- Entered into a new five-year amortizing revolving credit facility on February 20, 2019 (the 2019 Partnership Facility), which successfully refinanced $354.4 million of current debt due in November 2019 and provided $90.0 million of incremental available liquidity.
- Delivery of the GasLog Gladstone on March 15, 2019, a 174,000 cbm LNG carrier with X-DF propulsion and commencement of its time charter agreement with Shell.
- Post-quarter-end, the appointment of Paolo Enoizi as Chief Operating Officer Designate with effect from August 2019.
- Quarterly Revenues of $166.5 million, Profit of $5.9 million and Loss per share of $0.17(1) for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. A quarterly dividend of $0.15 per common share payable on May 23, 2019.
- Quarterly EBITDA(2) of $109.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA(2) of $109.9 million. Adjusted Profit(2) of $28.1 million and Adjusted Earnings per share(2) of $0.11(1) for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.
GasLog Ltd. and its subsidiaries, an international owner, operator, and manager of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) carriers, today reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, based on a report by Global News Wire.
(1) Earnings/(loss) per share (“EPS”) and Adjusted EPS are net of the profit attributable to non-controlling interests of $16.8 million and the dividend on preferred stock of $2.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($23.2 million and $2.5 million, respectively, for the quarter ended March 31, 2018).
(2) EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Profit and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP financial measures and should not be used in isolation or as a substitute for GasLog’s financial results presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). For the definitions and reconciliations of these measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS, please refer to Exhibit II at the end of this press release.
CEO Statement
Paul Wogan, Chief Executive Officer, stated: “GasLog continued to deliver on our strategy in the first quarter of 2019 as we contracted two of our new buildings to JERA and Endesa for 12 and eight years respectively. We are honored to have JERA and Endesa, with the former being one of the world’s largest LNG buyers, as new customers. We have now ordered and fixed seven newbuild vessels on long-term contracts with four high-quality counterparties since our April 2018 investor day and have made excellent progress toward our target of more than doubling consolidated run-rate EBITDA over the 2017 to 2022 period“.
He added, “We continued to drop vessels down to GasLog Partners with the sale to the Partnership of the GasLog Glasgow earlier this year. The JERA and Endesa charters have increased the drop-down pipeline to 13 vessels, reinforcing the Partnership’s growth potential. The successful debt refinancing during the quarter is further evidence of the Group’s ability to source attractively priced finance to fund GasLog’s newbuilding program“.
He also highlighted, “The first quarter saw spot LNG carrier rates fall from the historic highs of the fourth quarter of 2018 as unseasonal weather conditions led to low LNG prices and disincentivized long-haul LNG trade. Nonetheless, spot vessel earnings were roughly in line with those seen in the first quarter of 2018. We are confident that the fundamentals of the LNG shipping market are tighter than the evidence that the first quarter implies, and we believe that rates will improve in the second half of the year and through 2020. As a result, we continue to see the potential to deliver enhanced returns to our shareholders“.
LNG Market Update and Outlook
Despite LNG demand in the first quarter of 2019 being negatively impacted by warmer than usual weather in the Northern Hemisphere winter, global LNG imports during the period totalled 88 million tonnes (“mt”), compared to 79 mt in the first quarter of 2018, or an increase of 11%, according to Poten.
In particular, China’s LNG imports totaled 15.3 mt, 24% higher than the first quarter of 2018. Europe’s LNG imports in the first quarter more than doubled to 22 mt, compared to 10 mt in the first quarter of 2018, as lower LNG prices made gas-fired power generation more competitive than coal, indigenous gas production declined and LNG gained market share from pipeline imports.
This more than offset import declines from major North East Asian consumers in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (10%, 22% and 6% decline year-on-year, respectively), demonstrating the increasingly diverse and broad-based nature of LNG demand growth.
Long-term outlook
The longer-term outlook for natural gas demand continued to strengthen in the first quarter of 2019. Natural gas is increasingly seen as complementary to renewable energy in the transition away from fuels which emit high levels of carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions. LNG is expected to be the fastest growing hydrocarbon supply source.
