Owner and operator of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels StealthGas Inc has reported record-breaking unaudited results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2023.
All-time record net Income of $27.3 million was achieved for the six-month period compared to a net income of $19.8 million for first-half 2022, on revenues of $74.7m, down $0.4m (0.5%) year-on-year primarily due to a decrease in fleet size.
Strong profitability continued for the second quarter with net income of $10.5 million on revenues of $36.7m. despite having reduced the number of vessels in the fleet to 29 at the end of the quarter, down from 34 a year earlier.
For the remainder of the year about 80% of fleet days are secured on period charters, with total fleet employment days for all subsequent periods generating approximately $90 million (excl. JV vessels) in contracted revenues.
CEO Harry Vafias (pictured) commented: “We continued operating in a firm market that underpinned yet another quarter of high profitability. So far for the first six months of 2023 we have reported the strongest performance on record, with an EPS of $0.71.
“During the second quarter we further divested assets in a rising market and will continue to diversify the fleet with the timely addition of bigger sized vessels. We were also largely focused on reducing debt, repaying $105million during the quarter alone, thus greatly reducing our interest rate expenses.
“At the same time our Board authorised us to repurchase shares that we started doing late in the previous quarter. Up to now we have repurchased over 1 million common shares and will continue.
“We are at the fortunate position where we can deleverage, diversify, repurchase stock and maintain strong liquidity concurrently. Despite any seasonal fluctuations the market remains relatively firm and we expect and upturn in the winter months that are approaching. We remain positive for the medium-term outlook of the LPG shipping market.”
