Frontline Plc (FRO) 2021 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you all for standing by, and welcome to today's Q2 2021 Frontline Ltd. Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised, the call is being recorded.

感謝大家的支持，歡迎參加今天的 Frontline Ltd. 2021 年第二季財報電話會議。 （接線生說明）請注意，通話正在錄音。

And I would now like to hand the call over to your speaker, Lars Barstad. Thank you.

現在我想將電話轉交給發言人拉爾斯·巴斯塔德 (Lars Barstad)。謝謝。

Thank you. Good morning, and good afternoon. Welcome to Frontline's second quarter earnings call. Different from the first quarter this year, second quarter ended up being quite [beatable].

謝謝。早安，下午好。歡迎參加 Frontline 第二季財報電話會議。與今年第一季不同，第二季的表現相當[可戰勝]。

As many of you have asked quite a few times now, will Frontline try and exploit the weakness in this market to grow further? And I guess, we have answered that now during Q2. We are in some way a three-legged shipping platform with VLCCs, Suezmax and LR2s. Our VLCC leg has been a bit shorter than the others. Now we're amending that somewhat.

正如你們中的許多人多次問過的那樣，Frontline 會嘗試利用這個市場的弱點來進一步發展嗎？我想，我們現在已經在第二季回答了這個問題。在某種程度上，我們是一個擁有 VLCC、Suezmax 和 LR2 的三足航運平台。我們的 VLCC 航段比其他的要短一些。現在我們正在對此進行一些修改。

Parts of the challenges in the market this quarter has been the continuous flareups of COVID infections in various locations around the world. Vaccination has come far in the Western parts. But other parts of the globe are not so fortunate. We remain vigilant towards our seafarers' well-being and are happy to share that our efforts to arrange vaccines for them is going well. In addition, I'd like to mention we are very grateful certain port states are being extremely generous, offering vaccines to seafarers literally for free.

本季市場面臨的部分挑戰是全球各地新冠病毒感染的持續爆發。疫苗接種在西部地區已取得重大進展。但全球其他地區就沒那麼幸運了。我們對海員的福祉保持警惕，並很高興地告訴大家，我們為他們安排疫苗的工作進展順利。此外，我想提一下，我們非常感謝某些港口國非常慷慨，幾乎免費為海員提供疫苗。

So let's move on and have a look at the highlights on Slide 3. Q2 '21 performance reflects the challenges the market faced this quarter. It is, however, a further proof that our business model, efficient operations, modern fleet and a very hardworking chartering team manages to outperform the key benchmarks.

那麼，讓我們繼續看一下幻燈片 3 上的亮點。然而，這進一步證明我們的商業模式、高效運作、現代化機隊和非常勤奮的包機團隊成功超越了關鍵基準。

To put this in perspective, an average weighted earnings index I checked recently for oil tankers came in just over $6,000 per day in Q2 '21, the lowest print in more than 20 years. In order to outperform this, the owners, and in particular, the owners' charters, must fight for every cent and know their position well to be able to play their hands best possible. Regrettably, this is not always the case as far as we can observe.

為了正確看待這一點，我最近檢查的油輪平均加權收益指數在 21 年第二季度僅為每天 6,000 美元多一點，這是 20 多年來的最低水平。為了超越這一點，船東，特別是船東的租約，必須為每一分錢而奮鬥，並充分了解自己的立場，以便能夠最好地發揮自己的作用。遺憾的是，據我們觀察，情況並非總是如此。

Anyway, at Frontline, we do the hard work and managed to achieve $15,000 per day on our VLCC fleet; $11,000 per day on our Suezmax fleet; and $10,600 per day on our LR2/Aframax fleet in the second quarter of this year. So far in Q3, we have booked 70% of our VLCC days at $14,000 per day; 64% of our Suezmax days at $9,800 per day; and 63% of our LR2/Aframax days at $11,800 per day. All numbers in this table are on a load-to-discharge basis.

不管怎樣，在 Frontline，我們付出了艱苦的努力，我們的 VLCC 船隊每天的收入達到了 15,000 美元；我們的 Suezmax 船隊每天 11,000 美元；今年第二季度，我們的 LR2/阿芙拉型船隊每天的費用為 10,600 美元。到目前為止，第三季度，我們已經以每天 14,000 美元的價格預訂了 70% 的 VLCC； 64% 的蘇伊士型油輪日費為每天 9,800 美元； 63% 的 LR2/Aframax 日費為每天 11,800 美元。該表中的所有數字均以負載至放電為基礎。

Before Inger takes you through the financial highlights, let me quickly comment on the acquisitions in the quarter. During Q2, we acquired, through resale, 6 latest-generation ECO-type VLCCs currently under construction at Hyundai in Korea. In addition, we acquired 2 modern ECO-type VLCCs built in 2019 at the same shipyard.

在英格向您介紹財務亮點之前，讓我快速評論一下本季的收購。第二季度，我們透過轉售購買了韓國現代目前正在建造的 6 艘最新一代 ECO 型 VLCC。此外，我們還在同一造船廠購買了 2 艘 2019 年建造的現代化 ECO 型 VLCC。

We have for a period of time followed the VLCC asset market closely to look for opportunities. As we didn't expect an imminent recovery in tanker markets, delivery was a key bargaining chip. The rallying steel prices and high activity around us for non-tanker assets pushing potentially delivery slots way forward added to our conviction in making these investments.