In its recent LNG Outlook 2019, Shell, one of the largest players in the global LNG market, forecasts that natural gas would satisfy 41% of global energy demand growth over the 2018-2035 period, with renewables satisfying 30%. Over this period, Shell forecasts that LNG will be the fastest growing gas supply source, with demand potentially reaching approximately 700 mt in 2035, compared to delivered volumes of 319 mt in 2018.
According to Wood Mackenzie, global LNG supply totaled 88 mt in the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 10% on the first quarter of 2018, principally driven by new supply additions in the U.S., Australia, and Russia. For 2019, as a whole, supply is estimated by Wood Mackenzie to be 365 mt, or 38 mt (12%) higher than 2018, driven by the continued ramp-up of 2018 supply additions and new project start-ups in the U.S. (Cameron, Freeport, Elba Island and Corpus Christi Train 2) and Australia (Prelude).
New agreements after a period of inactivity
After a brief lull following the elevated levels of new offtake agreements seen in the second half of 2018, activity has recently picked up again with nine new long-term supply agreements agreed or signed for over 10 mt per annum (“mtpa”), according to Wood Mackenzie.
Similarly, the approval process for major new liquefaction projects continues to build momentum, with Wood Mackenzie estimating that, in addition to the Golden Pass project which reached Final Investment Decision (“FID”) in February 2019, 50 mtpa of new capacity should be sanctioned in 2019, encompassing Arctic LNG-2 (Russia), Mozambique Area 1, Calcasieu Pass, Sabine Pass Train 6 (both U.S.) and Woodfibre LNG (Canada). A further 90 mtpa of capacity could also reach FID in 2019 or 2020, including the Qatar Megatrain expansion, Driftwood LNG and Freeport Train 4 (both U.S.), Rovuma LNG (Mozambique), Costa Azul (Mexico) and the expansion of the PNG LNG facilities in Papua New Guinea.
Weak LNG commodity and shipping markets
In contrast to these positive longer-term trends, the first quarter saw relatively weak LNG commodity and shipping markets. A combination of high inventory levels in key North East Asian gas markets ahead of the 2018-2019 winter and relatively mild temperatures during the winter period have led to reduced gas consumption and Asian LNG prices reaching their lowest levels since April 2016.
Low LNG prices, particularly in North Asia, have reduced the incentive in recent months to ship LNG cargoes from the Atlantic Basin to the Pacific Basin, reducing tonne miles – a key driver of demand for LNG spot shipping. Furthermore, front-end weighting of 2019 LNG carrier newbuilding deliveries and unscheduled downtime at facilities in Australia and Malaysia all added to prompt shipping availability.
Poten estimates that the number of monthly LNG cargo imports declined by 19% between December 2018 and February 2019, compared to an 11% decline between December 2017 and February 2018. There were 57 spot fixtures in the first quarter of 2019, a 19% decrease on the 70 spot fixtures in the same period in 2018. Independent shipowners accounted for 47% of spot fixtures in the first quarter, down from 51% in the same period in 2018, while the average duration of a spot fixture in the first quarter was broadly unchanged year-on-year at 28 days (29 days in the first quarter of 2018).
Prompt vessel availability
As a result of these trends in the first quarter, there was ample prompt vessel availability against a backdrop of weaker than expected demand due to warmer than normal winter temperatures. This in turn impacted headline spot LNG shipping rates, fleet utilization, positioning fees and ballast bonuses leading to a marked decline in spot vessel earnings in the first quarter of 2019 relative to the fourth quarter of 2018.
TFDE headline rates, as reported by Clarkson’s, averaged $60,000 per day in the first quarter of 2019, compared to $68,000 per day in the first quarter of 2018 and $150,000 per day in the fourth quarter of 2018. Headline TFDE spot rates are currently assessed at $34,000 per day, with rates having stabilized in recent weeks as charterers look to capitalize on the recent fall in rates to lock in shipping capacity for the remainder of 2019 and into 2020.
