of high inflationary pressures and rising interest rates. How all this will affect the LPG shipping market and whether we will be able to benefit from any change in trade patterns remains to be determined, as this is a market that is still seeking direction.

Going forward we cannot predict our market’s reality especially in such turbulent times; however, our sizeable fleet, our market’s strong fundamentals, LPG rates improvement in the first quarter of 2022 along with our healthy capital structure are the strong points upon which we will rely no matter any potential market disturbances we might need to face.
Source: Stealthgas Inc.

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