一段時間以來，我們一直密切關注VLCC資產市場，尋找機會。由於我們預計油輪市場不會很快復甦，因此交付是一個關鍵的討價還價籌碼。鋼材價格的上漲和我們周圍非油輪資產的活躍活動推動了潛在的交割期的提前，增強了我們進行這些投資的信心。

I'll now let Inger take you through the financial highlights.

現在我將讓英格帶您了解財務亮點。

Okay. Thanks, Lars, and good morning, and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, following the acquisition of the VLCCs, as Lars mentioned, we have progressed on the loan financing. And in August this year, we obtained financing commitments, subject to final documentation, for 3 senior secured term loan facilities. They are in a total amount of just $247 million. And they will partially finance the acquisition on the 2 VLCCs built in 2019 and 3 of the 6 VLCC newbuilding contracts.

好的。謝謝，拉斯，早安，下午好，女士們先生們。是的，正如拉爾斯所提到的，在收購 VLCC 後，我們在貸款融資方面取得了進展。今年 8 月，我們獲得了 3 項高級擔保定期貸款融資的融資承諾，具體取決於最終文件。它們的總金額僅為 2.47 億美元。他們將為收購 2019 年建造的 2 艘 VLCC 以及 6 艘 VLCC 新建合約中的 3 艘提供部分資金。

All facilities will finance 65% of the market value. They will carry an interest rate of LIBOR plus a margin of 170 basis points. And they will have an amortization profile of 20 years, starting from delivery date from the yard. We intend to establish long-term financing for the remaining 4 resale VLCCs newbuilding contracts closer to delivery of the vessels.

所有設施將為市場價值的 65% 提供資金。它們的利率為 LIBOR 加 170 個基點的利差。它們的攤銷期限為 20 年，從堆場交貨之日算起。我們打算在接近船舶交付時為剩餘 4 艘轉售 VLCC 新合約建立長期融資。

Then I think we should move to Slide 4 and look at the income statement. Frontline achieved total operating revenues, net of voyage expenses, of $80 million and adjusted EBITDA of $28 million in this quarter. And we report a net loss of $26.6 million or $0.13 per share and an adjusted net loss of $23.2 million or $0.12 per share. The adjustments this quarter consist of a $4.7 million loss on derivatives; a $0.8 million gain on marketable securities; and a $1.3 million amortization of acquired time charters; and lastly, a $0.8 million share of losses of associated companies.

然後我認為我們應該轉到第四張投影片並查看損益表。 Frontline 本季實現總營業收入（扣除航程費用）為 8,000 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 2,800 萬美元。我們報告淨虧損為 2,660 萬美元或每股 0.13 美元，調整後淨虧損為 2,320 萬美元或每股 0.12 美元。本季的調整包括衍生性商品損失 470 萬美元；有價證券收益 80 萬美元；所購定期租船的 130 萬美元攤提；最後是聯營公司損失的 80 萬美元份額。

The adjusted net loss in the second quarter decreased $32 million compared with the first quarter. And the decrease was driven by a decrease in our time charter equivalent earnings due to the lower TCE rates, as Lars mentioned; an increase in ship operating expenses of $9.3 million, mainly as a result of higher dry-docking costs; offset by a gain on marketable securities sold in the quarter of $4 million.

第二季調整後淨虧損較第一季減少3,200萬美元。正如 Lars 所提到的，這一下降是由於 TCE 費率較低而導致我們的定期租船等值收入下降所致；船舶營運費用增加 930 萬美元，主要是因為乾塢成本增加；被本季出售的有價證券收益 400 萬美元所抵銷。

Let us then look at balance sheet on Slide 5. The total balance sheet numbers have increased with $64 million in this quarter. The balance sheet movements in the quarter are primarily related to taking delivery of the LR2 tanker from Future and the acquisition of 6 VLCC newbuilding contracts in addition to ordinary debt repayments and depreciation. As of June 30, Frontline has $257 million in cash and cash equivalents, including undrawn amounts under our senior unsecured loan facilities, marketable securities and minimum cash requirements.

然後讓我們看一下投影片 5 上的資產負債表。本季的資產負債表變動主要與從 Future 接收 LR2 油輪以及收購 6 艘 VLCC 新船合約以及普通債務償還和折舊有關。截至 6 月 30 日，Frontline 擁有 2.57 億美元的現金和現金等價物，包括我們的高級無擔保貸款設施、有價證券和最低現金要求下的未提取金額。

Then let us take a closer look at cash breakeven rates on Slide 6. We estimate risk cash cost [per daily rate] for the remainder of 2021 of approximately $21,800 per day for the VLCCs; $7,500 per day for the Suezmax tankers; and $15,400 per day for the LR2 tankers. And the fleet average estimate is about $18,000 per day. These rates are the all-in daily rates that our vessels must earn to cover the budgeted operating costs and dry dock, estimated interest expenses, TCE and bareboat hire, installments on loans and G&A expenses. The highly attractive terms on the updated financing commitments on 4 of the acquired VLCCs, which I mentioned earlier, decreases the daily cash breakeven rates with approximately $1,400 per vessel per day compared to existing financing terms of similar vessels.

