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Kalleklev said during Flex LNG’s earnings call on Tuesday that the decision is driven by the high costs of maintaining a dual listing given divergent regulation particulary EU’s corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSR) and central securities depository regulation (CSDR).
“We are listed in two places, in Oslo and in New York, and then we have to comply with both the US rules and the European Union rules,” he said, adding this is driving up costs for the company.
“It’s not like we want to avoid reporting on sustainability. We actually have provided our ESG report every year since 2018 where we give full disclosures on a lot of numbers according to the sustainability accounting standard board,” he said.
On top of that, Flex LNG has added the global reporting initiative, and based on feedback from investors, the company also added the carbon disclosure projects.
“Our ranking will come out on Thursday. Last year we had a B ranking on the carbon disclosure project reporting and our ESG report for 2024 will also be available probably around April,” he said.
However, having to deal with two sorts of regulation is “quite costly,” he said.
Kalleklev said that “95 percent of our trading today is on the New York Stock Exchange.”
Additionally, NYSE is planning to increase their trading hours to 22 hours per day which will mitigate the loss of Oslo trading hours.
“We have decided to propose to the board for the approval of the annual general meeting in May to delist in Oslo and rather save that money so we can spend that on focusing on one set of reporting requirements instead of having to deal with two conflicting sets of reporting requirements,” he said.
LNG fleet booked
Flex LNG owns 13 liquefied natural gas carriers.
In November, Flex LNG announced extension of the time charters for Flex Courageous and Flex Resolute.
Furthermore, in December, the company revealed a new 15-year time charter for Flex Constellation from 2026 to 2041 where the charterer has the option to extend the ship up to 2043.
The company has 62 years of minimum charter backlog, equal to about five years of contract backlog per ship, on average.
Flex LNG expects its financial performance in 2025 to be in line with what the company has achieved in 2024 despite a weak market.
The company reported revenues of $355 million in 2024, down from $371 million in 2023 and a rise compared to $347.9 million in 2022, while adjusted Ebitda reached $273 million.
The shipping firm controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen expects 2025 revenues of about $340-360 million with TCE (time charter equivalent rate) of $72,000-75,000 per day.
Adjusted Ebitda is expected to be $250-270 million in 2025.