Knot Offshore Partners LP (KNOP) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us, and welcome to the KNOT Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions)

I will now hand the conference over to Derek Lowe. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Karina, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Derek Lowe, and I'm the Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of KNOT Offshore Partners. Welcome to the Partnership's earnings call for the third quarter of 2025. Our websites knotoffshorepartners.com, and you can find the earnings release there along with this presentation.

On slide 2, you will find guidance on the inclusion of forward-looking statements in today's presentation. These are made in good faith and reflect management's current views, known and unknown risks and are based on assumptions and estimates that are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements, and the partnership does not have or undertake a duty to update any such forward-looking statements made as of the date of this presentation. For further information, please consult our SEC filings, especially in relation to our annual and quarterly results. Today's presentation also includes certain non-US GAAP measures and our earnings release includes a reconciliation of these to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

We begin on slide 3 with clearly most material development during -- since Q3 2025, which is our receipt of an unsolicited and nonbinding offer from our sponsor, KNOT, to buy the publicly owned common units for $10 per common unit. The offer is currently being evaluated by the Conflicts Committee of the Board, which is comprised of directors who are not affiliated to KNOT, and they have appointed Evercore and Richard Lakeland Finger, they're independent professional advisers. Given the outstanding nature of that process, I will not be addressing that matter on today's call, and we refer you to the press release that we issued on November 3, and to KNOT's owned 13D filing with the SEC on the same date as those contain all the detail that's currently available.

On slide 4, we have the Q3 financial and operational headlines. Revenues were $96.9 million, operating income of $30.6 million and net income, $15.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $61.6 million. And as of September 30, 2025, we had $125.2 million in available liquidity, made up of $77.2 million in cash and cash equivalents plus $48 million in undrawn capacity on our credit facilities, and that was $20.4 million higher than at June 30. We operated with 99.9% utilization taking into account the scheduled dry docking of (inaudible), which amounts to 96.5% utilization overall. And following the end of Q3, we declared a cash distribution of USD0.06 per common unit, which was paid in November.

On slide 5, we have developments during Q3, most of which you will likely have seen in our update in late September. On July 2, we purchased the docking (inaudible) from our sponsor. The headlines of this are set out on slide 6 and includes seven years of a guaranteed high rate.

Also on July 2, we announced establishment of the buyback program. We purchased just under 385,000 common units at a total cost of just over $3 million, which averages $7.87 per common unit. The program was concluded in October. We completed two refinancings in the quarter, the first was our $25 million revolving credit facility with NTT and the second was for the (inaudible) where we use a sale and leaseback to increase capital by net $32 million. On the contractual front, in August, we obtained an extension with Shell for the (inaudible) Knutsen of up to one year. That is three months firm and then three months also and then nine months at our option. And in September, we secured an extension with Equinor for the (inaudible), which is now contracted through to March 2029 fixed plus two options of one year each.

On slide 7, we have the key developments in the fourth quarter to date. Most materially is the offer from KNOT, which I described earlier. We've completed this year's refinancing schedule with a $71 million loan secured by the Synnøve Knutsen in October and a $25 million revolving credit facility, which was rolled over with SBI Shinsei. And on the contracting front, we have signed a time chart with KNOT for the Fortaleza Knutsen to begin in Q2 2026, which is for one year fixed followed by two charter options each of one year.

Turning to slide 8 for a high-level summary of our current momentum. The chuckle tanker market has been tightening in both Brazil and the North Sea as well, in either case, driven by FPSO start-ups and ramp-ups. Certain of these projects were a long time coming, and it's been encouraging to see them up and running, driving shuttle tanker demand growth. We've extended our backlog as of September 30, 2025, to $963 million of fixed contracts averaging 2.6 years and rather more if all options are exercised. At September 30, our fleet of 19 vessels had an average age of 10 years. We are continuing to repay debt at $95 million or more per year, which we think is prudent with a depreciating asset base. And our robust model has been validated by the four refinancings we've completed in the second half of 2025.

Over slides 10 to 13, we provide the financials for Q3, for which the headlines are revenues of $96.3 million, operating income $30.7 million, net income $15.1 million adjusted EBITDA of $61.6 million and available liquidity at quarter end of $125.2 million, made up of $77.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, plus $48 million in undrawn capacity on our credit facilities, that's $20 million higher than available liquidity at the end of Q2.

On slide 14 is our debt maturity profile, which has been updated to reflect the refinancing since quarter end of the Synnøve Knutsen loan and the second revolving credit facility. Notably, the average margin on our floating rate debt was 2.2% over sofa. We're encouraged by our experience of the refinancing this year and the signal we provide for lenders' appetite to provide refinancing in the future.

Moving on to slide 16 and our charter portfolio. I've covered most of the updates here. But I believe that this is a very useful resource for investors looking to track the primary movements where change is going to go in a highly stable portfolio of cash flows. In other words, when charters turn over and when there are dried docks that will cause off-hire and encourage CapEx costs. Based on current charter rates, we believe the charter's options are likely to be taken up given the strength of the charter market.

