STEALTHGAS INC. Reports Fourth Quarter and Twelve Months 2023 Financial and Operating Results

In This Article:

STEALTHGAS INC.
STEALTHGAS INC.

ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STEALTHGAS INC. (NASDAQ: GASS), a ship-owning company serving the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector of the international shipping industry, announced today its unaudited financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

  • All-time record Net Income of $51.9 million for the twelve-month period, a 51% increase compared to last year, corresponding to a basic EPS of $1.38. Strong profitability continued for the fourth quarter with Net Income of $8.9 million for the three-month period corresponding to a basic EPS of $0.25.

  • Further increased period coverage. About 66% of fleet days for 2024 are secured on period charters, with total fleet employment days for all subsequent periods generating over $200 million (excl. JV vessels) in contracted revenues.

  • Repurchased 2.01 million shares during the fourth quarter. To date, 3.9 million shares have been repurchased, more than 10% of the outstanding shares, for a total of $19.1 million under our $25 million share repurchase program.

  • Massively reduced debt during 2023 by $153.6 million from $277.1 million as of December 31, 2022, net of deferred finance charges, to $123.5 million as of December 31, 2023.

  • Maintaining ample cash and cash equivalents (incl. restricted cash) of $83.8 million as of December 31, 2023 enabling the Company to further reduce debt.

  • Took successful delivery of the Medium Gas Carrier (MGC) newbuildings Eco Oracle and Eco Wizard in January 2024.

Fourth Quarter 2023 Results:

  • Revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2023 amounted to $34.1 million compared to revenues of $42.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of $8.6 million, or 20%, as the number of our vessels declined from 34 vessels at the end of Q4 2022 to 27 vessels at the end of Q4 2023.

  • Voyage expenses and vessels’ operating expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2023 were $3.3 million and $12.9 million, respectively, compared to $6.5 million and $14.6 million, respectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2022. The $3.2 million, or 49%, decrease in voyage expenses was the result of the reduction in spot market days, while the $1.7 million, or 12%, decrease in vessels’ operating expenses was mainly due to the decrease in the average number of owned vessels in our fleet partly offset by extraordinary costs related to one of our vessels.

  • Drydocking costs for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $0.03 million and $0.6 million, respectively. No vessels were drydocked during the fourth quarter of 2023 while drydocking expenses during the fourth quarter of 2022 mainly relate to the drydocking of two vessels. Management fees for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $1.0 million and $1.3 million, respectively. The change is attributed to the decrease in the average number of owned vessels in our fleet.

  • General and administrative expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $1.7 million and $0.8 million, respectively. The change is mainly attributed to the increase in stock-based compensation expense.

  • Depreciation for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $5.6 million and $6.8 million, respectively, as the number of our vessels declined.

  • Interest and finance costs for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, were $2.3 million and $3.4 million, respectively. The $1.1 million, or 32%, decrease from the same period of last year is mostly due to the reduction in debt outstanding despite increases in variable interest rates as well as profits from closing swap positions due to debt prepayments.

  • Interest income for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $1.0 million and $0.7 million, respectively. The increase is mainly attributed to increases in interest rates over the corresponding period.

  • Equity earnings in joint ventures for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was a gain of $0.9 million and $1.2 million, respectively. The $0.3 million decrease was mainly due to the drydocking of one of the vessels during the 2023 period.

  • As a result of the above, for the three months ended December 31, 2023, the Company reported net income of $8.9 million, compared to net income of $7.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022 an increase of $1.2 million, or 16%. The weighted average number of shares outstanding, basic, for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was 35.3 million and 38.0 million, respectively.

  • Earnings per share, basic, for the three months ended December 31, 2023 amounted to $0.25 compared to earnings per share of $0.20 for the same period of last year.

  • Adjusted net income1 was $10.3 million corresponding to an Adjusted EPS1 of $0.29 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 compared to Adjusted net income of $10.3 million corresponding to an Adjusted EPS of $0.27 for the same period of last year.

  • EBITDA1 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 amounted to $15.8 million. Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA1 to Net Income are set forth below.

  • An average of 27.0 vessels were owned by the Company during the three months ended December 31, 2023 compared to 34.0 vessels for the same period of 2022.