Epic Gas Ltd. (ticker “EPIC-ME“, “Epic Gas“ or the “Company“), the leading LPG shipping solutions company, today announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019. All amounts reported in US Dollars unless otherwise stated. Variance is first quarter 2019 compared with the same three month period in 2018, unless otherwise stated.
Q1 2019 Highlights
- Revenue up 3.1% at $39.6 million, reflecting growth in vessel charter hire income and 230 basis point increase in fleet operational utilisation to 94.2%
- Total operating expenses of $4,400 per vessel calendar day, up 2.9%
- Adjusted EBITDA of $11.0 million, up 29.4%
- Net loss reduced to $0.3 million, a $2.4 million improvement, or 89%
- Time chartered-in a modern 7,500cbm LPG vessel with options
Post Period End
- BW Group Limited completed voluntary tender offer, acquiring 82.9% of the Company
- $60m fully underwritten capital increase completed to fund growth
- Letter of intent signed, subject to financing and the execution of definitive documentation, to purchase four modern second-hand Japanese-built pressurised LPG carriers for a total consideration of $106.5 million
- Time chartered-in a modern 9,500cbm LPG vessel with options
Charles Maltby, Chief Executive Officer of Epic Gas, commented:
“The year on year improvement in business performance and EBITDA reflects our continued focus on quality, cost control and fleet optimisation, as well as improving underlying market fundamentals. The increase in our time charter equivalent and improved fleet operational utilization shows the underlying and growing demand for our vessels.
We have commenced initiatives to capture further profitable growth, including the time charter-in of additional pressurised LPG vessels and the proposed purchase of four modern second-hand carriers. These measures are well aligned with our vision of being the leading provider of pressurised LPG shipping solutions.
The new initiatives position Epic Gas to benefit from the improving fundamentals of the LPG shipping market, these include global seaborne LPG volume expected to surpass 100 million tonnes in the next 18 months, with growth of 9% forecast for 2020; fleet supply in the smaller vessel segment constrained for at least the next two years; a growing pool of scrapping candidates from older vessels and increased activity in the second-hand market.”
Conference call details
A conference call to discuss these results is scheduled for 15 May 2019 at 10:00 AM (New York) / 3:00PM (London) and can be accessed via the following dial-in information.
Participants should dial into the call 10 minutes before the scheduled time using the following numbers:
United States: 1 (877) 553 9962
United Kingdom: 0 (808) 238 0669
Standard International Dial In: +44 (0) 2071 928 592
Norway: +47 21033201
Singapore: +65 31585482
Hong Kong: +852 5808 5586
Please quote “Epic Gas.”
A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available until May 22nd, 2019. The United States replay number is 1 (866) 331-1332; from the UK 0(808) 238-0667; the standard international replay number is (+44) (0) 3333 009 785 and the access code required for the replay is: 7969237#.
Audio Webcast – Slide Presentation
There will be a live and then archived audio webcast of the conference call, via the internet through the Epic Gas website www.epic-gas.com. Participants to the live webcast should register on the website approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the webcast through the following link:
https://epic-gas.irwebpage.com/webcast-Q1-2019.html
The slide presentation on the first quarter 2019 financial results has been circulated together with the earnings release and is also available in PDF format 10 minutes prior to the conference call and webcast, accessible on the company’s website www.epic-gas.com on the investor relations page.
Participants to the webcast are urged to download the PDF presentation as the conference call will follow the presentation slides.
About Epic Gas Ltd.
Epic Gas owns and operates a fleet of fully pressurised gas carriers providing seaborne services for the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas and petrochemicals. The company controls a fleet of 40 vessels which serve the international supply chains of leading oil majors and commodity traders throughout Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. The Company’s shares are traded over the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker “EPIC-ME”.
For further information visit our website www.epic-gas.com, or contact:
Epic Gas Ltd.
Uta Urbaniak-Sage,
Chief Financial Officer
T: +65 6230 7801
ir@epic-gas.com
Media / Investor Relations Advisor
Capital Link, Inc.
Nicolas Bornozis
T: +1-212-661-7566
E: epic@capitallink.com
Montfort Communications
Nick Bastin
M: +44 (0)7931 5000 66
T: +44 (0) 20 3770 7918
E: bastin@montfort.london
Rob Bailhache
M: +44 (0)7585 704280
T: +44 (0) 20 3770 7908
E: bailhache@montfort.london
Please click here to download the full copy of this information.
