Stealthgas inc. reports third quarter 2017 financial and operating results

ATHENS, GREECE, November 22, 2017. 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, 2017.

OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Operational utilization of 95.4\% in Q3 17’ (88.1\% in Q3 16’).
• Commercial off hire days reduced in Q3 17’ by 63\% compared to Q3 16’.
• 89\% of fleet days secured on period charters for the remainder of 2017, with a total of around $176 million in contracted revenues.
• Sale of two more of our oldest vessels, the Gas Moxie (1992 built) and the Gas Nirvana (1996 built), both for further trading.
• Revenues of $38.5 million, an increase of 11.9\% compared to Q3 16’
• Adjusted EBITDA of $15.3 million in Q3 17’ compared to $11.2 million in Q3 16’.
• Moderate gearing as debt to assets stands at about 40\%.
• Cash in hand of about $41.3 million with operating cash flow of $34.7 million.

Nine Months 2017 Results:

• Revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, amounted to $115.9 million, an increase of $9.2 million, or 8.6\%, compared to revenues of $106.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, primarily due to improved market conditions.
• Voyage expenses and vessels’ operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 were $11.8 million and $44.4 million respectively, compared to $11.7 million and $44.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The $0.1 million increase in voyage expenses was mainly due to the higher bunker prices prevailing in the first nine months of 2017 compared to the same period of 2016. The $0.1 million increase in vessels’ operating expenses was mainly due to higher utilization of several vessels that faced a lot of idle time during the same period of last year, thus leading to increased maintenance costs.
• Drydocking Costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 were $2.5 million and $3.2 million, respectively, representing the costs of 5 and 9 vessels drydocked in the corresponding periods.
• Depreciation for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, was $29.3 million, a $0.1 million increase from $29.2 million for the same period of last year.
• Included in the first nine months of 2017 results were net losses from interest rate derivative instruments of $0.3 million. Interest paid on interest rate swap arrangements amounted to $0.3 million.
• The Company recorded an impairment loss of $6.5 million in the first nine months of 2017 for seven of its oldest vessels, four of which had been classified as held for sale, as of the end of the related period.
• As a result of the above, the Company reported a net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 of $2.0 million, compared to a net loss of $3.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The weighted average number of shares outstanding for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 was 39.8 million. Loss per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 amounted to $0.05 compared to loss per share of $0.09 for the same period of last year.
• Adjusted net income was $4.7 million, or $0.12 per share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 compared to adjusted net loss of $3.8 million, or $0.09 per share, for the same period of last year.
• EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 amounted to $39.6 million. Reconciliations of Adjusted Net (Loss)/Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Loss are set forth below. An average of 53.1 vessels were owned by the Company during the nine months ended September 30, 2017, compared to 53.3 vessels for the same period of 2016.
• As of September 30, 2017, cash and cash equivalents amounted to $41.3 million and total debt amounted to $398.2 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2017 debt repayments amounted to $32.4 million.

Fleet Update Since Previous Announcement

The Company announced the conclusion of the following chartering arrangements:

• A three year time charter for its 1997 built LPG carrier, the Gas Galaxy, with an international petrochemical company until January 2021.

           A two year time charter extension for its 2008 built LPG carrier, the Gas Defiance, with national oil company until January 2020.

           A fourteen months’ time charter extension for its 2007 built LPG carrier, the Gas Flawless, with an international LPG trader until March 2019.

• A one year time charter for its 2007 built LPG carrier, the Gas Haralambos, with an international LPG trader until September 2018.

           A one year time charter extension for its 2011 built LPG carrier, the Gas Myth, with an Oil Major until December 2018.

• A one year time charter extension for its 2012 built LPG carrier, the Gas Husky, with a shipping company until January 2019.

          A one year time charter extension for its 2008 built LPG carrier, the Gas Shuriken, with a national oil company until November 2018.

• A one year time charter extension for its 1995 built LPG carrier, the Gas Texiana, with an international trading house until December 2018.

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• A one year time charter extension for its 2006 built LPG carrier, the Gas Ethereal, with an international trading house until December 2018.

• A one year time charter extension for its 2016 built LPG carrier, the Eco Dominator, with a national LPG importer until January 2019.
• A six months’ time charter for its 1998 built LPG carrier, the Gas Legacy, with an Oil Major until April 2018.

           A three months’ time charter for its 2006 built LPG carrier, the Gas Enchanted, with an international petrochemical trader until January 2018.

           A three months’ time charter for its 2006 built LPG carrier, the Gas Sikousis, with an international trading house until March 2018.

• A three months’ time charter for its 2017 built LPG carrier, the Eco Frost, with an international LPG trader until January 2018.

• A two months’ time charter for its 2014 built LPG carrier, the Eco Corsair, with an international LPG trader until February 2018.

• A one months’ time charter for its 2015 built LPG carrier, the Eco Lucidity, with an international petrochemical trader until November 2017.

With these charters, the Company has contracted revenues of approximately $176 million. Total anticipated voyage days of our fleet are 89\% covered?for the remainder of 2017 and 63\% covered for 2018.

Board Chairman Michael Jolliffe Commented

In the third quarter of 2017, our market continued the positive momentum noticeable since the beginning of the year. As a result, we witnessed a further strengthening of the freight rates, a strong demand in spite of the weak seasonal period and managed to decrease our idle days by 63\% compared to the same period of last year.

Our revenues were 12\% higher than the third quarter of 2016, but our profitability, excluding non-cash items was somewhat impacted by a slight increase of our operating cost base. This increase was mostly attributed to a rise in maintenance costs due to the higher utilization of many older vessels that previously faced a lot of idle days.

We proceeded with the sale of two more of our older vessels at a 78\% and 220\% premiums over scrap value respectively. These sales took place in order to further boost our liquidity and ease our operating cost base. We still maintain strong earnings visibility and have a strong fleet coverage of 63\% for 2018.

As our market fundamentals are improving and look promising for the future, we hope to further improve upon our performance – increase our revenues, strengthen our profitability and continue to contain our costs.

 

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 52 vessels. The fleet comprises of 48 LPG carriers, including two chartered in LPG vessels, with a total capacity of 258,071 cubic meters (cbm) and 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 3 LPG carriers with expected deliveries in 2018. Giving effect to the delivery of these acquisitions, StealthGas Inc.’s fleet will be composed of 51 operating LPG carriers with a total capacity of 324,071 cubic meters (cbm). StealthGas Inc.’s shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and trade under the symbol “GASS”.