On slide 17, you can see our strong coverage through the coming quarters some charters options that market conditions suggest have a good likelihood of being exercised and a small amount of open time. In all, we have 93% of vessel time in 2026 covered by fixed contracts, and 69% in 2027. If all relevant options are exercised, this rises to 98% in 2026 and 88% in 2027.

On slide 18, you can see the drop-down inventory held at the sponsor. Drop-downs have been the route to growth in the fleet throughout the life of the partnership and other means of replenishing and rejuvenating the fleet given the depreciation in our assets.

On slides 19 to 21, we include again some commentary from Petrobras with relevant highlights from the five-year plan they just released for 2026 through to 2030. Overall volumes produced and anticipated product start-up timelines in the pre-salt continue to be in line with or above prior expectations, while CapEx on presale projects comes down marginally. We believe that these materials and fractures provide a useful insight into the Brazilian offshore market, and we would encourage you to review the extensive materials that Petrobras have just published last week for the full picture.

In short, though, from the shuttle tanker owners perspective, there is a lot to like about what Petrobras is saying and importantly in what they're putting into action. Crucially, it is this trackable and measurable activity, including numerous additional FPSOs that have already been funded, but expected to come online in the years ahead that gives us comfort that shuttle tanker demand should readily absorb the current order book. Further, we believe that the current order book still trends towards a medium-term shortage of shuttle tankers when set against the forthcoming production.

To summarize on slide 22. During Q3, we had strong utilization and financial results. We bought the (inaudible) Knutsen, we financed two facilities, including a cash generation via sale and leaseback we secured additional charter cover and paid the quarterly distribution. And so far during Q4, we've received the unsolicited and nonbinding offer from our sponsor KNOT. We've refinanced two further facilities. We've secured the next period of charter coverage for the Fortaleza Knutsen. And we've announced the annual meeting for December 15, which our Board has nominated Ms. Pinilla Asensio, for election as Independent Director.

With that, I'll hand the call back to Karen for any questions. Thank you.

(Operator Instructions) Poe Fratt, Alliance Global Partners.

Just a couple of questions. One on the Fortaleza. Can you give me an appreciation for the potential rate change versus the current time charter with Transpetro when it moves over to not?

We don't comment on individual rates, I'm afraid, but I can't say that we're certainly satisfied with the rate that we'll be getting.

Okay. Can I assume it's a higher rate than -- or directionally, Derek?

Yes, we don't comment on particular rates. I mean you'll appreciate the timing of when this new contract has been signed by comparison with when the previous one we signed some years ago. And obviously, there will be a change in market conditions between the 2 times.

Okay. And then looking at '26 for dry dockings, it looks like it's a pretty active year with at least what probably four, potentially five dry docks.

Yes, that's right.

Okay. And then you added the additional I can't pronounce the name, but (inaudible), but G&A didn't go up at all. Is that something we should continue to look at sort of the G&A at the $1.6 million per quarter range?

Yes, we're not expecting that to change materially. I mean if you're thinking that, that ought to or question whether that should have changed with acquisition of one vessel out of turning '18 into '19, we don't see any material increase in the administrative burdens of one vessel as seen in the G&A.

Yes, just want to double check. And then did I hear you correctly that -- or did I hear you say that the buyback -- the unit buyback program had concluded?

That's right, yes.

So you've -- so you stopped at $3 million instead of going to the full $10 million -- $10 million authorization?

Yes.

Okay. And then -- no, that's it for me. Derek, can I just have to ask, I know you said you couldn't comment it, but can you at least give us a ballpark time frame when you think this independent committee process of evaluating or potentially getting the definitive agreement in place? What a ballpark time frame for that would be.

I'm afraid all the information that's currently available is what's been announced already on November 3, and that was a press release from the partnership and the 13D filing from KNOT. But beyond those, there's nothing further that we can provide (inaudible) comment, I'm afraid.

Yes. Okay. But just mechanically, just so we all understand what the process is you get a definitive agreement, then you'll have to put a proxy out and then you'll have a shareholder vote or (inaudible) vote at some point in time. So it really looks more holistically at least in my mind, that this would be a first quarter event at the earliest.

Yes. I mean, that's in the process that the conflicts committee is going through now. So it's for them to develop with their advisers and obviously in discussion with in response to KNOT in due course.

Great.

Thanks, Poe.

(Operator Instructions) It appears we have no further questions in queue. I will hand the call back to Derek Lowe for closing remarks.

Thank you again for joining this earnings call for KNOT Offshore Partners third quarter in 2025. I look forward to speaking with you following the fourth quarter results, and I encourage you to provide your proxy vote into the annual meeting within the next few days. Thank you.

This now concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.