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The average Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) rate on a discharge-to-discharge basis was $28,200/day, compared to $38,700/day in the third quarter of 2024. For reference our guidance was $27,900/day.
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TCE/day on a load-to-discharge basis was $35,300/day, compared to $41,900/day in the third quarter of 2024.
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Net profit of $210.2 million and earnings per share of $2.74 for the fourth quarter 2024, compared to net income of $25.8 million and earnings per share of $0.34 for the third quarter 2024.
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Net profit of $443.0 million and earnings per share of $5.78 for the full year 2024 compared to $163.6 million and earnings per share of $2.14 for the full year 2023.
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On December 31, 2024, the sale of twelve Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) to BW LPG Limited was successfully completed. The settlement was structured as approximately 70% cash and 30% shares in BW LPG. As a result, Avance Gas is now the second-largest shareholder in BW LPG, holding a 12.7% stake. The total recognised gain from the sale amounted to $287 million, with net cash proceeds from the sale of all twelve VLGCs totalling $242 million.
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On November 27, 2024, in connection with the third quarter earnings release, Avance Gas announced that it had entered into a Heads of Agreement (“HoA”) with Exmar LPG BV (“Exmar”) to sell the four Mid-Sized Gas Carrier (MGCs) under construction at CIMC SOE by way of novation of the ship building contracts where the consideration was agreed to be $282.4 million or $70.6 million per vessel. In January 2025, the Company, a subsidiary of Exmar, and the shipyard executed a Novation agreement to transfer the four MGC newbuilding contracts to Exmar. As part of the settlement, we expect to receive $62.1 million from Exmar following issuance of the refund guarantee, with the remaining $34.2 million to be received upon the steel cutting of the final MGC, expected in April 2025.
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On February 5, 2025, the shareholders approved a capital reduction to enable the return of capital to shareholders.
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The Board declared a combined distribution of BW LPG shares and return of capital of $5.25 per share in total for Q4 2024. This includes $3.25 per share in BW LPG shares and $2.0 per share in cash dividend structured as return of capital, amounting to $403 million in total. Shareholders will receive one BW LPG share for every four Avance Gas shares they hold, with any fractions rounded down. As a result, fractional shares will not be settled in the form of BW LPG shares.
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The Company will pay an additional extraordinary dividend of $0.75 per share once the refund guarantee in relation to the MGC sale has been issued and the yard reimbursement amounting to $62 million has been settled.
Øystein Kalleklev, Chief Executive Officer of Avance Gas Holding Ltd., commented:
“We are pleased to say that the process of winding up Avance Gas is progressing according to plan with the BW LPG transaction finalised with the last of twelve Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) delivered to BW LPG on December 31, 2024. In total, we booked a gain from this transaction of $287 million. Additionally, we also received $6 million in dividends from BW LPG while we reduced our depreciation costs by $12 million from the announcement of the transaction. As we received approximately 30% of the $1.05bn settlement in 19.3 million BW LPG shares, we have maintained some exposure to the VLGC market through this shareholding. As the BW LPG share slipped $5 per share from announcement to end of the year, we booked an unrealised loss on fair market assessment of the BW LPG share by $97 million during the fourth quarter offsetting some of the gains.
During the year, we sold all our 16 VLGCs which boosted our net income to a very solid $443 million. However, even excluding gains from sale of VLGCs, 2024 was a very profitable year with ordinary net income of $125m - the third highest result ever despite the slump in the freight market in the second half of 2024.
In relation to the sale of the Medium-Size Gas Carrier (MGC) fleet to Exmar, we are also making good progress. Following the execution of the Heads of Agreement in November last year, we executed novation agreements for the ship building contracts in January 2025. Once new refund guarantees have been issued to Exmar, Avance Gas will receive $62.1 million from Exmar as reimbursement of already paid yard instalments. We expect issuance of refund guarantees to occur very shortly as these are already pre-agreed by the parties involved and the cash is currently on escrow account. Furthermore, the profit element of $34.2 million is scheduled to take place in April in connection with steel cutting of the last MGC newbuilding.
Given the fact that we have now divested all our assets and the fact that the lock up period for the BW LPG shares lapsed on February 9, 2025, the Board has decided to pay a dividend consisting of both cash and BW LPG shares. Each Avance Gas shareholder will receive one BW LPG share for every fourth Avance Gas share they hold. In total, given the appreciation of the BW LPG share since new year, this compensation in kind is worth about $250 million or equal to about $3.25 per share. Additionally, the Board has also declared a cash dividend of $2.0 per share equal to $153 million. Furthermore, once the refund guarantees have been issued and we have received the reimbursement of the MGC yard instalments, the Board intends to pay-out an extra ordinary dividend of $0.75 per share.
Finally, once we receive the remaining $34.2 million from Exmar scheduled for payment in April, we plan to pay a dividend consisting of this amount together with the remaining cash balance of the Company. This amount in total is expected to be about $56 million or ~$0.70 per share. Following this final dividend, we plan to initiate the final steps of the winding up process with de-listing and liquidation of the company. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all stakeholders for a very successful journey with Avance Gas during the approximately 11 years."
PRESENTATION AND WEBCAST
Avance Gas will host an audio webcast and conference call to discuss the company’s results for the period ended December 31, 2024, on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at 14:00 CET. There will be a Q&A session following the presentation.
The presentation and webcast will be hosted by:
The presentation will also be available via audio webcast, which can be accessed at Avance Gas’ website www.avancegas.com or using the link: https://edge.mediaserver.com/mmc/p/gos98mmp
Guests can log into the conference call using the following link:
https://register.vevent.com/register/BI24d34cb800b94c1692d43ea15898cadd
For further queries, please contact:
Media contact: Øystein Kalleklev, CEO
Investor and Analyst contact: Randi Navdal Bekkelund, CFO
Tel: +47 23 11 40 00
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
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