Dorian LPG Ltd (LPG) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Dorian LPG First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加 Dorian LPG 2024 年第一季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Ted Young, Chief Financial Officer. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

我現在想將會議交給首席財務官特德·楊 (Ted Young)。謝謝您，接下來就交給您了，先生。

Thank you, Ryan. Good morning, everyone, and thank you all for joining us for our first Fiscal Quarter 2024 Results Conference Call. With me today are John Hadjipateras, Chairman, President and CEO of Dorian LPG Limited; John Lycouris, Chief Executive Officer of Dorian LPG USA; and Taro Rasmussen, Vice President of Chartering. As a reminder, this conference call webcast and a replay of this call will be available through August 9, 2023.

謝謝你，瑞安。大家早上好，感謝大家參加我們的第一次 2024 財季業績電話會議。今天與我在一起的有 Dorian LPG Limited 董事長、總裁兼首席執行官 John Hadjipateras； John Lycouris，Dorian LPG USA 首席執行官；和租船副總裁塔羅·拉斯穆森 (Taro Rasmussen)。謹此提醒，本次電話會議網絡直播和本次電話會議的重播將持續到 2023 年 8 月 9 日。

Many of our remarks today contain forward-looking statements based on current expectations. These statements may often be identified with words such as expect, anticipate, believe or similar indications of future expectations. Although we believe that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that any forward-looking statement will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors as well as general economic conditions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those we express today.

我們今天的許多言論都包含基於當前預期的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述通常可以用諸如期望、預計、相信或類似的未來預期指示等詞語來識別。儘管我們相信此類前瞻性陳述是合理的，但我們不能向您保證任何前瞻性陳述都將被證明是正確的。這些前瞻性陳述受到已知和未知的風險和不確定性以及其他因素以及一般經濟狀況的影響。如果這些風險或不確定性中的一項或多項成為現實，或者基本假設或估計被證明是不正確的，則實際結果可能與我們今天所表達的結果存在重大差異。

Additionally, let me refer you to our unaudited results for the period ended June 30, 2023, that were filed this morning on Form 10-Q. Also, please refer to the investor highlight slides posted this morning on our website to accompany today's discussion. Finally, please refer to our previous filings on Form 10-K, where you'll find risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements.

此外，請允許我向您介紹我們截至 2023 年 6 月 30 日的未經審計的業績，該業績於今天上午以 10-Q 表格形式提交。另外，請參閱今天早上在我們網站上發布的投資者亮點幻燈片，以配合今天的討論。最後，請參閱我們之前提交的表格 10-K，其中您會發現可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述存在重大差異的風險因素。

With that, I'll turn over the call to John Hadjipateras.

這樣，我會將電話轉給約翰·哈吉帕特拉斯 (John Hadjipateras)。

Thank you, Ted. Good morning from pleasantly sunny Stanford, Connecticut. Thank you for joining, John, Ted, Taro Rasmussen, who is calling in on behalf of Tim, who's on vacation, and me, to discuss our first quarter financial 2024 results.

謝謝你，特德。康涅狄格州斯坦福，陽光明媚，早上好。感謝約翰、泰德、塔羅·拉斯穆森（Taro Rasmussen）代表正在度假的蒂姆和我打電話來討論我們 2024 年第一季度的財務業績。

The quarter's results reflect a strong freight environment with Dorian earning a time charter equivalent exceeding $50,000 million per day. We generated $46.5 million of free cash flow, which more than funded our $40 million dividend last quarter. Including the dollar dividend declared on July 27, we will have returned nearly $610 million to our shareholders since our IPO.

該季度的業績反映了強勁的貨運環境，Dorian 每天的定期租船收入超過 500 億美元。我們產生了 4,650 萬美元的自由現金流，超過了上季度 4,000 萬美元的股息。包括 7 月 27 日宣布的美元股息在內，自 IPO 以來，我們將向股東返還近 6.1 億美元。

To strike the right balance in our capital allocation approach, our Board considers current and expected freight market conditions, the company's capital and operating needs, our net debt to total capitalization, which is roughly 32% at present as well as potential strategic opportunities.

