Dynagas LNG Partners LP (DLNG) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Dynagas LNG Partners conference call on the second quarter of 2023 financial results.

女士們、先生們，感謝大家的支持，歡迎參加 Dynagas LNG Partners 關於 2023 年第二季財務表現的電話會議。

We have with us today Mr. Tony Lauritzen, Chief Executive Officer; and Mr. Michael Gregos, Chief Financial Officer of the company.

今天我們有執行長 Tony Lauritzen 先生；以及公司財務長 Michael Gregos 先生。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

I must advise you that this conference call is being recorded today. Please be reminded that the company announced its results with a press release that has been publicly distributed. At this time, I would like to remind everybody that in today's presentation and conference call, Dynagas LNG Partners will be making forward-looking statements. These statements are within the meaning of the federal securities laws.

我必須告訴你，今天的電話會議正在錄音。請注意，該公司透過公開發布的新聞稿公佈了其業績。此時，我想提醒大家，在今天的簡報和電話會議中，Dynagas LNG Partners 將做出前瞻性聲明。這些聲明符合聯邦證券法的涵義。

This conference call and slide presentation of the webcast contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

本次電話會議和網路廣播投影片簡報包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》安全港條款意義內的某些前瞻性陳述。

The statements in today's conference call that are not historical facts, including, among other things, the expected financial performance of Dynagas LNG Partners business, Dynagas Partners LNG ability to pursue growth opportunities, Dynagas Partners LNG, expectations or objections -- objectives regarding future and market charter rate expectations, in particular, the effects of COVID-19 on the financial condition and operations of Dynagas Partners LNG and LNG industry in general, may be forward-looking statements as such defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

今天電話會議中的陳述並非歷史事實，其中包括 Dynagas LNG Partners 業務的預期財務業績、Dynagas Partners LNG 追求成長機會的能力、Dynagas Partners LNG、期望或反對——有關未來和目標的目標。市場租船費率預期，特別是COVID-19 對Dynagas Partners 液化天然氣和液化天然氣行業的財務狀況和營運的影響，可能是1934 年《證券交易法》第21E 條中定義的前瞻性陳述，經修正。

Matters discussed may be forward-looking statements, which are based on current management expectations that involve risks and uncertainties that may result in such expectations not being realized. I kindly draw your attention to Slide 2 of the webcast presentation, which has full forward-looking statements and the same statement was also included in the press release. Please take a moment to go through the whole statement and read it.

討論的事項可能是前瞻性陳述，這些陳述基於當前管理層的預期，涉及可能導致此類預期無法實現的風險和不確定性。請您注意網路廣播簡報的投影片 2，其中包含完整的前瞻性陳述，新聞稿中也包含相同的陳述。請花一點時間瀏覽並閱讀整個聲明。

And now I will pass the floor over to Mr. Lauritzen. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我將請 Lauritzen 先生發言。請繼續，先生。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us in our 3 months ended 30 June 2023 earnings conference call. I'm joined today by our CFO, Michael Gregos. We have issued a press release announcing our results for the said period. Certain non-GAAP measures will be discussed on this call and we have provided a description of those measures as well as a discussion of why we believe this information to be useful in our press release.

大家早安，謝謝您參加我們截至 2023 年 6 月 30 日的三個月收益電話會議。今天我們的財務長 Michael Gregos 也加入了我的行列。我們已發布新聞稿，宣布上述期間的業績。本次電話會議將討論某些非公認會計準則措施，我們提供了這些措施的描述，並討論了為什麼我們認為這些資訊在我們的新聞稿中有用。

Let's move to Slide 3 of the presentation. We are pleased to present the results for the 3-month period ending on June 30, 2023. We are pleased to announce that all 6 LNG carriers in our fleet were operating under long-term charters with esteemed international gas companies. In the second quarter of 2022, our net income amounted to $14.4 million, with earnings per common unit reaching $0.31. Our adjusted net income stood at $5.8 million translating into adjusted earnings per common unit of $0.08.