LNG supply forecast
We expect that prompt vessel availability will decline throughout 2019 and 2020 given the significant forecast LNG supply additions outlined above. As a result, we expect spot shipping rates to rise from current levels, with the magnitude and duration of that recovery depends on several factors, particularly the pace and location of demand growth and cooling and heating demand during the Northern Hemisphere summer and winter respectively.
According to Poten, as of April 17, 2019, the LNG fleet and order book (excluding floating storage and regasification units (“FSRUs”) and vessels with a capacity below 100,000 cbm) stood at 491 and 110 vessels respectively. Of the LNG carriers in the order book, 67, or 61%, are chartered on long-term contracts. 14 vessels were ordered in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 17 and 20 vessels in the first quarter of 2018 and the fourth quarter of 2018, respectively.
These figures provide early indications that newbuild ordering may be slowing somewhat compared to newbuild ordering in 2018. This is a positive development which we believe is necessary to avoid an overbuilt market in 2021 and 2022, a period when LNG supply additions are forecast to slow before increasing again in 2023 and 2024.
New Charter Agreements
GasLog entered into a 12-year time charter agreement with JERA for GasLog’s existing newbuild vessel, Hull No. 2274. The vessel, a 180,000 cbm Mark III Flex Plus carrier with X-DF propulsion, previously referred to as LP-2S, is expected to deliver from Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (“Samsung”) in April 2020, at which point it will commence its 12-year time charter.
GasLog also entered into an eight-year time charter agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Endesa for GasLog’s existing newbuild vessel, the GasLog Warsaw. The vessel, a 180,000 cbm Mark III Flex Plus carrier with X-DF propulsion, is expected to deliver from Samsung in the third quarter of 2019 and to commence its charter to Endesa in May 2021.
Sale of the GasLog Glasgow
On March 13, 2019, GasLog entered into an agreement with GasLog Partners to sell 100% of the ownership interest in GAS-twelve Ltd., the entity that owns the GasLog Glasgow. The vessel is currently on time charter with a subsidiary of Shell through June 2026, and Shell has a unilateral option to extend the term of the time charter for a period of five years.
The aggregate sale price was $214.0 million, which included $1.0 million of positive net working capital balances transferred with the entity. The sale closed on April 1, 2019.
Debt Refinancing
On February 20, 2019, GasLog Partners entered into a credit agreement with Credit Suisse AG, Nordea Bank Abp, filial i Norge (“Nordea”) and Iyo Bank, Ltd., Singapore Branch, each an original lender and Nordea acting as security agent and trustee for and on behalf of the other finance parties mentioned above, of up to $450.0 million, in order to refinance the existing indebtedness due in November 2019 on five of its vessels.
Subsequently, on the same date, the Development Bank of Japan, Inc., entered the facility as a lender via a transfer certificate. The agreement provides for an amortizing revolving credit facility which can be repaid and redrawn at any time for a period of five years. The total available facility amount will be reduced on a quarterly basis, with a final balloon amount payable concurrently with the last quarterly installment, if any, in February 2024.
2019 Partnership Facility
The vessels covered by the 2019 Partnership Facility are the GasLog Shanghai, the GasLog Santiago, the GasLog Sydney, the Methane Rita Andrea, and the Methane Jane Elizabeth. Interest on the 2019 Partnership Facility is payable at a rate of U.S. dollar (“USD”) London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 2.0%-2.2%, which represents a reduced margin above LIBOR compared to the previous facility.
On March 6, 2019, the Partnership drew down $360.0 million under the 2019 Partnership Facility, out of which $354.4 million was used to refinance the outstanding debt of GAS-three Ltd., GAS-four Ltd., GAS-five Ltd., GAS-sixteen Ltd. and GAS-seventeen Ltd., the respective entities owning the GasLog Shanghai, the GasLog Santiago, the GasLog Sydney, the Methane Rita Andrea, and the Methane Jane Elizabeth.