為了在我們的資本配置方法中取得適當的平衡，我們的董事會考慮了當前和預期的貨運市場狀況、公司的資本和運營需求、我們的淨債務佔總資本的比例（目前約為32%）以及潛在的戰略機會。

Regarding fleet renewal, 25 ships with a useful life of approximately 25 years implies replacing 1 ship per year. We capitalized on a good set of market dynamics to build 1 ship and to charter in 3 more on initial 7-year terms with options. These fleet renewal deals were economically attractive as the chartered-in ships give us market exposure, optionality on length and the potential upside of the [purchase] options while not requiring a large upfront investment. We price optionality in our investment decisions as we continue to evaluate fleet renewal and other opportunities.

在船隊更新方面，25艘使用壽命約為25年的船舶意味著每年更換1艘船舶。我們利用一系列良好的市場動態建造了一艘船，並以最初 7 年期的期權租用了另外 3 艘船。這些船隊更新交易在經濟上具有吸引力，因為包租的船舶為我們提供了市場曝光度、長度選擇權以及[購買]選項的潛在優勢，同時不需要大量的前期投資。隨著我們繼續評估機隊更新和其他機會，我們在投資決策中對選擇性進行了定價。

We see increasing demand for LPG, both for residential and for commercial use in the petrochemical markets, supported by the relative cheapness of LPG versus naphtha and LPG's lighter environmental footprint.

我們看到石化市場對液化石油氣的需求不斷增加，無論是住宅用途還是商業用途，這得益於液化石油氣相對於石腦油的相對便宜以及液化石油氣對環境的影響較小。

With additional delays expected due to the well-publicized drought conditions in the Panama Canal, we hope that our choice to charter in 3 ships whose beam enable them to transit both the Panamax and the Neopanamax locks will be rewarded.

由於巴拿馬運河廣為人知的干旱狀況，預計會有更多延誤，我們希望我們選擇包租 3 艘船的船樑能夠通過巴拿馬型船和新巴拿馬型船閘能夠得到回報。

It is appropriate to mention the importance of our business of our relationships with our charterers to whom we are committed to provide safe, reliable and clean transportation and with our people at sea and onshore to whom we commit to provide a safe, inclusive and equitable workspace.

值得一提的是，我們與承租人的關係以及我們與海上和陸上人員的關係非常重要，我們致力於為他們提供安全、可靠和清潔的運輸，我們致力於為他們提供安全、包容和公平的工作空間。

These priorities, we believe equips us to deliver the best returns for our investors and a productive collaboration between our charterers and seagoing and shore staff help us achieve efficiencies and reduced fuel consumption and emissions as we evaluate and deploy new energy-saving devices.

我們相信，這些優先事項使我們能夠為投資者提供最佳回報，並且我們的承租人與海運和岸上工作人員之間的富有成效的合作有助於我們在評估和部署新的節能設備時提高效率並減少燃料消耗和排放。

I should also mention that in response to the crisis, which continues to affect a number of our Ukrainian and Russian seafarers and their families, we introduced flexible arrangements for joining and repatriation, added free Internet on board, supplemented medical insurance, and are providing a monthly allowance for displaced families.

我還應該提到，為了應對這場繼續影響我們一些烏克蘭和俄羅斯海員及其家人的危機，我們推出了靈活的加入和遣返安排，增加了船上免費互聯網，補充了醫療保險，並提供流離失所家庭的每月津貼。

The current freight market level supports an optimistic financial outlook for the second quarter ending September 30. Our cautious approach to capital allocation will continue to guide our decisions as I hand over to Ted.

當前的貨運市場水平支持截至 9 月 30 日的第二季度的樂觀財務前景。在我將工作交給 Ted 時，我們對資本配置的謹慎態度將繼續指導我們的決策。

Thanks, John. My comments today will focus on the recent capital allocation events, our financial position and liquidity and, of course, our unaudited first quarter results.

謝謝，約翰。我今天的評論將重點關注最近的資本配置事件、我們的財務狀況和流動性，當然還有我們未經審計的第一季度業績。

At June 30, 2023, we reported $155.5 million of free cash, which was net of the $40.5 million in dividends paid in the quarter. As of yesterday, we had $174.4 million of free cash, reflecting the current favorable market environment and free cash flow generation. Also, as previously disclosed, we'll pay another $1 per share dividend as an irregular dividend or roughly $40 million in total of dividends on or about September 6 to shareholders of record as of August 10.

