STEALTHGAS INC. (GASS), a ship-owning company primarily serving the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector of the international shipping industry, announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2015.

OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Successful delivery of ten new eco LPG carriers in 2015
Year on year increase of vessel calendar days by 15%.
Operational utilization of 92.5% in 2015.
Continuous reduction of daily opex costs and breakeven levels in 2015 – an outcome of successful management and operations.
63% of vessels on period charters for 2016, with a total of $200 million in contracted revenues.
Revenues in 12M 2015 of $141.3 million, increased by $9.3 million compared to 12M 2014.
Adjusted EBITDA in 12M 2015 of $58.4 million ($63.2 million in 12M 2014).
Asset base surpassed $1 billion driven by the addition of our new eco LPG vessels.
Moderate gearing since debt to assets stands at about 41% while net debt to assets is as low as 31%.
Cash on hand of $100 million with strong operating cashflow of about $48 million.
Stock repurchase of 3.6 million shares for a total $19.4 million, from the beginning of the program in December 2014 to date.

Fourth quarter 2015 Results:

Revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2015 amounted to $37.4 million, an increase of $2.4 million, or 6.9%, compared to revenues of $35.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014, primarily due to the net addition of 8 vessels which increased the number of operating vessels to 55 as of the end of December 2015.
Voyage expenses and vessels’ operating expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2015 were $4.2 million and $14.2 million, respectively, compared to $3.5 million and $11.8 million, respectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2014. The $0.7 million increase in voyage expenses was primarily due to the higher number of vessels under spot charters in the 2015 period. During the fourth quarter of 2015 the Company had a 120.0% increase in spot days compared to the same period of 2014. The 20.3% increase in operating expenses compared to the same period of 2014, is due to a net fleet expansion of eight vessels, and one vessel coming off bareboat, resulting in an increased time charter and spot activity of 530 days. It is noted that for yet another quarter, our daily operating costs decreased as a result of our fleet expansion with the new eco LPG vessels, and the continued implementation of our efficient management policies.

Drydocking costs for the three months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were $0.8 million and nil, respectively. The cost for the fourth quarter of 2015 corresponds to the drydocking of two vessels. Overall, in 2016 the Company has scheduled drydockings for seven vessels.

Depreciation for the three months ended December 31, 2015, was $9.7 million, a $0.9 million increase from $8.8 million for the same period of last year. This increase was due to the additional depreciation for ten vessels joining the fleet in 2015 which was partly offset by the decrease in depreciation caused by our Company’s decision to sell and lease back in Q4 2014 two of our LPG vessels, the Gas Cathar and the Gas Premiership, as well as our strategic decision to scrap, in April 2015, two of our oldest LPG carriers, the Gas Kaizen and the Gas Crystal.
Included in the fourth quarter 2015 results are net losses from interest rate derivative instruments and foreign currency forward arrangements of $0.27 million. Interest paid on interest rate swap arrangements amounted to $0.38 million, loss on settlement of foreign currency forward arrangements amounted to $0.67 and net gains from change in fair value of the same interest rate derivative instruments and foreign currency forward arrangements amounted to $0.78 million.
The Company recorded an impairment loss of $4.7 million for two of its oldest vessels.

As a result of the above, the Company reported a loss for the three months ended December 31, 2015 of $3.1 million, compared to a loss of $1.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014. The weighted average number of shares for the three months ended December 31, 2015 decreased to 40.5 million compared to 43.4 million for the same period of last year, mainly due to the repurchase of 3.2 million shares from December 2014 to December 2015. Loss per share, basic and diluted, for the three months ended December 31, 2015 amounted to $0.08 compared to $0.03 for the same period of last year.
Adjusted net income was $1.7 million or $0.04 per share for the three months ended December 31, 2015 compared to $5.7 million or $0.13 per share for the same period of last year.
EBITDA for the three months ended December 31, 2015 amounted to $10.1 million. Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net (Loss)/Income are set forth below.
An average of 53.0 vessels were owned by the Company during the three months ended December 31, 2015, compared to 46.4 vessels for the same period of 2014.

Twelve Months 2015 Results:

Revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015, amounted to $141.3 million, an increase of $9.3 million, or 7.0%, compared to revenues of $132.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, primarily due to the higher number of vessels in our fleet in the 2015 period.
Voyage expenses and vessels’ operating expenses for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 were $17.6 million and $50.7 million, respectively, compared to $14.1 million and $45.4 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. The $8.8 million aggregate increase in voyage and operating expenses was primarily due to the higher number of vessels that operated in 2015.
Drydocking Costs for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were $1.8 million and $0.5 million, respectively, representing the costs of four vessels drydocked in the twelve-month period of 2015 and one vessel drydocked in the same period of 2014.
Depreciation for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015, was $35.9 million, a $2.1 million increase from $33.8 million for the same period of last year. This increase was due to the higher number of vessels in our fleet in the 2015 period.
Included in the twelve months 2015 results are net losses from interest rate derivative instruments and foreign currency forward arrangements of $0.4 million. Interest paid on interest rate swap arrangements amounted to $1.4 million, loss on settlement of foreign currency forward arrangements amounted to $0.7 and gains from change in fair value of the same interest rate derivative instruments and foreign currency forward arrangements amounted to $1.7 million.
The Company recorded an impairment loss of $8.2 million for three of its oldest vessels.
As a result of the above, the Company reported net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 of $2.6 million, compared to net income of $12.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. The weighted average number of shares for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 increased to 41.3 million compared to 39.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, mainly due to the offering of a total of 11.4 million shares in February, May and August of 2014, the effect of which was partly offset by the repurchase of 3.2 million shares from December 2014 to December 2015. Earnings per share, basic and diluted, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 amounted to $0.06 compared to $0.32 for the same period of last year.
Adjusted net income was $10.9 million or $0.26 per share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 compared to $18.7 million or $0.48 per share for the same period last year.
EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 amounted to $50.0 million.
Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income are set forth below.
An average of 48.8 vessels were owned by the Company during the twelve months ended December 31, 2015, compared to 44.1 vessels for the same period of 2014.
As of December 31, 2015, cash and cash equivalents amounted to $100.0 million and total debt amounted to $422.2 million. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 debt repayments amounted to $55.9 million.

Share Repurchase Program

Since December 1, 2014 to date, the Company has repurchased a total of 3,602,495 shares at an average price of $5.37 per share for a total consideration of $19.4 million, under its $30.0 million buyback program.

Fleet Update Since Previous Announcement

On January 21, 2016, the Company sold a 3,500 cbm, 1992 built, LPG carrier - Gas Arctic.

On February 5, 2016, the Company took delivery of a 7,500 cbm, 2016 built, eco LPG carrier - Eco Nical, from a Japanese shipyard.

The Company announced the conclusion of the following chartering arrangements:

A six months contract of consecutive voyages for its 7,200 cbm, 2015 built, LPG carrier, Eco Galaxy, to an oil major until August 2016.
A one year time charter extension for its 5,000 cbm, 1994 built, LPG carrier, Gas Emperor, to an international trading house until January 2017.
A one year time charter extension for its 5,000 cbm, 2011 built, LPG carrier, Gas Myth, to an oil major until January 2017.
A one year time charter extension for its 3,500 cbm, 2008 built, LPG carrier, Gas Imperiale, to an international trading house until January 2017.
A six month time charter for its 5,000 cbm, 1994 built, LPG carrier, Gas Icon, to a petrochemical producer until July 2016.
A six month time charter for its 5,000 cbm, 2015 built, LPG carrier, Eco Enigma, to an international trading house until June 2016.
A one year time charter for its 6,300 cbm, 2007 built, LPG carrier, Gas Flawless, to an international LPG operator until January 2017.
An eighteen month time charter for its 7,200 cbm, new building LPG carrier to be delivered in 2016, Eco Dominator, to a national LPG distributor until January 2018.
A six month time charter for its 5,000 cbm, 1996 built, LPG carrier, Gas Nirvana, to an international trading house until July 2016.
A one year time charter for its 5,000 cbm, 2011 built, LPG carrier, Gas Elixir, to an international LPG trader until March 2017.
A nine month time charter extension for its 5,000 cbm, 2014 built, LPG carrier, Eco Invictus, to an international trading house until September 2016.
A one year bareboat charter extension for its 47,000 dwt, tanker Navig8 Fidelity to an international tanker operator until January 2017.

With these charters the Company has increased its contracted revenues to $200 million. Total anticipated voyage days of our fleet are 63% covered for the remainder of 2016 and 32% covered for 2017.

CEO Harry Vafias commented

Year 2015, presented challenges stemming from the global economic environment. Nearly all sectors of the shipping industry faced considerable obstacles, but as to our segment we faced an environment of low freight rates attributable to low oil prices and to an imbalance of supply and demand of coastal LPG vessels. Our Company managed to close the year demonstrating a growth in revenue and positive income results. We have successfully executed our expansion plan, reduced our operating cost base and have preserved our superior technical efficiency. In addition, we feel that we are in good position as we enjoy a solid capital structure, with net gearing as low as 31%, assets exceeding a billion dollars and contracted revenues of $200 million. Indeed we believe that a Company’s managerial capabilities and strength are more evident in periods of weak markets. Our stock has been trading at about 25 percent of NAV so buying back our own stock has been an obvious decision for us, we have spent close to $20 million from December 2014, to date. Buying back our own stock, a strong balance sheet, a rejuvenated high quality fleet, better market conditions going forward, makes us feel optimistic for our Company’s future.
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Source: StealthGas Inc.