LNG carrier owner Dynagas LNG Partners signed a term sheet with a “major financial leasing operator in Asia” for the lease financing of four of its six LNG carriers worth up to $345 million.
The NYSE-listed limited partnership formed by Greek shipowner Dynagas said in its 2023 results report on Thursday that the financing has received counterparty credit approval and is subject to the execution of definitive documentation and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
According to the firm, the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.
It intends to use the proceeds from this new financing, together with other sources of liquidity, to fully repay its existing secured debt that is scheduled to mature in September 2024.
The current debt outstanding under its $675 million credit facility is about $420.6 million.
Results
Dynagas LNG reported net income of $10.46 million in the fourth quarter last year, down from $11.61 million in 2022 and up compared to $1.4 million in the previous quarter.
The firm attributed this drop in net income mainly due to the decrease in interest rate swap gains compared to the corresponding period of 2022.
For the full year 2023, net income dropped to $35.8 million compared to $54 million in 2022.
Voyage revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2023 were $37 million, a rise compared to $35.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Dynagas LNG said this is mainly attributable to the increase in voyage revenues of the 2013-built 155,000-cbm LNG carrier, Arctic Aurora, following its new time charter party agreement with Equinor, which started in September 2023.
Full year 2023 voyage revenues rose to $148.8 million from $131.6 million in 2022.
Backlog at $1.11 billion
Chief executive Tony Lauritzen said all six LNG carriers in the company’s fleet are operating under their respective long-term charters with international gas companies with an average remaining contract term of 6.9 years.
“Barring any unforeseen events, the partnership will have no contractual vessel availability until 2028,” he said.
Lauritzen said that the company’s estimated contract backlog currently stands at about $1.11 billion equating to about $185 million per vessel as of March 28, 2024.