OSLO / SINGAPORE, 18 August 2023 – BW Epic Kosan Ltd. (ticker “BWEK”, “BW Epic Kosan” or the “Company”) and its subsidiaries (the “Group”) today announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the second quarter ended 30 June 2023. All amounts reported in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
Q2 2023 and H1 2023 highlights:
– Q2 2023 Net profit of $11.4 million.
– EBITDA of $34.6 million.
– ROE 9.2% / ROCE 7.6%.
– Cash of $85.3 million.
– H1 2023 cash dividend of $0.073327 per share amounting to $11.7 million.
Charles Maltby, Chief Executive Officer of BW Epic Kosan, commented:
“Market strength combined with an increase in average vessel capacity and effective cost management has helped us deliver an improved second quarter net profit of $11.4 million, with higher forward cover providing some protection from the weaker summer seasonality.
Our fleet mix, which includes pressurised, semi-refrigerated and ethylene capable vessels, combined with an improving underlying market, saw our time charter earnings (TCE) per calendar day for the second quarter increase by 17.2% year on year (yoy) to $13,154 per day (+$1,927 per day). Our underlying operational expenses (OPEX) costs reduced by 6.1% yoy to $5,115 per day (-$331 per day) mostly due to the end of Covid-related costs. Our G&A on a per day basis increased primarily due to our reducing fleet calendar days.
Our strategy remains to focus on the LPG, petrochemicals, and speciality gases sector, grow the average size of our fleet and maintain an attractive average age, whilst improving our emissions profile.
We ended the quarter with 63 vessels in the fleet. During the quarter we continued to exercise on our fleet strategy, resulting in the sale of one more non-core vessel, in part facilitated by improving demand for second-hand vessels, resulting in our average vessel size being over 8% larger year on year.
Our year-on-year emissions have reduced by 3.4% with an AER of 23.32g of CO2/dwt-tm as we continue to invest in carbon emission reduction, especially during routine dry docking, in areas such as silicon paints and other energy saving initiatives.
In line with the Company’s dividend policy to target a twice-yearly payment of 50% of net profit, our Board has declared a cash dividend of $0.073327 per share amounting to $11.7 million, payable on or about 5 September 2023 to shareholders on record as of 31 August 2023.
The stronger market and our larger average fleet size mean we conclude the second quarter with 54% cover at $13,324 per day, a year-on-year increase of 12.5% or $1,481 per day. We anticipate a 4.1% growth in LPG seaborne trade over 2023, with smaller gas vessel fleet growth forecast at 1.8% before any further scrapping, which should result in further positive earnings momentum over the medium term. The market has eased downwards in the third quarter due to seasonal summer weakness, but with our improved level of cover, we expect to maintain better year-on-year earnings.”
Conference Call and Slide Presentation
A live Zoom meeting to discuss these results is scheduled for 18 August 2023 at 08:00 AM (New York) / 02:00PM (Oslo) / 08:00PM (Singapore).
A slide presentation will be shared during the Zoom meeting and will be accessible on the Investor Relation page of the Company’s website www.bwek.com
Please register in advance for this webinar via the following link:
https://tinyurl.com/BWEKQ22023EP
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. A replay will be available shortly after the conclusion of the live event on the Investor Relations page of the Company’s website.
For more information please contact:
For more information please contact:
BW Epic Kosan Ltd.
Charles Maltby Chief Executive Officer
Uta Urbaniak-Sage Chief Financial Officer
Tel. +65 6230 7801
[email protected]
www.bwek.com
Please refer to the attached earnings release and presentation.
BW Epic Kosan Q2 and H1 2023 Earnings Release
BW Epic Kosan Q2 and H1 2023 Earnings Presentation
About BW Epic Kosan
BW Epic Kosan Ltd. owns and operates the world’s largest fleet of gas carriers providing seaborne services for the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas, petrochemicals and other specialty gases. The Company controls a fleet of 62 vessels that serve the international supply chains of leading oil majors and commodity traders throughout Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. The Company has significant commercial and technical capability across pressurised, semi-refrigerated, refrigerated gas and petrochemical transportation, and aims to deliver customers the best solution for their transportation needs, along with leading service and operational standards. The Company is headquartered in Singapore, with Copenhagen as a regional office alongside offices in Manila and Tokyo. The Company’s shares are listed and tradable on Euronext Growth Oslo under the symbol “BWEK”.