截至 2023 年 6 月 30 日，我們報告了 1.555 億美元的自由現金，扣除本季度支付的 4050 萬美元的股息。截至昨天，我們擁有 1.744 億美元的自由現金，反映了當前有利的市場環境和自由現金流的產生。此外，正如之前披露的那樣，我們將在 9 月 6 日左右向截至 8 月 10 日登記在冊的股東額外支付每股 1 美元的不定期股息，即總計約 4000 萬美元的股息。

We fixed the interest rates on the Captain Markos dual fuel and Crest Japanese financings during the quarter and fixed the Cougar Japanese Financing in late July with an effective start date in August following its next principal payment. With those fixings in place, our weighted average cost of debt is about 4.7%, which is actually below the current 1- and 3-month SOFR rates, which are around 5.3%.

我們在本季度固定了 Captain Markos 雙燃料和 Crest 日本融資的利率，並在 7 月底固定了 Cougar 日本融資的利率，並在下一次本金支付後的 8 月開始生效。實施這些調整後，我們的加權平均債務成本約為 4.7%，實際上低於當前 1 個月和 3 個月 SOFR 利率（約 5.3%）。

Our next refinancing event is at the end of December 2026, which is the BALCAP facility. We amortized about $13.2 million in principal per quarter or slightly less than $53 million annually, which we consider quite manageable and largely in line with our book depreciation.

我們的下一次再融資活動將於 2026 年 12 月結束，即 BALCAP 融資。我們每季度攤銷本金約 1,320 萬美元，每年略低於 5,300 萬美元，我們認為這相當容易管理，並且與我們的賬面折舊基本一致。

With a debt balance at quarter end of $650.3 million, our debt to total book capitalization stood at 42% and our net debt to total book capitalization at 32%. With well-structured and attractively priced debt capital, an undrawn revolver and 1 debt-free vessel, coupled with our strong cash balance, we have a comfortable measure of financial flexibility. We continue to expect our cash cost per day for the coming year to be approximately $23,000 per day, excluding capital expenditures for dry docking and scrubbers.

截至季度末的債務餘額為 6.503 億美元，我們的債務佔賬面資本總額的 42%，淨債務佔賬面資本總額的 32%。憑藉結構良好且價格有吸引力的債務資本、一支未提取的左輪手槍和一艘無債務船隻，再加上我們強勁的現金餘額，我們擁有良好的財務靈活性。我們仍然預計來年每天的現金成本約為每天 23,000 美元，不包括幹船塢和洗滌器的資本支出。

For discussion of the first quarter results, you may also find it useful to refer to the investor highlight slides posted this morning on our website.

對於第一季度業績的討論，您可能還會發現參考今天早上在我們網站上發布的投資者亮點幻燈片很有用。

Turning to our first quarter chartering results, we achieved a total utilization of 98% for the quarter with a daily TCE, that's time charter equivalent over operating days as those terms are defined in our filings of $51,156, yielding a utilization adjusted TCE of about $50,142 which is our TCE revenue per available day. Though sequentially lower than last quarter's results, the TCE still represents an attractive free cash flow to equity given our $23,000 a day cash cost.

談到我們第一季度的租船結果，我們在該季度的總利用率達到了98%，每日TCE 相當於運營天數的定期租船，因為這些條款在我們的文件中定義為51,156 美元，利用率調整後的TCE 約為50,142 美元這是我們每個可用日的 TCE 收入。儘管連續低於上季度的業績，考慮到我們每天 23,000 美元的現金成本，TCE 仍然代表著具有吸引力的股本自由現金流。

Spot TCE per available day, which reflects our portion of the net profits of the Helios Pool for the quarter, was about $51,356. Also, overall, the Helios Pool reported a spot TCE, including COAs, of approximately $58,280 per available day for the quarter.