然後讓我們仔細看看幻燈片 6 上的現金損益平衡率。蘇伊士型油輪每天 7,500 美元； LR2 油輪每天 15,400 美元。機隊平均預估約為每天 18,000 美元。這些費率是我們的船舶必須賺取的每日總費率，用於支付預算營運成本和乾船塢、估計利息費用、TCE 和光船租金、貸款分期付款以及一般行政費用。我之前提到過，所收購的 4 艘 VLCC 的最新融資承諾條款非常有吸引力，與類似船舶的現有融資條款相比，每艘船每天的現金盈虧平衡率降低了約 1,400 美元。

In the quarter, we recorded OpEx expenses of $7,600 per day for VLCCs; $8,500 per day for Suezmax; and $9,000 per day for LR2. We dry-docked 3 Suezmax tankers in this quarter and 4 LR2 tankers. And we expect to dry-dock 1 VLCC and 2 LR2 tankers in the third quarter and none in the fourth quarter. The graph on the right-hand side of this slide shows that if we assume $30,000 on top of the daily fleet average cash cost per daily rate of $18,000, Frontline will generate a cash flow per share after the service cost of $3.51 per year. And the cash generation potential will increase after acquisition of the 8 VLCCs.

本季度，我們記錄了 VLCC 每天的營運支出為 7,600 美元；蘇伊士型油輪每天 8,500 美元； LR2 每天 9,000 美元。本季我們進塢了 3 艘 Suezmax 油輪和 4 艘 LR2 油輪。我們預計第三季將有 1 艘 VLCC 和 2 艘 LR2 油輪進乾船塢，第四季則不會進塢。這張投影片右側的圖表顯示，如果我們假設每日機隊平均現金成本為 18,000 美元，再加上 30,000 美元，則扣除每年 3.51 美元的服務成本後，Frontline 將產生每股現金流。收購8艘VLCC後，現金產生潛力將增加。

With this, I leave the word to Lars again.

說到這裡，我再次向拉斯轉告。

Thank you, Inger. So let's look at Slide 7 and recap the second quarter tanker market. So global oil consumption averaged 96.7 million barrels per day in Q2 '21. That's up 2.1 million barrels per day from Q1 '21. Production averaged 94.9 million barrels per day. Hence, the world continued to draw about 1.8 million barrels from inventories.

謝謝你，英格。讓我們來看看幻燈片 7，回顧一下第二季的油輪市場。因此，2021 年第二季全球石油消費量平均為 9,670 萬桶/日。比 21 年第一季每天增加 210 萬桶。平均產量為每天 9,490 萬桶。因此，全球繼續從庫存中消耗約 180 萬桶。

Just to put that in perspective, when you go from inventories, you're not really using that much transportation. And as a rule of thumb on tanker utilization, you need about 30 VLCC equivalents in order to transport 1 million barrel of oil per day. So this kind of draw represents a loss of 30 to 35 VLCC equivalents in demand.

客觀地說，當你從庫存中取出時，你並沒有真正使用那麼多的運輸工具。根據油輪利用率的經驗法則，每天需要運輸 100 萬桶石油，大約需要 30 艘 VLCC 當量。因此，這種減少意味著 VLCC 需求量減少 30 至 35 艘。

The tanker rate gradually slipped throughout the quarter and volatility faded. OPEC+ did increase supply by more than 1 million barrels per day during Q2 '21. The key OPEC producers also went into higher-demand periods, typically in the Middle East, where summer hits and you start to basically burn oil or fuel for electricity generation.

油輪運價在整個季度逐漸下滑，波動性減弱。 OPEC+ 在 21 年第二季確實增加了超過 100 萬桶/日的供應量。歐佩克主要產油國也進入了需求較高的時期，特別是在中東，夏季到來時，人們開始基本上燃燒石油或燃料來發電。

U.S. and Brazil added another 900,000 barrels per day. Most of the Brazilian additions came out as exports. But for U.S., they're also seeing a very strong growth in demand, hence less barrels were exported out of the U.S. Gulf. Demand rose sharply in North America and Greater Europe whilst Asia, that led the recovery, saw a far more muted development in the second quarter of the year.

美國和巴西每天又增加 90 萬桶。巴西新增的大部分產品都是作為出口產品。但對美國來說，他們也看到需求成長非常強勁，因此從美國海灣出口的石油減少了。北美和大歐洲的需求大幅成長，而引領復甦的亞洲在今年第二季的發展則要溫和得多。

As illustrated in the two charts below, where we basically isolated North America, Europe and Eurasia, we see that during Q2, demand there rose sharply whilst the rest of the world, and in particular Asia, and as I mentioned that led the recovery towards 2021, has performed kind of -- performed less first half this year.

如下兩張圖表所示，我們基本上孤立了北美、歐洲和歐亞大陸，我們看到在第二季度，那裡的需求急劇上升，而世界其他地區，特別是亞洲，正如我所提到的，這導致了復甦2021 年，表現有點——今年上半年表現較少。

So let's move over to Slide 8 and look at the tanker order books. New ordering has naturally been muted during the second quarter of '21. We've observed that the delivery window for ordering a significant number of VLCCs or Suezmaxes is now firmly into 2024. This is obviously due to all the ordering activity for asset classes kind of outside of the tanker space. The overall tanker order book for VLCCs, Suezmax and LR2 has shrunk 10% year-to-date. The overall order book for tankers above 10,000 deadweight tons stands at 8% of the existing fleet. And this is, in fact, comparable to levels seen in Q1 1997. In absolute deadweight terms, we are at a 20 years low.

