Avance Gas will distribute $1.8 billion to shareholders – E24

Shipping company Frederiksen increased its profits sharply after the ship sales. The money is distributed in a dividend ceremony to shareholders.

Advanced gasAdvanced gasA shipping company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange that transports liquefied petroleum gases (LPG). John Frederiksen is the largest shareholder. The accounting books for the first three months of the year open on Wednesday:

• Profit before taxes amounted to $147 million, compared to $36 million in the first quarter of last year.
• Revenues were $116 million, up from $77 million in the same period the previous year.
• The profit is raised with the help of a book profit of $85 million after the sale of the vessels.

It provides a dividend distribution ceremony to shareholders.

The Board of Directors approved a payment consisting of a repayment of capital and a dividend of $2.15 per share for the first quarter. In the year-ago period, earnings were 50 cents per share.

The amount paid to shareholders is equivalent to a total of US$165 million, or approximately NOK 1.8 billion. Thus, the shipping company pays 112 percent of the after-tax profit for the quarter.

Ships sold

– The record high profits were driven by the successful completion of the sale of three vessels during the quarter, which increased results by $85 million, but also very strong freight revenues that added $62 million to the bottom line, says Avance Gas CEO. Oystein Callicliffe.

Shipping markets faced a difficult start to the new year, among other things, after higher gas consumption in the United States due to cold weather led to a smaller differential in gas prices between the United States and Asia.

Despite the sharp decline in interest rates at the beginning of the year due to the cold wave that affected the United States Arbitrage levelsArbitrage levelsGas price difference between the United States and other countries.“We have benefited from booking long-haul flights, mainly from the USA to East Asia, which has limited our market risk in this turbulent period,” says Callicliffe.

He points out that the shipping company has now completed the fleet program, which included the sale of five ships to transport gas. Today the fleet consists of a total of 12 ships and the shipping company also has four ships under construction that will be delivered in 2025 and 2026.

Eyes rates higher

According to Callicliffe, Avance Gas has reserved 83 percent of its capacity for the second quarter, with an average profit of $48,000 per day, while the shipping company needs rates in the low twenties to make a profit.

– With freight rates for the second half of the year rising to higher levels, we expect to continue to deliver attractive returns to shareholders, he says.