每個可用日的現貨 TCE 約為 51,356 美元，反映了我們在本季度 Helios Pool 淨利潤中所佔的份額。此外，總體而言，Helios Pool 報告本季度每個可用日的現貨 TCE（包括 COA）約為 58,280 美元。

We know that the previous guidance that we had given about using the trailing 2-month Baltic did not hold true this quarter, which we attribute to more concentrated voyage bookings in May. This clumping reflects the regular ebb and flow of the VLGC trade.

我們知道，我們之前給出的關於使用過去 2 個月波羅的海航線的指引在本季度並不適用，我們將其歸因於 5 月份的航程預訂更加集中。這種聚集反映了 VLGC 貿易的規律性潮起潮落。

Daily OpEx for the quarter was $10,094 excluding drydocking related expenses, which was sequentially down from last quarter's $10,304.

本季度的每日運營支出為 10,094 美元，不包括幹塢相關費用，比上季度的 10,304 美元有所下降。

Crew costs trended down and other cost categories contributed to the reduction as well.

船員成本呈下降趨勢，其他成本類別也促成了下降。

Our time chartering expense for the 5 time chartered-in vessels totaled $10.5 million consistent with our guidance last quarter. Note that the crystal ball, which delivered on July 10, 2023, will increase total TCN expense for the current quarter ending September 30 to approximately $12.2 million.

我們 5 艘期租船舶的期租費用總計 1,050 萬美元，與我們上季度的指導一致。請注意，水晶球於 2023 年 7 月 10 日交付，將使截至 9 月 30 日的當前季度的 TCN 總費用增加至約 1220 萬美元。

Our total G&A for the quarter was $9.2 million and cash G&A, which is G&A excluding noncash compensation expense, was about $8.4 million. That number included $2.2 million of cash bonuses paid during the quarter. And it also included about $100,000 in support of the families of our seafarers affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Taking account of those 2 items, our core G&A came in at about $6.1 million, which is largely consistent with our expectations.

本季度的一般管理費用總額為 920 萬美元，現金一般管理費用（即不包括非現金補償費用的一般管理費用）約為 840 萬美元。這一數字包括本季度支付的 220 萬美元現金獎金。它還包括約 10 萬美元，用於支持受俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭影響的我們海員的家人。考慮到這兩項，我們的核心管理費用約為 610 萬美元，這與我們的預期基本一致。

Our reported adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $74.8 million.

我們報告的本季度調整後 EBITDA 為 7,480 萬美元。

Turning to interest expense, which, as you'll recall, we view as the sum of the line items of interest expense, excluding deferred financing fees and other loan expenses and realized gain/loss on interest rate swap derivatives, we reported cash interest expense for the quarter of $8 million. The sequential decrease versus the March 31 quarter was largely the impact of a full quarter of interest on the Captain Markos dual-fuel facility and higher SOFR rates on our floating rate Japanese financings, which are now fixed.

至於利息費用，正如您所記得的那樣，我們將其視為利息費用各行項目的總和，不包括遞延融資費用和其他貸款費用以及利率掉期衍生品的已實現損益，我們報告了現金利息費用本季度收入為800 萬美元。與 3 月 31 日季度相比，環比下降主要是由於 Captain Markos 雙燃料設施的整個季度利息以及我們浮動利率日本融資的 SOFR 利率上升（現已固定）的影響。

Where we currently hold an 85.5% economic interest in Helios, we do not consolidate its P&L or balance sheet accounts, which has the effect of somewhat understating our cash and working capital. Thus, we believe it's useful to provide some additional insight in order to give a more complete picture.

我們目前持有 Helios 85.5% 的經濟權益，但我們沒有合併其損益表或資產負債表賬戶，這在一定程度上低估了我們的現金和營運資本。因此，我們認為提供一些額外的見解以提供更完整的情況是有用的。

As of Tuesday, August 1, 2023, the pool had roughly $15 million of cash on hand. The dividend declared last week of $1 per share brings to $9.50 the total dividends that we have paid in the last 9 quarters.

截至 2023 年 8 月 1 日星期二，該資金池手頭約有 1500 萬美元現金。上周宣布的每股 1 美元股息使我們過去 9 個季度支付的股息總額達到 9.50 美元。

Well, many investors and analysts like to suggest that these dividends are no longer irregular, we underscore that they are indeed irregular and subject to the discretion of our Board and the various factors that John previously outlined in his comments. VLGC rates are not regular and thus, we don't think our dividend policy should be either.