Delivery of the GasLog Gladstone
On March 15, 2019, GasLog took delivery of the GasLog Gladstone, a 174,000 cbm LNG carrier with X-DF propulsion constructed by Samsung. Upon delivery, the vessel commenced a 10-year charter with Shell.
Appointment of COO Designate
On April 23, 2019, GasLog and GasLog Partners announced that Paolo Enoizi has been appointed as COO Designate with effect from August 2019. Mr. Enoizi was most recently Managing Director of Stolt Tankers BV Rotterdam, a subsidiary of Stolt Nielsen Limited, where he was responsible for the operation of over 100 chemical tankers, 200 people ashore and over 4,000 seafarers.
His previous roles also included Director of Technical & Innovation and General Manager of Newbuilding & Technical. Mr. Enoizi will be based in Piraeus, Greece and will initially work alongside our current COO Richard Sadler to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities.
Alexandroupolis Project Update
During the first quarter, there was continued progress on the Alexandroupolis FSRU project workstreams. Preparation for the binding phase of the European-regulated capacity commitment process (the “Market Test”) continued during the period. Expressions of interest (“EOI”) for the procurement of the FSRU and the construction of the pipeline and offshore installation have been received and several EOIs have been shortlisted.
Tenders for the two separate infrastructure elements of the terminal project are expected to be launched in May. DEPA, the Greek state natural gas utility, and Bulgartransgaz, the Bulgarian national gas transmission system operator, are both in the process of formalizing their respective shareholdings in Gastrade.
The timing of an FID, which Gastrade had previously guided to mid-2019, is subject to successful conclusions of the workstreams described above, as well as successful completion of financing and state aid discussions, and decisions by various regulatory bodies. GasLog will provide further updates on project progress and timing of FID as appropriate.
Share/Unit Repurchase Programme
On November 28, 2018, the Company announced that its board of directors had approved a share repurchase program of up to $50.0 million of the Company’s common shares, covering the period from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021. Under the terms of the repurchase program, the Company may repurchase common shares from time to time, at the Company’s discretion, on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.
Any repurchases are subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other considerations. The Company is not obligated under the repurchase program to repurchase any specific dollar amount or number of common shares, and the repurchase program may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time or never utilized.
Common shares held in treasury
Any common shares repurchased by the Company under the program will be held in treasury. As of March 31, 2019, 212,111 shares have been acquired at a total cost of $3.8 million and are included in treasury shares. The average cost of the repurchase was $17.69 per share inclusive of all fees and commissions.
On January 29, 2019, the board of directors of GasLog Partners authorized a unit repurchase program of up to $25.0 million covering the period from January 31, 2019, to December 31, 2021. Under the terms of the repurchase program, the Partnership may repurchase common units from time to time, at its discretion, on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.
Any repurchases are subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other considerations. The Partnership is not obligated under the repurchase program to repurchase any specific dollar amount or number of common units, and the repurchase program may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time or never utilized. As of May 3, 2019, 50,000 units have been repurchased at a total cost of $1.0 million. The average cost of the repurchase was $20.89 per unit inclusive of all fees and commissions.
Dividend Declaration
On March 7, 2019, the board of directors declared a dividend on the Series A Preference Shares of $0.546875 per share, or $2.5 million in the aggregate, payable on April 1, 2019, to holders of record as of March 29, 2019. GasLog paid the declared dividend to the transfer agent on March 29, 2019.
On May 2, 2019, the board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per common share, or $12.1 million in the aggregate, payable on May 23, 2019, to shareholders of record as of May 14, 2019.
