LNG

GasLog Ltd., the Greek LNG fleet owner and operator with 33 ships, reported a drop in quarterly earnings while new charter agreements were signed along with a re-financing deal covering 23 carriers in the fleet.

The company’s profits for the fourth quarter more than halved to $31.44 million from $68.70M in the prior-year quarter.

GasLog’s annual profits dropped by around $100M to $196.30M in 2023 from the $297.24M logged in 2022.

The company, whose headquarters are in Hamilton, Bermuda, said adjusted fourth-quarter profits declined to $53.27 million from $75.57M in the same three months of 2022 ,while revenues also fell to $229.94M from $244.84M a year ago.

Charter extension

During the quarter GasLog extended by five years the time-charter agreement of the “GasLog Singapore”, a tri-fuel, diesel-electric (TFDE) LNG carrier, with New York-based New Fortress Energy. The contract is now due to expire in 2030.

In addition, the company’s affiliate, GasLog Partners LP, signed a multi-year time-charter with a major energy exploration company for the “GasLog Santiago”, also a TFDE vessel.

A third charter deal was for the carrier, “Methane Jane Elizabeth”, a steam turbine propulsion ship, and signed with Cheniere Marketing International, a unit of Houston, Texas-based Cheniere Energy. The contract is now due to expire in 2025.

GasLog also signed a new $2.8 billion five-year banking deal in the form of a senior secured revolving credit facility in November 2023.

“Involving 14 international banks, the facility refinanced the outstanding debt of $2.1Bln secured by 23 LNG carriers across both GasLog and GasLog Partners, following the acquisition by GasLog in July 2023 of all the outstanding common units of GasLog Partners,” explained GasLog Ltd.

Refinanced ships

The 23 LNG carriers, comprising 12 GasLog vessels and 11 GasLog Partners ships, include 10 dual-fuel two-stroke engine propulsion (X-DF) carriers, 10 TFDE vessels and three steam-propelled carriers.

“The facility has a five-year tenor, including two one-year extension options and simplifies GasLog’s debt structure, providing incremental available liquidity while reducing interest cost and debt service requirements,” GasLog Ltd added.

The GasLog board also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per common share of GasLog to GasLog’s shareholders of record as of February 15, 2024.

At the end of December, GasLog had $221.4M of cash and cash equivalents and an additional amount of $10M of time deposits.

GasLog additionally had $3.1bln of debts outstanding under its credit facilities and bond agreements, of which $107.9M is repayable within one year.

GasLog, the LNG shipping company with a fleet of 34 carriers in the Group, benefited from the vibrant spot charter market during the third quarter to increase revenues and profits and signed new time charter agreements.

GasLog, the Greek LNG shipping company, is expanding its fleet by ordering four newbuild 174,000 cubic metres-capacity for delivery in 2024 and 2025.

GasLog Ltd is ordering the vessels from South Korea shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.

The four newbuilds will have latest generation M-type Electronically Controlled, Gas Injection (MEGI) propulsion system.

GasLog completed a merger in June 2021 with BlackRock’s Global Energy and Power Infrastructure division and de-listed its common shares from the New York Stock Exchange.

The GasLog’s ownership structure has three main shareholders in both companies, parent GasLog Ltd and subsidiary GasLog Partners LP.

They are the Greek Livanos family with 55 percent, the Monaco-based Onassis Foundation with 12 percent and BlackRock’s Global Energy and Power infrastructure fund (GEPIF), holder of 45 percent of the equity.

GasLog Ltd, whose Chairman remains Peter G. Livanos, has an LNG fleet comprising 20 vessels, 12 dual-fuel, seven tri-fuel, diesel electric (TFDE) and one steam-turbine carrier.

GasLog Ltd subsidiary, GasLog Partners LP and whose Chief Executive since August 2021 has been Paolo Enoizi, owns 15 LNG carriers, including 10 tri-fuel-diesel-electric (TFDE) ships and five steam-turbine vessels.

GasLog Partners in November 2021 reported a third-quarter increase in revenues and profits as global demand gathered pace.

The partnership said income jumped 11 percent to $80.53M from $72.8M in the same quarter to the end of September in 2020.

At the end of October GasLog Partners said it completed the sale and lease-back of the “GasLog Shanghai”, with 155,000 cubic metres capacity, to China Development Bank Leasing.

GasLog noted that headline spot rates in the third quarter benefited from LNG demand growth from Asia as well as longer than average wait times at the Panama Canal.

GasLog Partners, the Greek LNG shipping company with a fleet of 15 vessels, reported a third-quarter increase in revenues and profits as global demand gathered pace.

GasLog Ltd, the LNG fleet owner with 35 carriers split with its US affiliate GasLog Partners, said the group had signed three new loan agreements amounting to $1.1 billion arranged by 12 banks as it confirmed jobs cuts, reductions in expenses and the delivery of a new vessel.

GasLog Ltd., the LNG carrier fleet owner with 20 vessels and with another 15 ships held by its US affiliate GasLog Partners, has launched its latest carrier at the South Korean Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard.

The carrier named “GasLog Georgetown” was expected to be delivered for service by late October 2020.

The vessel has capacity of 180,000 cubic metres and will also feature WinGD’s low-pressure gas X-DF propulsion.