讓我們轉到幻燈片 8，查看油輪訂單簿。 21 年第二季新訂單自然減少。我們觀察到，訂購大量 VLCC 或蘇伊士型油輪的交付窗口現已確定為 2024 年。今年迄今為止，VLCC、Suezmax 和 LR2 的整體油輪訂單減少了 10%。 10,000載重噸以上的油輪訂單總量佔現有船隊的8%。事實上，這與 1997 年第一季的水準相當。

I'd also like to put this in some perspective. 20 years ago, the global oil consumption was around or at 76 million barrels per day. A normalized market now is closer to 100 million, if not above. So it means that the oil market is 30% larger now than in early 2000 and the order book is just about the same size. The VLCC order book is now at 81 units, give or take. At the same time, 124 VLCCs will be above or past 20 years in the same period. For Suezmax, we are at 41 units and 123 passing 20 years on the same metrics.

我也想從某個角度來看這個問題。 20年前，全球石油消費量約為每天7,600萬桶。現在，正常化的市場人口即使不是超過一億，也接近一億。因此，這意味著現在的石油市場比 2000 年初擴大了 30%，而訂單規模卻大致相同。 VLCC 訂單量目前為 81 艘，無論大小。同時，同期還有124艘VLCC的船齡將超過或超過20年。對於蘇伊士型油輪，按照相同的指標，我們的產量為 41 艘，20 年過去了 123 艘。

Let's move to Slide 9 and look at oil in transit. This is a very important indicator to us. We monitor this basically on a monthly basis to see where we are. Oil in transit is basically oil being transported, so in essence, excluding whatever is on storage. And as you can see on -- I've kind of circled in 2020 in a red rectangle here. And as you can see, 2020 was a very noisy year for oil transportation. We started off the year with the Saudi-Russian price war, which distorted Q1 and Q2, and we had a massive production increase and transportation increase.

讓我們轉到幻燈片 9，看看運輸中的石油。這對我們來說是一個非常重要的指標。我們基本上每月都會對此進行監控，以了解我們的情況。運輸中的石油基本上是正在運輸的石油，因此本質上不包括儲存的石油。正如您所看到的，我在這裡用紅色矩形圈出了 2020 年。正如你所看到的，2020 年對於石油運輸來說是非常喧鬧的一年。今年開始，沙烏地阿拉伯和俄羅斯的價格戰扭曲了第一季和第二季度，我們的產量和運輸量大幅增加。

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and we had -- and we saw a demand shock that suddenly kind of took away a lot of production and also then transportation needs. And Q3 and Q4, the transportation needs diminished almost back to 2017 levels. Floating storage did save tank utilization at the time. First half of '21, the tanker markets have -- well, basically, volume has increased and transportation has grown. But we've been facing increased fleet supply by vessels released from storage and delivery of newbuilds, together with seeing deep inventory draws.

然後，新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 大流行來襲，我們看到了需求衝擊，突然帶走了大量生產，然後還有運輸需求。第三季和第四季，運輸需求幾乎回落至2017年的水準。浮動儲存當時確實節省了儲罐利用率。 21 年上半年，油輪市場——嗯，基本上，數量增加了，運輸量也增加了。但我們一直面臨新造船從儲存和交付中釋放出來的船隊供應增加，以及庫存大量減少的情況。

Now -- where we are now, this is obviously, July and August for Q3, we're back to Q4 2019 levels. OECD commercial inventories are now down to 2019 levels. And I believe or we believe that's a fair proxy for global inventories. There is also another thing to note, when inventories are no longer drawn, transported oil will come into play.

現在 - 我們現在所處的位置，顯然是第三季的 7 月和 8 月，我們回到了 2019 年第四季的水平。經合組織商業庫存現已降至 2019 年水準。我相信或我們相信這是全球庫存的公平代表。還有一點要注意的是，當庫存不再出現時，運輸的石油就會發揮作用。

As an example of this, EIA are currently estimating us to build 1 million barrels of oil per day for September. But then come October, we're supposed to draw 0.5 million barrels per day from inventories. That gives you a delta of 1.5 million barrels, which then needs to be transported. That's equivalent to the demand for 45 to 48 VLCC equivalents. And I think this gives you kind of a notion of how quickly this can turn.

舉個例子，EIA 目前估計我們 9 月每天生產 100 萬桶石油。但到了 10 月份，我們應該每天從庫存中提取 50 萬桶。這就產生了 150 萬桶的增量，然後需要運輸。這相當於 45 至 48 艘 VLCC 的需求。我認為這可以讓你了解這種情況的轉變速度有多快。

Now let's move to Slide 10. I focused a bit on this in our press release. And I call it the VLCC fleet paradox. This is almost the same for Suezmaxes. But I decided to point out this for the VLCCs. We may all speculate in what the older generation of VLCCs are doing. But it is undisputable that a 20-year-old vessel will struggle as a very limited number of charters accept them. And this is purely on age.

