(Singapore, 28 February 2019)
- VLGC TCE rates averaged US$21,300 per day
- TCE income of US$84.6 million, EBITDA of US$35.7 million, provision for vessel impairment of US$33.5 million, resulting in a loss after tax of US$34.1 million, or loss per share of US$0.24
- On 21 January 2019, one LGC was delivered for recycling, generating US$6.6 million in liquidity and a net book gain of US$1.8 million.
EBITDA for the fourth quarter amounted to US$35.7 million (Q4 2017: US$25.9 million), an increase of US$9.8 million from the same quarter last year mainly due to higher LPG spot earnings and lower operating expenses arising from a smaller fleet and positive effects from cost-saving initiatives.
Loss after tax for the quarter amounted to US$34.1 million (Q4 2017: loss after tax of US$19.0 million), primarily due to a provision for vessel impairment of US$33.5 million.
The average benchmark Baltic route for VLGCs averaged US$43.3 per ton or US$25,300 per day in Q4 2018. The average VLGC Baltic index increased by 25% in 2018 compared to 2017.
With strengthening fundamentals, we expect the freight market to continue to improve going forward. We remain cautiously optimistic for the full year due to sustained U.S. LPG production growth and incremental export volumes being added from other key loading areas such as Australia and Canada. However, increased demand for VLGC’s from growing U.S. exports will in part be offset by a high level of newbuild deliveries. We maintain our neutral view on Middle Eastern VLGC exports as incremental regional growth is expected to compensate the effects from the re-imposed sanctions on Iran.
On 21 January 2019, one LGC was delivered for recycling, generating US$6.6 million in liquidity and a net book gain of US$1.8 million.
On 25 February 2019, BW LPG established a new Product Services Division to support its core shipping business.
Please see attachments for the full quarterly report and presentation, and Annual Report 2018. Our interactive Annual Report can also be accessed at https://annualreport2018.bwlpg.com.
1 BW LPG Financial Results Presentation Q4 2018 and Full Year 2018
2 BW LPG Q4 2018 Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Information
3 BW LPG Annual Report 2018
BW LPG will host an investor presentation of the financial results at 14:00hrs CET today. The investor presentation will be made by Martin Ackermann (CEO) and Elaine Ong (CFO).
The investor presentation will be available via audio webcast which can be accessed at https://www.bwlpg.com/investors/reports-presentations/. The webcast will be available on BW LPG’s website, www.bwlpg.com as soon as possible after the presentation.
For further information, please contact:
Elaine Ong, CPA, CA
Chief Financial Officer
BW LPG Limited
Tel: +65 6705 5506
E-mail: elaine.ong@bwlpg.com
Iver Baatvik
Head of Investor Relations
BW LPG Limited
Tel: +65 6705 5519
E-mail: iver.baatvik@bwlpg.com
About BW LPG
BW LPG is the world’s leading owner and operator of LPG vessels, owning and operating Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) and Large Gas Carriers (LGC) with a total carrying capacity of over 4 million cbm. With four decades of operating experience in LPG shipping and experienced seafarers and staff, BW LPG offers a flexible and reliable service to customers. More information about BW LPG can be found at www.bwlpg.com.
BW LPG is associated with BW Group, one of the world’s leading shipping groups. BW’s controlled fleet of over 300 ships includes oil tankers, LNG and LPG carriers, floating storage and regasification (FSRU) units, chemical tankers, dry cargo carriers and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units.
This information is subject to disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