好吧，許多投資者和分析師喜歡認為這些股息不再是不規則的，我們強調它們確實是不規則的，並受到我們董事會的酌處權以及約翰之前在評論中概述的各種因素的影響。 VLGC 的利率並不固定，因此，我們認為我們的股息政策也不應該是固定的。

Together with our open star -- open market stock repurchases and our $113.5 million self-tender offer, we will have returned in excess of $610 million to our shareholders since our IPO. The significant dividend payments in the last year underscore our Board's commitment to a sensible capital allocation policy that balances market outlook operating and capital needs of the business, including fleet renewal and an appropriate level of risk tolerance given the volatility in shipping and general and VLGC rates in particular.

加上我們的公開之星——公開市場股票回購和我們 1.135 億美元的自要收購要約，自 IPO 以來，我們將向股東返還超過 6.1 億美元。去年的大額股息支付突顯了我們董事會對合理資本分配政策的承諾，該政策旨在平衡市場前景運營和業務資本需求，包括船隊更新以及考慮到航運、普通和VLGC 費率波動的適當水平的風險承受能力尤其。

With a solid freight market backdrop, we remain cautiously optimistic about our cash flow generation over the coming months. With that, I'll pass it over to Taro Rasmussen.

在堅實的貨運市場背景下，我們對未來幾個月的現金流產生保持謹慎樂觀。接下來，我會將其交給塔羅·拉斯穆森 (Taro Rasmussen)。

Thank you, Ted. Good day, everyone, and thank you for dialing in. The first quarter fiscal year 2024 saw increased global seaborne trade of LPG. The April, June 2023 period was the strongest quarter on record in terms of seaborne LPG trade. This is seen on Slide 5 of our accompanying slide deck.

謝謝你，特德。大家好，感謝您撥通電話。2024 財年第一季度全球液化石油氣海運貿易有所增加。 2023 年 4 月至 6 月期間是海運液化石油氣貿易有記錄以來最強勁的季度。這可以在我們附帶的幻燈片的第 5 張幻燈片中看到。

Regarding seaborne LPG trade, North American exports were buoyed by weak domestic consumption during the tail end of the mildest winter since 2010 and a warmer-than-normal summer, minimizing the need for early crop drying. This was amidst continued record-setting production levels.

就海運液化石油氣貿易而言，北美出口受到2010年以來最溫和的冬季末期和比正常情況溫暖的夏季國內消費疲軟的提振，最大限度地減少了農作物提前乾燥的需要。這是在生產水平持續創紀錄的情況下發生的。

The quarter ending June 2023 was the quarter with the highest export volumes on record from North America. Middle East export volumes for the quarter also set a record for highest exports, although exports into India grew modestly. Southeast Asia and China absorbed much of the Middle East exports.

截至 2023 年 6 月的季度是北美出口量有記錄以來最高的季度。儘管對印度的出口略有增長，但本季度中東出口量也創下了最高出口記錄。東南亞和中國吸收了中東的大部分出口。

The healthy import demand into China was partly driven by increased demand for propane as a feedstock for the pet chem industry. This was a factor seen in the prior quarter but also the quarter ending June 2023. For Far East's steam crackers, propane was at about an average 15% discount to naphtha in January through March, but an average 30% discount April through June for making 1 ton of ethylene. This testifies to the attractiveness of propane over the quarter.

中國健康的進口需求部分是由於作為石油化工原料的丙烷需求增加所致。這是上一季度以及截至2023 年6 月的季度中出現的一個因素。對於遠東的蒸汽裂解裝置，1 月至3 月丙烷比石腦油平均折扣約15%，但4 月至6 月平均折扣30%。 1噸乙烯。這證明了丙烷在本季度的吸引力。

Regarding the development of the freight market over the quarter, historically, the April-June period for the VLGC freight market is characterized by an upward correction in the front and softening as summer approaches.

