Dynagas LNG Partners, the owner of six LNG carriers which operate under long-term charters, reported an increase in its second-quarter net income.
The NYSE-listed limited partnership formed by shipowner Dynagas posted a net income of $11.1 million for the three months ended June 31, 2022.
This marks a rise of $2 million, or 22 percent compared to April-June in 2021, the LNG shipper said in a statement.
Dynagas LNG Partners attributed this to the increase in the gain on the company’s interest rate swap transaction compared to the corresponding period of 2021.
Net income dropped compared to the prior quarter of $23.9 million.
Adjusted net income decreased 12.5 percent to $9.1 million in the second quarter mainly due to the decrease in the vessels’ revenue, the firm said.
Voyage revenues for the three-month period hit $33.4 million, and compare to $33.9 million for the corresponding period of 2021.
Dynagas LNG Partners attributed this to the decrease in the revenue earning days due to scheduled dry-docks of LNG carriers Clean Energy and Amur River.
The partnership reported average daily hire gross of commissions of about $62,860 per day per vessel in the three-month period ended June 30, 2022, compared to about $62,440 per day per vessel for the corresponding period of 2021.
During both three-month periods, the partnership’s vessels operated at 100 percent utilization.
LNG carrier trio controlled by German government
Gazprom has chartered three vessels from Dynagas LNG Partners, Novatek’s Yamal LNG two, and Norway’s Equinor one.
Due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the US, the EU, Canada and other Western countries and organizations have announced and enacted numerous sanctions against Russia.
Dynagas LNG Partners said that current US and EU sanctions regimes do not materially affect its business, operations or financial condition, but the three Gazprom-chartered LNG carriers are still under control of the German government.
The firm announced this development in the prior quarter.
The charters of Amur River, Ob River, and Clean Energy are “effectively under the
control of the German government for an indefinite period of time as of April 4th,” the LNG shipper said.
Gazprom Germania, the indirect parent of Gazprom Marketing and Trading, was placed under the control of the German government (Federal Network Agency) since Gazprom Germania operates critical energy infrastructure in Germany, it said.
Germany’s Federal Network Agency has prolonged its fiduciary control of Gazprom Germania, now renamed to SEFE Securing Energy for Europe, and its relevant subsidiaries, including Gazprom Marketing & Trading Singapore, now renamed to SEFE Marketing & Trading Singapore, for as long as necessary to guarantee the security of energy supply in Europe, Dynagas LNG Partners said.
High demand
“All six LNG carriers in our fleet are operating under their respective long-term charters with international gas producers with an average remaining contract term of 6.4 years. As of September 22, 2022, our estimated contracted revenue backlog was $0.95 billion,” chief executive Tony Lauritzen said.
He said the earliest contracted re-delivery date for any of the company’s six LNG carriers is in the third quarter of 2023 for Arctic Aurora, with the second earliest contracted re-delivery date in the first quarter of 2026 for Clean Energy, both subject to the terms of the applicable charter.
“We are in a period of high demand for LNG shipping, which we believe will benefit the partnership,” Lauritzen said.
“We continue our strategy of using our cash flow generation to deleverage our balance sheet and reinforce our liquidity so as to build equity value. This, we believe, will enhance our ability to pursue future growth initiatives,” he added.