Financial Summary
| In thousands of U.S. dollars except per share data | For the three months ended | |||||||
| March 31, 2018 | March 31, 2019 | |||||||
| Revenues | $ | 138,478 | $ | 166,547 | ||||
| EBITDA(1) | $ | 95,880 | $ | 109,790 | ||||
| Adjusted EBITDA(1) | $ | 95,526 | $ | 109,940 | ||||
| Profit for the period | $ | 42,541 | $ | 5,899 | ||||
| Adjusted Profit(1) | $ | 25,289 | $ | 28,140 | ||||
| Profit/(loss) attributable to the owners of GasLog | $ | 19,304 | $ | (10,947) | ||||
| EPS, basic | $ | 0.21 | $ | (0.17) | ||||
| Adjusted EPS(1) | $ | (0.01) | $ | 0.11 | ||||
(1) EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Profit, and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP financial measures, and should not be used in isolation or as a substitute for GasLog’s financial results presented in accordance with IFRS. For definitions and reconciliations of these measurements to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS, please refer to Exhibit II at the end of this press release.
There were 2,350 operating days for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, as compared to 2,162 operating days for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. The increase in operating days resulted mainly from the full operation of the GasLog Houston, the GasLog Hong Kong and the GasLog Genoa, delivered on January 8, 2018, March 20, 2018, and March 29, 2018, respectively, and delivery of the GasLog Gladstone on March 15, 2019.
Revenues were $166.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($138.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). The increase was mainly driven by the full operation of the vessels delivered in 2018 (the GasLog Houston, the GasLog Hong Kong and the GasLog Genoa) and the new vessel delivered to our fleet during the quarter ended March 31, 2019 (the GasLog Gladstone) and the increased revenues from vessels operating in the spot market due to their increased number and utilization and the increase in the daily rates achieved by the GasLog vessels. The above increases were partially offset by the expiration of the initial time charters of the GasLog Shanghai, the GasLog Santiago, and the GasLog Sydney.
GasLog recognized gross revenues and gross voyage expenses and commissions of $32.1 million and $4.7 million, respectively, from the operation of its vessels in the LNG carrier pooling arrangement (the “Cool Pool”) during the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($13.4 million and $3.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, respectively). Net pool allocation was a negative $6.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 (positive $8.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018).
The variances were attributable to the movement in the adjustment of the net pool results generated by the GasLog vessels in accordance with the pool distribution formula for the total fleet of the pool. The increase in GasLog’s total net pool performance during the quarter ended March 31, 2019, compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2018, was driven by the increase in the number of GasLog vessels operating in the Cool Pool, partially offset by the lower spot rates. GasLog’s total net pool performance is presented below:
| For the three months ended | ||||||||
| March 31, 2018 | March 31, 2019 | |||||||
| Amounts in thousands of U.S. Dollars | ||||||||
| Pool gross revenues (included in Revenues) | 13,405 | 32,142 | ||||||
| Pool gross voyage expenses and commissions (included in Voyage expenses and commissions) | (3,538) | (4,677) | ||||||
| GasLog’s adjustment for net pool allocation (included in Net pool allocation) | 8,653 | (6,738) | ||||||
| GasLog’s total net pool performance | 18,520 | 20,727 | ||||||
Voyage expenses and commissions were $6.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($5.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). The increase resulted from the increased bunkers consumption of the vessels operating in the spot market.
Vessel operating and supervision costs were $33.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($34.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). The decrease was mainly attributable to the decrease in employee costs, crew wages, and technical maintenance expenses, mainly due to the favorable movement of the Euro (“EUR”)/USD exchange rate, and a decrease in vessel taxes. As a result, daily operating costs per vessel decreased from $16,512 per day for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018, to $14,550 per day for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019.
General and administrative expenses were $10.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($12.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). The decrease is mainly attributable to a decrease in employee costs, which were mainly affected by the favorable movement of the USD against the EUR and the British pound (“GBP”). GasLog has entered into forwarding foreign exchange contracts to economically hedge part of this exposure and the associated realized gains/losses are recorded in Gain/(loss) on derivatives, which is discussed below.
Following the implementation of IFRS 16 Leases on January 1, 2019, the Group’s leases on vessel equipment, office equipment, and properties are recognized as a right-of-use asset and a corresponding liability on the date when the leased assets are available for use by the Group. Each lease payment is allocated between the liability and finance cost.