現在讓我們轉到投影片 10。我稱之為 VLCC 艦隊悖論。蘇伊士型油輪的情況幾乎相同。但我決定針對 VLCC 指出這一點。我們可能都會猜測老一代的 VLCC 正在做什麼。但毫無疑問的是，一艘擁有 20 年船齡的船舶將會陷入​​困境，因為接受它們的租船數量非常有限。這純粹是年齡的問題。

With the challenging trading environment we've had during first half this year, earnings achieved on non-ECO, high-consuming vessels have been 0 or negative. And mind you, 51 vessels are above 20 years as we speak. Year-to-date, 8 VLCCs are reported sold for recycling. The average recycling price in Asia has risen 70% in the same period and is now close to $25.5 million for a VLCC.

由於今年上半年貿易環境充滿挑戰，非ECO、高消耗船舶實現的收益為0或負值。請注意，截至我們發言時，已有 51 艘船的船齡超過 20 年。據報道，今年迄今，已有 8 艘 VLCC 被出售用於回收。同期，亞洲的平均回收價格上漲了 70%，目前 VLCC 的平均回收價格接近 2,550 萬美元。

Well, one of the typical exits for an older vessel in the tanker world is crude oil storage. Well, crude oil curves turn into backwardation in Q4 last year and are not at all supporting floating storage. So far this year, we've seen 3 VLCC spot fixtures reported on a vessel that's either 20 years or older than that. And this is out of the 660 VLCC fixtures we recorded.

嗯，油輪世界中舊船的典型出口之一是原油儲存。那麼，去年第四季原油曲線就變成了現貨溢價，根本不支援浮動庫存。今年到目前為止，我們已經看到 3 艘 VLCC 現場固定裝置被報告在一艘船齡超過 20 年或更老的船上。這是我們記錄的 660 艘 VLCC 中的一個。

So again, I want to highlight this because it is important and it's very important looking at the previous slide, where we are in the cycle on oil being transported. If it is so that the effective tonnage actually hasn't grown over the last couple of years, then we're closer to balance than we might think we are. And this is, as I mentioned in the press release, kind of distorts the picture to such an extent that it needs to be basically addressed.

所以，我想再次強調這一點，因為這很重要，而且看上一張投影片非常重要，我們正處於石油運輸的周期中。如果過去幾年有效噸位實際上沒有成長，那麼我們比我們想像的更接近平衡。正如我在新聞稿中提到的，這有點扭曲了情況，以至於需要從根本上解決這個問題。

So let me sum up on Slide 11. Demand and supply of oil continues to rise. But we have to admit the Delta-type infections cloud the outlook, in particular in Asia. We see asset prices remain firm, steel prices continue to rise. And the activity is very good on the yards but for non-tanker assets. At the same time, the tanker fleet continues to age, the overall order book shrinks and the potential delivery window moves further out, should demand for tankers pick up.

讓我對投影片 11 進行總結。但我們必須承認，三角洲型感染給前景蒙上陰影，尤其是在亞洲。我們看到資產價格維持堅挺，鋼材價格持續上漲。對於非油輪資產而言，船廠的活動非常好。同時，油輪船隊持續老化，整體訂單量萎縮，如果油輪需求回升，潛在的交付窗口也會進一步拉長。

OPEC+ plan to add about 400,000 -- no, sorry -- yes, 400,000 barrels per day each month until the end of the year. This means in total 2 million barrels per day of increased supply. And go back to the math for -- we then would need 60 to 65 VLCC equivalents by the end of the year. Oil in transit continues to rise. And the big question mark is obviously, when do we reach the inflection points?

OPEC+ 計劃每月增產約 40 萬桶——不，抱歉——是的，每天增產 40 萬桶，直到年底。這意味著每天供​​應總量增加 200 萬桶。回到數學上來——到今年年底，我們將需要 60 到 65 艘 VLCC。過境石油持續上漲。顯然，最大的問號是，我們什麼時候會達到轉折點？

I would like to draw your attention to the chart at -- below or at the bottom of the slide. I showed you this last quarter as well. And as the orange dot indicates, this is where we were in March this year. So we're -- basically, we're gradually digging ourselves in from negative year-on-year growth in global oil trade into positive territory. And since last, Frontline has increased its position significantly. We have secured attractive financing and are ready to capitalize as we sail on towards the expected recovery.

我想提請您注意幻燈片下方或底部的圖表。我上個季度也向您展示了這一點。正如橙色點所示，這就是我們今年三月的情況。因此，基本上，我們正​​在逐步從全球石油貿易的年比負成長轉向正成長。自去年以來，Frontline 的地位顯著提高。我們已經獲得了有吸引力的融資，並準備好在我們朝著預期復甦的方向前進時利用資本。

Thank you very much. And I would then like to open for questions.

非常感謝。接下來我想請大家提問。

(Operator Instructions) The question is from the line of Randy Giveans from Jefferies. (Operator Instructions) The question is from the line of Magnus Fyhr from H.C. Wainwright.

（操作員說明）此問題來自 Jefferies 的 Randy Giveans。 （操作員說明）該問題來自 H.C. 的 Magnus Fyhr。溫賴特。

Looking at the performance in the fleet in the third quarter, I mean, compared to some of the peers, looked like you had a little bit better performance. I know it's hard to compare quarter-to-quarter, but you've been consistently outperforming the peers. So was there anything else in the quarter? Or is there any other flavor you can give on the performance in the third quarter?

