Flex LNG - Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Release
February 7, 2024
Hamilton, Bermuda
Flex LNG Ltd. ("Flex LNG" or the “Company”) today announced its unaudited financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023.
Highlights:
* Vessel operating revenues of $97.2 million for the fourth quarter 2023, compared to $94.6 million for the third quarter 2023.
* Net income of $19.4 million and basic earnings per share of $0.36 for the fourth quarter 2023, compared to net income of $45.1 million and basic earnings per share of $0.84 for the third quarter 2023.
* Average Time Charter Equivalent ("TCE") rate of $81,114 per day for the fourth quarter 2023, compared to $79,207 per day for the third quarter 2023.
* Adjusted EBITDA of $76.2 million for the fourth quarter 2023, compared to $74.7 million for the third quarter 2023.
* Adjusted net income of $37.8 million for the fourth quarter 2023, compared to $36.1 million for the third quarter 2023.
* Adjusted basic earnings per share of $0.70 for the fourth quarter 2023, compared to $0.67 for the third quarter 2023.
* In January 2024, the charterer of Flex Constellation sent notice that they will not utilize their extension option under the time charter. Following the re-delivery, Flex Constellation is scheduled to perform five-year dry-docking and subsequently will be marketed for short and long-term contracts.
* In January 2024, the charterer of Flex Resolute declared their first option, under the time charter, to extend the firm period by an additional two years to Q1 2027. Following this declaration, the charterer has one additional two-year extension option, which if utilized, would extend the firm contract period to Q1 2029.
* The Company declared a dividend for the fourth quarter 2023 of $0.75 per share. The dividend is payable on or around March 5, 2024 to shareholders, on record as of February 23, 2024.
Øystein M. Kalleklev, CEO of Flex LNG Management AS, commented:
“We today release the fourth quarter and full year 2023 results for Flex LNG, and we are pleased that we have delivered on all our guidance measures for the year. We guided that our revenues would increase from $348 million in 2022 to approximately $370 million in 2023 and we delivered revenues of $371 million in 2023, whilst revenues for the fourth quarter came in at $97.2 million in line with quarterly guidance of $97-99 million. The increase in revenues compared to 2022 was driven by higher Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) rate for the fleet. We guided TCE rate of about $80,000 for the year and delivered TCE rate of $81,000 and $79,500 for the fourth quarter and the full year 2023, respectively.
We also delivered on our guided Adjusted EBITDA level. For the full year we ended up with an Adjusted EBITDA of $290 million, in line with guidance of $290 to $295 million and ahead of the $272 million we delivered in 2022. Lastly, we guided 80-100 days of docking days for our four scheduled drydocking with associated capex of $18-20 million and we delivered this at 77 days and $21 million, respectively. Hence, 2023 was in the context of deliverance on guidance pretty much plain sailing, so I would like to extend my gratitude to all personnel both at sea and onshore which contributed to our success.
Over the next two years, we do see a somewhat more challenging freight market as there are more ships for delivery compared to the expected new export volumes. Hence, we think Flex LNG is very well positioned as we have 94% charter coverage for 2024 and 50 years minimum firm charter backlog, which may increase to 71 years if all charterer’s options are extended. Additionally, our fleet consists entirely of large LNG carriers fitted with the most modern two-stroke propulsion system resulting in significant fuel savings compared to older generation tonnage. Reduced fuel consumption is also good for the environment and with EU Emission Trading System coming into force from 2024, this further enhances the premium which our ships can achieve in the market given the costs associated with such carbon emissions. Lastly, we have a very strong balance sheet where all the LNG carriers are financed with attractive long-term debt while our cash balance at year-end was a comfortable $411 million, giving us a high degree of financial flexibility.
Given the above-mentioned factors, the Board has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share which calculates to a quarterly dividend payment of about $40 million for our shareholders. For the four quarters of 2023, we have thus declared dividends of $3.125 per share which provides our investors with an attractive running yield of approx. 11 per cent per annum.”
Fourth Quarter 2023 Result Presentation
In connection with the earnings release, a video webcast will be held at today at 15:00 CET (09:00 a.m. ET).
In order to attend the live video webcast use the following link:
Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Presentation
A Q&A session will be held after the conference/webcast. Information on how to submit questions will be given at the beginning of the session.
In conjunction with the quarterly results, we have published a short video in which Øystein Kalleklev, CEO of Flex LNG, discusses the highlights of the fourth quarter. The video can be accessed through the following link:
The presentation material which will be used in the live video webcast can be downloaded on www.flexlng.com and replay details will also be available at this website.
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Knut Traaholt, Chief Financial Officer of Flex LNG Management AS
Telephone: +47 23 11 40 00
Email: ir@flexlng.com
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "expect," "forecast," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "possible," "potential," "pending," "target," "project," "likely," "may," "will," "would," "should," "could" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Company’s records and other data available from third parties. Although management believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond the Company’s control, there can be no assurance that the Company will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. As such, these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the Company’s future performance, and actual results and future developments may vary materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation, and specifically declines any obligation, except as required by applicable law or regulation, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the effect of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include: unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the LNG tanker market, the impact of public health threats and outbreaks of other highly communicable diseases, including the length and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on the LNG tanker market, changes in the Company’s operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs, the fuel efficiency of the Company’s vessels, the market for the Company’s vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, ability to comply with covenants in such financing arrangements, failure of counterparties to fully perform their contracts with the Company, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, including those that may limit the commercial useful lives of LNG tankers, customers' increasing emphasis on environmental and safety concerns, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions or events, including the recent conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the developments in the Middle East, including any escalation of armed conflict in Israel and Gaza, which remain ongoing as of the date of this press release, business disruptions, including supply chain disruption and congestion, due to natural or other disasters or otherwise, potential physical disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, climate-related incidents, or political events, vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hire, and other factors, including those that may be described from time to time in the reports and other documents that the Company files with or furnishes to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“Other Reports”). For a more complete discussion of certain of these and other risks and uncertainties associated with the Company, please refer to the Other Reports.