The X-DF engines are able to operate both on natural gas or diesel fuel.

GasLog took delivery of two newbuilds in 2019 and signed long-term charters with two new customers, JERA Co. Inc. of Japan and the Spanish utility, Endesa SA.

GasLog, which was previously based in Monaco now has its headquarters in the Greek port of Piraeus, has a total fleet of 35 vessels, with 28 carriers on the water and seven on order.

The company relocated senior management and more of its employees to the Piraeus office to improve efficiency and to reduce overheads.

GasLog reported annual and fourth-quarter losses in February 2020 of $119.9 million versus a profit of $30.3M in the same quarter of 2018.

For the year, GasLog’s losses came to $114.6M compared with a profit of $126.4M in 2018.

Annual revenues rose to $668.8M from $618.3M in the previous year, while fourth-quarter revenues slipped to $182.2M from $188.6M in the prior-year quarter.

GasLog Ltd., the LNG carrier fleet owner with 19 vessels and with another 15 ships held by its US affiliate GasLog Partners, reported annual and quarterly losses as it started cost-cutting measures by moving its headquarters to the Greek port of Piraeus from Monaco and wrote-down some asset values.

GasLog posted a fourth-quarter loss of $119.9 million versus a profit of $30.3M in the same quarter of 2018.

For the year, GasLog’s losses came to $114.6M compared with a profit of $126.4M in 2018.

Annual revenues rose to $668.8M from $618.3M in the previous year, while fourth-quarter revenues slipped to $182.2M from $188.6M in the prior-year quarter.

“GasLog implemented a plan to relocate GasLog’s senior management and more of its employees to the Piraeus, Greece office, to enhance execution and efficiency and to reduce overheads,” said the company.

At the same time, the carrier operator as of December 31, 2019, recognized an impairment loss of $162.1M on its six steam-turbine propulsion vessels built in 2006 and 2007, including five US GasLog Partners LP vessels and one GasLog directly-owned vessel, due to negative market conditions.

Paul Wogan, Chief Executive, said he was pleased with the performance of the company in 2019.

“It represented another year of excellent execution for GasLog. We took delivery of two newbuild LNG carriers and signed long-term charters with the principal LNG shipping entity of JERA Co. (Japan) and a subsidiary of Endesa SA (Spain), both new customers for GasLog,” said Wogan.

“We also chartered two on-the-water vessels to Gunvor Group Ltd. and secured up to 10 years employment for one of our vessels as a floating storage unit,” added the CEO.

Wogan noted that the company also successfully completed a new debt facility for its newbuild deliveries in 2020 and 2021.

GasLog signed an export credit agency-backed debt financing facility in December 2019 for $1.05 billion with 12 international banks.

The newbuild facility covers the balance due to the shipyard on delivery and consequently the final instalments of the seven newbuild are fully funded.

Five of these seven ships are scheduled to deliver from the yards into firm multi-year charters in 2020 and the remaining two into firm multi-year charters in 2021. 

The company said one of its charters was for 10 years for one TFDE ship to act as a Floating Storage Unit for a power project being developed in Panama.

GasLog said that while spot rates for LNG carriers had improved in 2018 and 2019 compared to prior years, the term charter market for on-the-water vessels has not developed as anticipated, resulting in reduced expectations for future vessel utilization and earnings.

The company said this was particularly the case for the five steam vessels owned by GasLog Partners and one owned by GasLog after the expiry of their current term charters.

“As we continue to execute on our efficiency improvements and cost reductions, we will continue to look for further opportunities to enhance shareholder returns, on top of the special dividends paid in 2018 and 2019,” said Wogan.

GasLog said that in the LNG shipping spot market, tri-fuel diesel electric vessel headline rates, as reported by brokers averaged $70,000 per day in 2019, a 23 percent decrease on 2018 levels. 

“Low gas prices during much of 2019 limited the arbitrage opportunities for transporting LNG between the Atlantic and Pacific basins,” said the company.

“However, the market balance remains tight, as evidenced by the quick run up in TFDE rates in the fourth quarter of 2019 when they reached a peak of $140,000 per day in November, following a marked decrease in spot ship availability,” added GasLog.

“While headline spot rates in the first quarter of 2020 to date have fallen from their peaks in the fourth quarter of 2019, current headline rates are in line with or above the comparable dates of recent years,” it stated.

GasLog said that brokers currently assess headline spot rates for TFDE and Steam LNG carriers at $65,000 per day and $43,500 per day respectively. 

GasLog Ltd., the Monaco-based LNG carrier fleet owner with 19 vessels and with another 15 ships held by its US affiliate GasLog Partners, said it signed an export credit agency-backed debt financing facility of $1.05 billion with 12 international banks for its current newbuilding programme.

GasLog Ltd, the Monaco-based LNG fleet owner with 25 ships operating and nine others on order, is building up its solid customer base with prestige charter deals.

GasLog Partners, the US-listed affiliate of Monaco-based GasLog Limited, said spot charter rates were currently at around $69,000 per day for tri-fuel, diesel-electric vessels as it reported lower fourth-quarter revenue and a 37 percent drop in profits attributed to derivatives losses, the expiry of charters and higher expenses in operating the 14 LNG carriers in its fleet portfolio.