看看第三季機隊的表現，我的意思是，與一些同行相比，看起來你們的表現要好一些。我知道很難進行季度與季度的比較，但你們的表現一直優於同業。那麼本季還有其他事情嗎？或者您對第三季的表現還有什麼其他的看法嗎？

Well, it's a good question. This is one of the things that we obviously try to analyze. Well, obviously, when you compare to peers, there is an aspect of fleet composition and the age of your fleet. And so that does play a part. But it doesn't account for all the (inaudible) outperformance. It's also kind of staying true to the fact that we are shipowners, we have assets we need to protect. And we need to kind of try as hard as we can to get our clients to understand that and not kind of give in.

嗯，這是一個好問題。這顯然是我們試圖分析的事情之一。嗯，顯然，當你與同行進行比較時，有一個方面是機隊的組成和機隊的年齡。所以這確實發揮了作用。但這並不能解釋所有（聽不清楚）的優異表現。這也是忠於這樣一個事實：我們是船東，我們擁有需要保護的資產。我們需要盡最大努力讓我們的客戶理解這一點，而不是屈服。

And it's also about a modern fleet, in addition to economics, it also gives you more opportunities to trade around. You basically have all options. So that's an important fact as well as you try to triangulate your vessels in order to achieve kind of higher utilization and better returns. I hope that's a good answer to your question.

而且還關乎現代化的艦隊，除了經濟之外，還為你帶來更多的貿易機會。基本上你有所有的選擇。因此，這是一個重要的事實，您嘗試對您的船隻進行三角測量，以實現更高的利用率和更好的回報。我希望這是對你的問題的一個很好的答案。

Yes. No, that's -- also, I mean, you're painting a -- was going into the abyss here, rates are very weak. We're in the weakest part of the year. You mentioned that the fleet growth may not be as high if you adjust for the age composition of the fleet. But do you have any visibility into the winter market? I mean, we're still in August, I know it's a little bit early. But I was just curious, your outlook here for a recovery in the fourth quarter.

是的。不，那是——而且，我的意思是，你正在描繪——這裡正在陷入深淵，利率非常疲軟。我們正處於一年中最弱的時期。您提到，如果根據機隊的年齡組成進行調整，機隊增長可能不會那麼高。但您對冬季市場有了解嗎？我的意思是，我們還在八月，我知道現在有點早。但我只是好奇你對第四季復甦的展望。

Well, we -- it's -- the share volatility of the freight market tells you that we know very little, to be quite honest. But on the other hand, we fix kind of far ahead, so we actually do see the demand quite early. And in that perspective, what we see is that what we basically -- now we're doing September dates in the Middle East and West Africa, and it looks quite good as to volumes. We've seen rates in Suezmax actually try to edge up a little bit. We are also fixing October -- early October dates out of U.S. Gulf. And that looks relatively busy in the beginning as well. So I won't kind of give you any guarantees, but the picture looks a bit better than it did 2 weeks ago.

嗯，老實說，我們——貨運市場的份額波動告訴你，我們知之甚少。但另一方面，我們提前解決了這個問題，所以我們實際上很早就看到了需求。從這個角度來看，我們看到的是，我們基本上 - 現在我們正在中東和西非進行 9 月的約會，而且就銷量而言看起來相當不錯。我們已經看到蘇伊士型油輪的運價實際上試圖小幅上漲。我們也正在確定 10 月 - 10 月初從美國海灣出發的日期。一開始看起來也相對繁忙。所以我不會給你任何保證，但圖片看起來比兩週前好一些。

Okay. Well, that's good. Just one last question then, on the S&P market, you've been active buying some resales. Just curious if you see any opportunities in the secondhand market. There was a vessel -- I guess, there was a non-ECO 2012-built vessel reported last week at a pretty big discount. I don't know if that was just a one-off transaction or an indication of a potential weakness here in the secondhand market. I don't know if you can give any color on that.

好的。嗯，那很好。最後一個問題是，在標準普爾市場上，您一直在積極購買一些轉售商品。只是好奇您是否在二手市場上看到了任何機會。有一艘船——我猜，上周有報道稱有一艘非 ECO 2012 年建造的船，折扣相當大。我不知道這是否只是一次性交易，還是二手市場潛在疲軟的跡象。我不知道你是否可以對此給出任何顏色。

I think kind of the -- if there is a curve on values, I think kind of the softer spot is kind of the middle-aged generation and particularly if it doesn't have a scrubber, so -- because the older vessels, like the really old ones, they've been held up by this artificial demand from kind of undisclosed accounts that want to use the vessel for whatnots. And then the modern vessels are obviously the ones everyone wants to own as we go into a tightening regulatory framework and face all sorts of efficiency kind of demands going forward.

我認為，如果價值觀有一條曲線，我認為中年一代的軟弱點尤其是如果沒有洗滌器，所以，因為較舊的船隻，比如對於那些真正老的人來說，他們一直被來自某種未公開帳戶的人為需求所阻礙，這些帳戶想要使用該船隻進行任何用途。隨著我們進入收緊的監管框架並面臨未來各種效率要求，現代船舶顯然是每個人都想擁有的船舶。

And that keeps kind of these vessels in the middle a little bit kind of out of fashion. So I'm not too worried about that transaction because basically, from what I see on -- you could kind of -- you can argue that a very modern vessel or a resale or a newbuild is more correlated to (inaudible) prices themselves, and eventually, to the steel price. And as long as that is holding up, I'm not too worried by kind of -- for the modern part of the fleet.