讓我們轉到簡報的幻燈片 3。我們很高興地公佈截至 2023 年 6 月 30 日的三個月期間的業績。我們很高興地宣布，我們船隊中的所有 6 艘液化天然氣運輸船均與知名國際天然氣公司簽訂了長期租約。 2022 年第二季度，我們的淨利潤達到 1,440 萬美元，每普通單位收益達到 0.31 美元。我們調整後的淨利潤為 580 萬美元，調整後每普通單位收益為 0.08 美元。

Furthermore, our adjusted EBITDA for the same period reached $23 million. The fleet utilization was 91.7%, which was due to an unscheduled repair of the vessel Ob River. The partnership entered into a new time charter party agreements for the Clean Energy and the Arctic Aurora with Rio Grande LNG LLC, a subsidiary of NextDecade Corporation, adding approximately $270 million to the Partnership's revenue backlog.

此外，我們同期調整後的 EBITDA 達到 2,300 萬美元。船隊利用率為 91.7%，這是由於鄂畢河輪的計劃外維修所致。該合作夥伴關係與 NextDecade Corporation 的子公司 Rio Grande LNG LLC 就清潔能源和北極極光號簽訂了新的期租合約協議，為該合作夥伴關係的積壓收入增加了約 2.7 億美元。

The Clean Energy has been employed for a time charter period of about 2 years and Arctic Aurora has been employed for a time charter period of about 7 years, both charters commencing in 2026 poster timing charters.

Clean Energy 的期租期約為 2 年，Arctic Aurora 的期租期約為 7 年，兩艘租船均於 2026 年海報期租約開始。

I will now turn the presentation over to Michael, who will provide you with further comments to the financial results.

我現在將把演示文稿交給邁克爾，他將為您提供對財務業績的進一步評論。

Thank you, Tony. Turning to Slide 4 and net income for the second quarter increased by $3.3 million or 30% to $14.4 million compared to $11.1 million in Q2 '22, primarily due to the decrease of $2.4 million dry-docking and special survey costs attributable to the scheduled dry-docks of The Clean Energy and the Amur River which were completed in April and July 2022, respectively.

謝謝你，托尼。轉向幻燈片4，與2022 年第二季度的1110 萬美元相比，第二季度的淨利潤增加了330 萬美元，即30%，達到1440 萬美元，這主要是由於預定的干船塢和特別調查成本減少了240 萬美元。- 清潔能源碼頭和阿穆爾河碼頭分別於2022年4月和2022年7月竣工。

The increase of $3.6 million in the deferred revenue amortization relating to the new time charter party agreement with Equinor for the new employment of the Arctic Aurora, which will commence in September '23 and the increase in the realized gain on our interest rate swap transaction of $5.3 million, which was partially offset due to changes in the unrealized gain on our interest rate swap of $4.8 million.

與 Equinor 就 Arctic Aurora 的新就業簽訂的新定期租船協議相關的遞延收入攤銷增加了 360 萬美元，該協議將於 23 年 9 月開始，並且我們的利率掉期交易的已實現收益增加530 萬美元，由於利率掉期未實現收益480 萬美元的變動而部分抵銷。

The above was partly offset by the increase of $3.2 million in the interest and finance costs which effectively were offset with the above-mentioned increase in the realized gain or cash received on our interest rate swap. Utilization for the quarter was 91.7% due to unscheduled repairs of the Ob River, which is expected to be partly covered under the vessel hull and machinery and loss of hire insurances. And the net effect on the Partnership's results for the quarter is approximately $0.4 million.

上述費用被利息和財務成本增加 320 萬美元部分抵消，而利息和財務成本的增加實際上被上述利率掉期已實現收益或收到的現金的增加所抵消。由於鄂畢河的非計劃性維修，本季的使用率為 91.7%，預計部分由船體和機械以及租金損失保險承保。對合夥企業本季業績的淨影響約為 40 萬美元。

Adjusted net income for the second quarter of 2023 amounted to $5.8 million compared to $9.1 million same time last year, the decrease being mainly attributable to the $3.2 million increase in interest rate and finance costs as a result of the higher interest expense paid under the floating leg of our credit facility. For consistency with prior quarters, adjusted net income excludes cash receipts and unrealized gains on our interest rate swap. If we included this quarter's realized gain from our interest rate swap of $6.1 million, as can be seen in the cash flow statement, adjusted net income would have amounted to $12 million or $0.25 per common unit instead of $0.08.