The finance cost is charged to profit or loss over the lease period to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability for each period. The right-of-use asset is depreciated over the shorter of the asset’s useful life and the lease term on a straight-line basis. Historically, the respective expenses were included in Vessel operating and supervision costs ($0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018) and General and administrative expenses ($0.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018).
Depreciation was $39.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($35.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). The increase resulted from the deliveries of the GasLog Houston, the GasLog Hong Kong, the GasLog Genoa and the GasLog Gladstone on January 8, 2018, March 20, 2018, March 29, 2018, and March 15, 2019, respectively.
Financial costs were $45.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($36.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). The increase was mainly attributable to the increased weighted average interest rate deriving from the upward movement of the LIBOR and to the increased weighted average outstanding indebtedness. An analysis of the financial costs is presented below:
| (All amounts expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars) | For the three months ended | |||||||||||
| March 31, 2018 | March 31, 2019 | |||||||||||
| Financial costs | ||||||||||||
| Amortization and write-off of deferred loan/bond issuance costs | $ | (2,912) | $ | (4,161) | ||||||||
| Interest expense on loans | (23,197) | (30,591) | ||||||||||
| Interest expense on bonds and realized loss on cross-currency swaps | (7,473) | (7,483) | ||||||||||
| Lease charge | (2,628) | (2,629) | ||||||||||
| Other financial costs | (387) | (643) | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | (36,597) | $ | (45,507) | ||||||||
Loss on derivatives was $20.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($17.8 million gain for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). The decrease in gain on derivatives in the first quarter of 2019, as compared to the first quarter of 2018, is mainly attributable to a decrease of $38.3 million in gain from mark-to-market valuation of our derivative financial instruments carried at fair value through profit or loss, derived mainly from changes in the LIBOR curve. An analysis of gain/(loss) on derivatives is presented below:
| (All amounts expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars) | For the three months ended | |||||||||||
| March 31, 2018 | March 31, 2019 | |||||||||||
| Gain/(loss) on derivatives | ||||||||||||
| Realized (loss)/gain on derivatives held for trading | $ | (613) | $ | 1,735 | ||||||||
| Realized gain/(loss) on forwarding foreign exchange contracts held for trading | 1,486 | (876) | ||||||||||
| Unrealized gain/(loss) on derivative financial instruments held for trading | 17,161 | (21,150) | ||||||||||
| The ineffective portion of cash flow hedges | (263) | 47 | ||||||||||
| Total | $ | 17,771 | $ | (20,244) | ||||||||
Profit was $5.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($42.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). This decrease in profit is mainly attributable to the unfavorable movement in mark-to-market valuations of our derivative financial instruments in the first quarter of 2019 and the increase in finance costs, partially offset by the increased profit from operations, due to the factors mentioned above.
Adjusted Profit(1) was $28.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($25.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018) adjusted for the effects of the non-cash loss/gain on derivatives, the write-off and accelerated amortization of unamortized loan fees as a result of the debt refinancing mentioned above and the net foreign exchange losses/gains.
Loss attributable to the owners of GasLog was $10.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($19.3 million profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). The decrease in profit attributable to the owners of GasLog resulted mainly from the respective movements in profit mentioned above, partially offset by the decreased amount allocated to third parties following the decreased Partnership’s profit.
EBITDA(1) was $109.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($95.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). The increase in EBITDA was driven by the increase in revenues, the decrease in general and administrative expenses and the decrease in vessels operating and supervision costs, partially offset by the decrease in the net pool allocation and the increase in voyage expenses and commissions as discussed above.
Adjusted EBITDA(1) was $109.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($95.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018).
EPS was a loss of $0.17 for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 ($0.21 earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2018). The decrease in earnings per share is mainly attributable to the respective movements in profit attributable to the owners of GasLog discussed above.
Adjusted EPS(1) was $0.11 for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 (loss of $0.01 for the quarter ended March 31, 2018), adjusted for the effects of the non-cash loss/gain on derivatives, the write-off and accelerated amortization of unamortized loan fees and the net foreign exchange losses/gains.