這使得這些位於中間的容器有點過時了。所以我不太擔心這筆交易，因為基本上，從我所看到的——你可以說——你可以說，一艘非常現代化的船舶或轉售或新建船舶與（聽不清楚）價格本身更相關，最終影響鋼材價格。只要這種情況持續下去，我就不太擔心艦隊的現代化部分。

Next question is from the line of Jon Chappell from Evercore.

下一個問題來自 Evercore 的 Jon Chappell。

Inger, so you've lined up $130 million for 2 of the 6 VLCC newbuilds. Should we assume that you're looking for similar percent about -- by my math, around 70% financing, so another $260 million to be taken down for the remaining 4?

Inger，您已經為 6 艘 VLCC 新建船舶中的 2 艘準備了 1.3 億美元。我們是否應該假設您正在尋找類似的百分比——根據我的計算，大約 70% 的融資，因此另外 4 家公司需要另外支付 2.6 億美元？

Yes, I will be looking for that. Yes, I see that.

是的，我會尋找那個。是的，我明白了。

Okay. So if we take that $390 million plus the drawdown on the Hemen facility, that's the majority of the payment on this. I think that only leaves like $74 million in cash outlay for the 6 newbuilds. Is that the type of financing in total you're looking for? Or when you get the bank facilities for the remaining 4 ships, would you have to pay that back to Hemen facility immediately?

好的。因此，如果我們將這 3.9 億美元加上赫門設施的提款，那就是這筆款項的大部分。我認為這 6 艘新船的現金支出只剩下大約 7,400 萬美元。這就是您正在尋找的融資類型嗎？或者當您獲得剩餘 4 艘船的銀行融資時，您是否需要立即將其還給赫門融資？

We will use this Hemen facility as a bridge financing at the moment. And then we will continue -- or we will consider in a way a bit further down the road our options on the long-term financing for the equity portion of these vessels.

我們目前將使用赫門貸款作為過渡融資。然後我們將繼續——或者我們將進一步考慮我們對這些船舶股權部分的長期融資的選擇。

Okay. And then in addition to the Hemen facility expiring in May of '22, which obviously you pushed that back several times, and it's probably a safe bet to assume you could push it back further if you'd like. Are there any other big bullet payments or amortization profiles coming up in the next, let's call it, 12 to 18 months as we kind of bridge to the recovery that Lars talked about.

好的。然後，除了 Hemen 設施將於 22 年 5 月到期之外，顯然您已將其推遲了好幾次，可以肯定的是，如果您願意，您可以進一步將其推遲。在接下來的 12 到 18 個月內，我們是否會出現任何其他大筆付款或攤銷情況，我們可以為 Lars 談到的復甦做好準備。

No, there is nothing until 2023.

不，2023 年之前什麼都沒有。

Okay, great. So generally speaking, you feel good about the liquidity profile, it's now just finalizing the debt on the last 4 newbuilds and kind of holding on until the market recovers. Is that correct?

好的，太好了。所以一般來說，你對流動性狀況感覺良好，現在剛完成最後 4 艘新船的債務，並在市場復甦之前繼續持有。那是對的嗎？

Yes. That is correct, yes.

是的。這是正確的，是的。

All right, great. Well, that's all I had. I think liquidity is important to getting you there.

好吧，太好了。嗯，這就是我所擁有的一切。我認為流動性對於實現這一目標非常重要。

Our next question is from Randy Giveans from Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Randy Giveans。

Lars and Inger, can you hear me now?

拉斯和英格，你們現在聽得到我說話嗎？

Yes, we can.

我們可以。

Yes, we can.

我們可以。

Excellent. Congrats, obviously, Lars, on the official promotion to CEO, so exciting times for that.

出色的。顯然，恭喜拉斯正式晉升為首席執行官，這是一個令人興奮的時刻。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Two questions. Clearly, Frontline has been pretty active in acquiring tonnage. Is this strategy to continue to grow the fleet that way? Or will you now maybe look to sell some older assets?

兩個問題。顯然，Frontline 在獲取噸位方面一直非常積極。這是繼續擴大機隊規模的策略嗎？或者您現在可能會考慮出售一些舊資產嗎？

Well, after -- almost every time we speak, it's difficult to kind of give you the playbook kind of here on the air, if at all. But we obviously keep all options open. So I'm not going to dismiss it nor kind of confirm it. But we will always look at our fleet composition. And we favor the more modern units. So that could be a part of our strategy going forward, yes.

好吧，幾乎每次我們講話時，都很難向您提供現場直播的劇本（如果有的話）。但我們顯然保留所有選擇。所以我不會否認它，也不會確認它。但我們將始終關注我們的機隊組成。我們更喜歡更現代化的單位。所以這可能是我們未來策略的一部分，是的。

Okay. That's fair. And then looking at your quarter-to-date rates, they are pretty good, relative, right? Do those include any recently signed time charters? Have you signed any of those this summer? And then we start to see some rates ticking up on the product side. Is that maybe the start of a recovery or still too early to tell?