2023 年第二季調整後淨利為 580 萬美元，而去年同期為 910 萬美元，減少的主要原因是浮動利率下支付的利息費用增加，導致利率和財務成本增加 320 萬美元。我們的信貸安排的一部分。為了與前幾季保持一致，調整後的淨利潤不包括現金收入和利率互換的未實現收益。如果我們將本季從利率掉期中實現的610 萬美元收益計算在內（如現金流量表中所示），調整後淨利潤將達到1200 萬美元，即每普通單位0.25 美元，而不是0.08 美元。

Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was relatively stable at $23 million as compared to $22.9 million last year. TCE for the quarter amounted to $67,489 per day per vessel, the elevated TCE relative to prior quarters is due to the noncash straight line deferred revenue amortization related to the new contract of the Arctic Aurora with Equinor and which has reconciled the actual cash revenue receipts in the cash flow statement.

第二季調整後 EBITDA 相對穩定，為 2,300 萬美元，而去年為 2,290 萬美元。本季每艘船的TCE 為每天67,489 美元，TCE 相對於前幾季的增加是由於與Arctic Aurora 與Equinor 簽訂的新合約相關的非現金直線遞延收入攤銷，該合約已與Equinor 的實際現金收入收入進行了核對。現金流量表。

OpEx for the second quarter amounted to $14,824 per day with a per vessel cash breakeven for the quarter of $46,900 per day, excluding distributions to preferred unitholders and including the realized gain from the interest rate swap.

第二季的營運支出為每天 14,824 美元，該季度每艘船的現金收支平衡為每天 46,900 美元，不包括對優先單位持有人的分配，包括利率掉期的已實現收益。

Turning to Slide 5. As of the end of June 2023, we had $444 million debt outstanding. We are continuing our comprehensive deleveraging path, which commenced in the first quarter of 2020, resulting in a decrease in our net leverage to 4.3x from 6.6x and a steady increase in the book value of our equity. For the quarter, we generated $8.8 million in operating cash flow equivalent to operating cash flow of about $0.24 per common unit.

轉投投影片 5。截至 2023 年 6 月底，我們的未償債務為 4.44 億美元。我們正在繼續從 2020 年第一季開始的全面去槓桿化進程，淨槓桿率從 6.6 倍下降至 4.3 倍，股權帳面價值穩步上升。本季度，我們產生了 880 萬美元的營運現金流，相當於每普通單位約 0.24 美元的營運現金流。

Again, please be reminded that this excludes $6.1 million in realized swap gains.

再次提醒您，這不包括已實現的掉期收益 610 萬美元。

Moving on to Slide 6. Our cash balance for the quarter remained stable at $53 million, and our credit metrics continue to improve. Subsequent to June 30, we have 3 LNG carriers passing their 10-year special surveys and installation of the ballast water treatment systems. The Yenisei River has completed a special survey in the third quarter, and the Arctic Aurora and Lena River both commenced the special surveys and dry-docks which are currently underway. That wraps it up from my side. I will pass the presentation over to Tony.

轉到投影片 6。本季我們的現金餘額保持穩定在 5300 萬美元，我們的信用指標繼續改善。截至6月30日，已有3艘LNG運輸船通過了10年專案檢驗及壓載水處理系統安裝。葉尼塞河已於第三季完成專案調查，北極極光河和勒拿河都已啟動專案調查和乾船塢，目前正在進行中。這從我這邊就結束了。我會將簡報轉交給東尼。

Thank you, Michael. Let's move on to Slide 7 of the presentation. At present, our fleet consists of 6 LNG carriers with an average age of approximately 13.1 years.

謝謝你，麥可。讓我們繼續觀看簡報的幻燈片 7。目前，我們的船隊由 6 艘液化天然氣運輸船組成，平均船齡約為 13.1 年。

Our current charters include prominent companies such as Equinor of Norway, SEFE and Yamal trade of Singapore as well as Rio Grande LLC, a subsidiary of NextDecade for the forward chartered vessels Clean Energy and Arctic Aurora. As of as today, 15th of September 23, the fleet contracted backlog amounts to approximately $1.2 billion, equating to an average backlog of about $200 million per vessel. Furthermore, the fleet enjoys an average remaining charter period or approximately 7.4 years. We are confident that our charter profile is strong and positions our partnership for stable income in the years to come.

