STEALTHGAS INC., 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 first quarter ended March 31, 2012. First Quarter 2012 Results: • Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was $7.4 million, or $0.36 per share, an increase of $5.9 million, from net income of $1.5 million, or $0.07 per share, for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Lower operating costs, gain on sale of vessel and a lower derivative loss has resulted in the net income being higher despite revenues being lower.
• Voyage revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2012, amounted to $29.1 million, a decrease of $1.4 million, or 4.6%, compared to voyage revenues of $30.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The decrease in revenues was due to the higher number of vessels under bareboat charters in the 2012 period.
• Voyage expenses and vessels' operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2012 were $2.6 million and $7.7 million, respectively, compared to $3.6 million and $10.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The $1.0 million, or 27.8%, decrease of voyage expenses was due primarily to the lower number of vessels under spot charters in the 2012 period. The $2.8 million, or 26.7%, decrease in vessels' operating expenses was due primarily to the higher number of vessels operating under bareboat charters in the 2012 period.
• Included in the first quarter 2012 results are net losses from interest rate derivative instruments of $0.5 million. This amount includes $1.3 million, or $0.06 per share, of interest paid on recurring interest rate swap arrangements. The Company also realized a $1.3 million gain on sale of vessel. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted net income was $5.3 million or $0.25 per share compared to $2.8 million or $0.13 per share for the same period last year.
• EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2012 amounted to $16.8 million. Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income and EBITDA to Net Income are set forth below.
An average of 37.0 vessels were owned by the Company in the three months ended March 31, 2012, earning an average time-charter equivalent rate of approximately $8,126 per day as compared to 38.4 vessels, earning an average time-charter equivalent rate of $7,930 per day for the same period of 2011.
CEO Harry Vafias commented
I am very pleased with the results we announced today. Our financial performance continues to improve as a result of a strengthening LPG market. The Company's bottom line bears evidence to the solid environment we operate in and to our efforts to take advantage of the increased chartering activity while at the same time we continue our efforts to contain the cost base. As previously announced, during the first quarter we managed to conclude a number of long-term charters, which is usually a sign of positive market expectations. As a result, the forward coverage of our revenues has increased to 80% for 2012 and 55% for 2013.
In terms of fleet capacity, during the first quarter we sold one vessel, Gas Tiny, and took delivery of one newbuilding vessel, Gas Husky. In the second quarter, we delivered Gas Kalogeros to her new owners on May 4th and we expect to take delivery of our last newbuilding vessel, Gas Esco, in June. The remaining capital expenditure for the delivery of the vessel will be covered by bank financing under an existing loan agreement.
The company continues to have moderate leverage and improved cash balances. We are now in a position to expand and renew our fleet and continue to look at opportunities for modern vessels.
Source: StealthGas Inc.