好的。這還算公平。然後看看你的季度至今的利率，它們是相當不錯的，相對的，對嗎？其中包括最近簽署的期租合約嗎？今年夏天你簽了其中的任何一個嗎？然後我們開始看到產品方面的一些利率上升。這可能是復甦的開始，還是現在下結論還太早？

The first question first. So we haven't done any time charters. And it's a very good question because short-term time charters, we record as spot and we haven't done any of those.

首先第一個問題。所以我們還沒有簽訂任何期租合約。這是一個非常好的問題，因為短期期租，我們記錄為現貨，但我們還沒有這樣做。

Secondly, on the LR2 market you're referring to, yes, it's firming out in Asia and it's actually quite strong. We like to think it has legs, but it's -- we've been kind of disappointed a few times now when it's had (inaudible), had one back in April as well. So it's -- let's say, the jury is out.

其次，在您提到的 LR2 市場上，是的，它在亞洲正在走穩，而且實際上相當強勁。我們喜歡認為它有腿，但事實上，我們已經有幾次感到失望了，因為它有（聽不清楚），四月也有腿。所以，可以說，目前還沒有定論。

What we have done, in the meantime, is actually cleaning up one of our LR2s. So we're -- kind of the balance is more tilted towards the cleanup with 7 of the 20 vessels trading dirty and then obviously 13 clean and ready to rumble in that market.

同時，我們所做的實際上是清理我們的一架 LR2。因此，我們的平衡更傾向於清理，20 艘船舶中有 7 艘處於骯髒狀態，然後顯然有 13 艘是乾淨的，準備在該市場上隆隆作響。

Okay. (inaudible) 13, all right.

好的。 （聽不清楚）13，好的。

And there are no further questions at this time, please continue. Magnus wishes to ask a question again.

目前沒有其他問題，請繼續。馬格努斯想再問一個問題。

On the cleanup of the LR2 -- just a follow-up question on the cleanup of that LR2, can you just tell me a little bit about the process and the length of time and when you'll be ready to clean -- just the process of getting it to trade cleaner products?

關於 LR2 的清理——只是關於 LR2 清理的後續問題，您能否告訴我一些有關過程、時間長度以及何時準備好清理的信息——只是讓它交易清潔產品的過程？

Well, there are different avenues. And obviously, in this case, we found an opportunity to actually wash the tanks and at a reasonable cost and have a voyage -- a following voyage lined up already. But that's more luck than kind of skill, I must admit. But normally, the way you do it is you start kind of -- you need -- in order to trade properly as a clean ship, you need to have the last 3 cargoes kind of clean. So the first cleaning cargo could be condensate and then you might move into another product. And then finally, you're actually able to transport like a gas oil or gasoline even. And then by that, you basically clean up the vessel. But that kind of experience means that you sometimes need to discount freight in order to get to that point.

嗯，有不同的途徑。顯然，在這種情況下，我們找到了一個機會，以合理的成本實際清洗儲罐並進行航行——下一個航行已經在排隊。但我必須承認，這更多的是運氣而不是技巧。但通常情況下，你這樣做的方式是你開始——你需要——為了作為一艘乾淨的船正常交易，你需​​要讓最後 3 批貨物保持乾淨。因此，第一個清潔貨物可能是冷凝水，然後您可能會轉向另一種產品。最後，您實際上甚至可以像瓦斯油或汽油一樣運輸。然後，你基本上就清理了容器。但這種經驗意味著你有時需要折扣運費才能達到這一點。

So basically, what we look at is if there is a $750,000 to $1 million spread between the two markets and we can line something up, we will basically start the process of cleaning that LR2. Obviously, switching the other way, you can do it instantly. But in this case, we actually decided to invest some money in doing the physical clean. And that meant that we could -- depending obviously on the charter and each requirement, we managed to -- within a relatively short time on one voyage, we managed to become a properly clean vessel.

所以基本上，我們關注的是，如果兩個市場之間存在 75 萬到 100 萬美元的價差，並且我們可以進行一些調整，我們基本上將開始清理 LR2 的過程。顯然，換個方式，你可以立即做到這一點。但在這種情況下，我們實際上決定投入一些錢進行物理清潔。這意味著我們可以——顯然取決於租船合約和每項要求，我們成功地——在一次航行中相對較短的時間內，我們成功地成為一艘適當清潔的船隻。

So from the time you wash the tanks to carrying gasoline, what's the timing of that?

那麼從洗油箱到裝汽油，時間是怎麼樣的呢？

I would -- in this case, it was probably approximately 25 to 30 days.

我會——在這種情況下，可能需要大約 25 到 30 天。

So that 3 cargoes didn't apply because you washed the tanks or...

所以這 3 批貨物不適用，因為你洗了坦克或...

No. Yes. Otherwise, it would have taken longer, yes.

不，是的。不然的話，時間會更長，是的。

And there are no further questions now. Please continue.

現在沒有其他問題了。請繼續。

Okay. If that was all, thank you very much for listening in on a busy day kind of on reporting. And we will soldier on at Frontline. And hopefully, next quarter, we can report a completely different situation in the market. Thank you.

好的。如果這就是全部，非常感謝您在忙碌的一天中收聽報告。我們將堅守在前線。希望下個季度我們能夠報告市場完全不同的情況。謝謝。

That concludes our conference for today. You may all disconnect. Thank you all for participating.

我們今天的會議到此結束。你們都可以斷開連線。感謝大家的參與。