我們目前的包租公司包括挪威 Equinor、SEFE 和新加坡亞馬爾貿易等知名公司，以及 NextDecade 的子公司 Rio Grande LLC，負責遠期租船 Clean Energy 和 Arctic Aurora。截至今天（9 月 23 日），船隊的合約積壓金額約為 12 億美元，相當於每艘船的平均積壓金額約為 2 億美元。此外，船隊的平均剩餘租期約為7.4年。我們相信，我們的包機形象非常強大，並將為我們的合作夥伴關係在未來幾年帶來穩定的收入奠定基礎。

Moving on to Slide 8. Our strategy is centered on securing long-term charters with LNG producers. As previously mentioned in this presentation, our partnership has recently entered into a new time charter party agreements with 2 of our vessels into the Clean Energy and Arctic Aurora with Rio Grande LNG, LLC, a subsidiary of NextDecade Corporation.

轉到幻燈片 8。我們的策略重點是與液化天然氣生產商獲得長期租約。正如本簡報前面所提到的，我們的合作夥伴關係最近與 NextDecade Corporation 的子公司 Rio Grande LNG, LLC 簽訂了新的定期租船協議，其中我們的兩艘船舶進入清潔能源和北極極光號。

The Clean Energy has been employed for approximately 2 years set to comment between March and May 26, immediately following the expiration of existing time charter with sector marketing and trading. Similarly, the Arctic Aurora has been employed for approximately 7 years scheduled to commence between September and November 26, following the expiration of the existing time charter with Equinor.

清潔能源公司已使用約兩年，將於 3 月至 5 月 26 日期間發表評論，緊接著產業行銷和交易的現有期租到期後。同樣，Arctic Aurora 已使用約 7 年，計劃於 9 月至 11 月 26 日期間開始，與 Equinor 的現有期租約到期。

We are delighted with these new agreements which have added approximately $270 million to our contracted time charter backlog. The earliest contracted redelivery date for any of our 6 LNG carriers is in 2028 with a Clean Energy, the Ob River and the Amur River. So notwithstanding any unforeseen events and scheduled vessels dry dockings, our fleet is now employed throughout 2027.

我們對這些新協議感到非常高興，它們使我們的期租約積壓訂單增加了約 2.7 億美元。我們的 6 艘液化天然氣運輸船中的任何一艘的最早合約交付日期是 2028 年，包括清潔能源、鄂畢河和阿穆爾河。因此，儘管發生任何不可預見的事件和定期船舶乾塢，我們的船隊目前仍可在 2027 年全年使用。

Let's move to Slide 9. The partnership has demonstrated its commitment to its debt reduction strategy. Since December 2019, until June '23, we successfully repaid $230 million in debt significantly lowering its net leverage from 6.6x to 4.3x. Additionally, the partnership has achieved a 42% increase in book equity value standing at $442.2 million as of 30 June 2023.

讓我們轉向幻燈片 9。該夥伴關係已表明其對其債務削減策略的承諾。自 2019 年 12 月至 23 年 6 月，我們成功償還了 2.3 億美元的債務，將其淨槓桿率從 6.6 倍大幅降低至 4.3 倍。此外，截至 2023 年 6 月 30 日，該合作夥伴關係的帳面權益價值增加了 42%，達到 4.422 億美元。

Looking ahead, we are confident that the partnership's ongoing efforts to reduce debt with further augment equity value through stable long-term cash flow visibility. We hold a strong belief that LNG plays a pivotal role in shaping a future marked by a surge in energy demand and the need to manage emissions. The demand for LNG is expected to persist as the global population continues to grow, living standards improve and the world progressively shift away from coal and other polluting fossil fuels in favor of cleaner energy sources.

展望未來，我們對合作夥伴不斷努力減少債務並透過穩定的長期現金流可見度進一步增加股權價值充滿信心。我們堅信，液化天然氣在塑造能源需求激增和排放管理需求的未來方面發揮關鍵作用。隨著全球人口持續增長、生活水平提高以及世界逐步從煤炭和其他污染性化石燃料轉向更清潔的能源，對液化天然氣的需求預計將持續存在。

Furthermore, the long-term outlook for LNG shipping remains robust. These rates are underpinned by sustained demand for LNG shipping driven by long-term SPAs from countries striving to enhance our energy security and mitigate price volatility. In light of these promising developments, we maintain a positive outlook for the prospects of LNG shipping.