(1) Adjusted Profit, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP financial measures and should not be used in isolation or as a substitute for GasLog’s financial results presented in accordance with IFRS. For definitions and reconciliations of these measurements to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS, please refer to Exhibit II at the end of this press release.
Contracted Charter Revenues
As of March 31, 2019, the total future firm contracted revenue stood at $4.0 billion(1), including the 15 vessels currently owned by GasLog Partners, but excluding the vessels operating in the spot market.
(1) Contracted revenue calculations assume: (a) 365 revenue days per annum, with 30 off-hire days when the ship undergoes scheduled dry-docking; (b) all LNG carriers on order are delivered on schedule, and (c) no exercise of an option to extend the terms of charters.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2019, GasLog had $230.8 million of cash and cash equivalents, of which $127.5 million was held in time deposits and the remaining balance in current accounts. In addition, as of March 31, 2019, GasLog had $10.0 million held in time deposits with an initial duration of more than three months but less than a year that has been classified as short-term investments.
On March 6, 2019, the respective subsidiaries of GasLog Partners drew down $360.0 million under the 2019 Partnership Facility and prepaid in full their aggregate outstanding debt of $354.5 million, which would have been due in November 2019.
As of March 31, 2019, GasLog had an aggregate of $2.9 billion of indebtedness outstanding under its credit facilities and bond agreements, of which $172.7 million was repayable within one year, and $212.1 million of lease liabilities, of which $9.0 million was payable within one year.
As of March 31, 2019, there was undrawn available capacity of $100.0 million under the revolving credit facility of the credit agreement of up to $1.1 billion entered into on July 19, 2016 (the “Legacy Facility Refinancing”). In addition, there was an unused availability of $90.0 million under the 2019 Partnership Facility.
As of March 31, 2019, the total remaining balance of the contract prices of the eight LNG carriers on order was $1,343.6 million, which GasLog expects to be funded with cash balances, cash from operations and borrowings under new debt agreements.
As of March 31, 2019, GasLog’s current assets totaled $287.1 million, while current liabilities totaled $268.2 million, resulting in a positive working capital position of $18.9 million. GasLog has hedged 46.2% of its expected floating interest rate exposure on its outstanding debt (excluding the lease liability) as of March 31, 2019.
Future Deliveries
GasLog has eight new buildings on order at Samsung which are on schedule and within budget:
| LNG Carrier | Year Built(1) |
Shipyard |
Cargo Capacity (cbm) |
Charterer |
Propulsion |
Estimated Charter Expiration(2) | ||||||||||||||
| GasLog Warsaw | Q3 2019 | Samsung | 180,000 | Endesa | X-DF | 2029(3) | ||||||||||||||
| Hull No. 2213 | Q2 2020 | Samsung | 180,000 | Centrica(4) | X-DF | 2027 | ||||||||||||||
| Hull No. 2274 | Q2 2020 | Samsung | 180,000 | JERA | X-DF | 2032 | ||||||||||||||
| Hull No. 2262 | Q3 2020 | Samsung | 180,000 | Centrica(4) | X-DF | 2027 | ||||||||||||||
| Hull No. 2300 | Q4 2020 | Samsung | 174,000 | Cheniere(5) | X-DF | 2027 | ||||||||||||||
| Hull No. 2301 | Q4 2020 | Samsung | 174,000 | Cheniere(5) | X-DF | 2027 | ||||||||||||||
| Hull No. 2311 | Q2 2021 | Samsung | 180,000 | Cheniere(5) | X-DF | 2028 | ||||||||||||||
| Hull No. 2312 | Q3 2021 | Samsung | 180,000 | Cheniere(5) | X-DF | 2028 | ||||||||||||||
____________
(1) Expected delivery quarters are presented.
(2) Charter expiration to be determined based upon the actual date of delivery.
(3) The charter is expected to commence in May 2021.
(4) The vessel is chartered to Pioneer Shipping Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centrica plc (“Centrica”).
(5) The vessel is chartered to a wholly owned subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (“Cheniere”).
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Source: GlobeNewswire