此外，液化天然氣運輸的長期前景仍然強勁。這些費率的支撐因素是對液化天然氣運輸的持續需求，這些需求是由各國努力加強能源安全和減輕價格波動的長期協議所推動的。鑑於這些充滿希望的發展，我們對液化天然氣運輸的前景保持樂觀。

Thank you for your attention. We now have concluded the presentation and invite you to ask any questions you may have. Thank you.

感謝您的關注。我們現在已經結束了演示，並邀請您提出任何問題。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Our first question is from Ben Nolan with Stifel.

我們的第一個問題來自本·諾蘭和斯蒂菲爾。

So really, my only question is, I believe that the current credit facility matures about a year from now and would come current -- would be shown as a current liability. Curious where things stand with respect to refinancing that? Is this -- given where interest rates are, are you sort of waiting until it is close to or at maturity, just because of the delta and interest rates between what you have and what you could or would be paying? Or I don't know -- I don't want to put words in your mouth. What's the plan on the credit facility?

所以，實際上，我唯一的問題是，我相信當前的信貸安排將在大約一年後到期，並將成為流動資金 - 將顯示為流動負債。好奇再融資方面的狀況如何？考慮到利率水平，您是否會等到它接近或到期時，僅僅因為您擁有的金額與您可以或將要支付的金額之間的增量和利率？或者我不知道——我不想把話塞到你嘴裡。信貸安排有何計畫？

Yes, Ben. No, we are in active discussions. It's not something that we want to leave for the last minute. In any case, the swap can run. It doesn't have to be back-to-back with the existing loans. So we are in active discussions. We do see demand for LNG projects from financial institutions. I can't comment on the time line, but I can tell you this is a live project.

是的，本。不，我們正在積極討論。這不是我們想在最後一刻才離開的事。無論如何，交換都可以運作。它不必與現有貸款背靠背。所以我們正在積極討論。我們確實看到金融機構對液化天然氣計畫的需求。我無法評論時間線，但我可以告訴你這是一個即時專案。

Okay. And as you are -- can you maybe give some sense as to how you're thinking about what the new financing would look like? Is this a similar term debt? Any -- have you gotten any sense as to sort of where the -- assuming there will be some incremental interest costs roughly, how you think about what that would look like?

好的。就您而言，您能否解釋一下您如何看待新的融資會是什麼樣子？這是類似的定期債務嗎？任何 - 您是否知道 - 假設大致會增加一些利息成本，您如何看待那會是什麼樣子？

Well, listen, let me just tell you, obviously, we're in a much better position today compared to where we were in 2019 when we did our credit facility. What I can say is that we're in a much better position to discuss the dividend to common unitholders. So our objective, I can't give you anything -- any other further information. But our objective is for any new financing facility, not to have a prohibition of dividends to the common unitholders, similar to what our credit current facility has. And we believe this is a reasonable ask given where we are today.

好吧，聽著，讓我告訴你，顯然，與 2019 年我們進行信貸安排時相比，我們今天的處境要好得多。我能說的是，我們處於更好的位置來討論普通單位持有人的股息。所以我們的目標是，我不能給你任何東西——任何其他進一步的資訊。但我們的目標是，對於任何新的融資工具，都不會像我們的信用流動工具那樣禁止向普通單位持有人發放股利。我們相信，考慮到我們今天的處境，這是一個合理的要求。

Okay. And maybe any -- just any construct around the appetite of the lenders, is this -- are you finding it to be a broad base of interest from people to provide the capital?

好的。也許任何——只是圍繞貸款人的胃口的任何構想，是這樣的——你是否發現人們對提供資本有廣泛的興趣？

Well, as I said before, we do see the interest from banks and financial institutions. The company has very good contract coverage. So there seems to be interest. Yes.

嗯，正如我之前所說，我們確實看到了銀行和金融機構的興趣。該公司擁有良好的合約覆蓋範圍。所以看來還是有興趣的。是的。

That is all the questions we have for today. I would like to turn the conference back over to Tony for closing remarks.

這就是我們今天要問的所有問題。我想將會議轉回給托尼致閉幕詞。

We appreciate your time and attentiveness. Thank you for your participation and look forward to connecting with you again on our next call. Take care, and goodbye.

我們感謝您的時間和關注。感謝您的參與，並期待在下次通話中再次與您聯繫。保重，再見。

Thank you. This will conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路，感謝您的參與。