從本季度貨運市場的發展來看，從歷史上看，4-6月期間VLGC貨運市場的特點是前期向上修正，並隨著夏季的臨近而趨於疲軟。

In 2023, however, the start of summer surprised positively with worries of a summer lull quickly eroding. This was affirmed as the East of Suez market saw the BLPG1, the benchmark Arabian Gulf Chiba rate, correct significantly upwards from the beginning of the quarter with the momentum carrying through the period, somewhat unusually for the Eastern market, laycans were reaching more than 1 month ahead of the fixing window in April.

然而，2023 年夏季的到來令人驚喜，人們對夏季平靜的擔憂很快消失。這一點得到了證實，因為蘇伊士東部市場看到BLPG1（阿拉伯灣千葉基準匯率）從本季度初開始大幅向上修正，並且這一勢頭貫穿整個時期，這對於東部市場來說有些不尋常，外行匯率達到了1 以上比四月份的修復窗口提前一個月。

This is significant as the fixing of tonnage, just a month ahead of laycans tends to indicate stronger demand and a firming freight market but also raises the likelihood of inefficiencies due to delays. The west of Suez market mirrored the east of Suez market, April saw an upward adjustment in activity and the widening arbitrage facilitated an upward correction in the freight market, as Mont Belvieu prices declined at a faster pace than Far East delivered prices.

這一點意義重大，因為噸位的確定（比外裝船提前一個月）往往表明需求強勁和貨運市場堅挺，但也增加了因延誤而導致效率低下的可能性。蘇伊士西部市場與蘇伊士東部市場基本一致，4月份市場活躍度向上調整，套利擴大推動運價市場向上調整，貝爾維尤山價格下跌速度快於遠東交貨價格。

This is seen on Slide 4 of our accompanying slide deck. For most of the quarter, laycans were being fixed about 8 weeks forward, the benchmark Houston Chiba rate, the BLPG3 steadily rose from the start of the quarter from about $102 per metric ton to about $184 per metric ton by the end of the quarter. Particularly towards the end of the quarter when the freight market improved, we saw Far East importers concentrated on vessels scheduled for September arrival to begin stockpiling for the winter.

這可以在我們隨附的幻燈片的幻燈片 4 中看到。在本季度的大部分時間裡，外延罐在大約 8 週後得到修復，休斯頓千葉基準費率 BLPG3 從本季度初穩步上漲，從每噸約 102 美元到本季度末每噸約 184 美元。特別是在本季度末，貨運市場有所改善時，我們看到遠東進口商集中在預定於 9 月份抵達的船隻上，開始為冬季儲存庫存。

To wrap up, about 20 VLGCs have been delivered in the first half of 2023, including our own new builds and about more are forecasted to be delivered in the second half of the year. Absorption of the 2023 order book was a primary concern previously, but increasing seaborne trade, healthy demand for LPG and inefficiencies in the market allowed for a positive quarter.

總而言之，2023 年上半年已交付約 20 艘 VLGC，其中包括我們自己的新建船，預計下半年將交付更多。此前，吸收 2023 年訂單是主要關注點，但海運貿易的增加、液化石油氣的健康需求以及市場效率低下使得季度出現積極增長。

The positive market fundamentals for VLGCs remain in place as the focus soon shifts to the inventory building season in the Far East which will provide further market support. And it seems oversupply risk in 2023 has been mitigated to a large extent. Thank you.

VLGC 積極的市場基本面依然存在，因為焦點很快轉移到遠東的庫存建設季節，這將提供進一步的市場支撐。而且2023年的供給過剩風險似乎已經得到很大程度的緩解。謝謝。

I will now pass over to Mr. John Lycouris.

我現在請約翰·萊庫里斯先生髮言。

Thank you, Taro. We report on the daily scrubber savings realized last quarter by our scrubber-fitted vessels of about $2,740 per calendar day, net of all operating expenses. During the second quarter of 2023, price differentials between the benchmark light-sweet WTI and the medium and heavy-sour crudes narrowed as refining margins declined on supply and demand concerns.

謝謝你，太郎。我們報告稱，上季度配備脫硫塔的船舶每天可節省脫硫塔約 2,740 美元，扣除所有運營費用。 2023 年第二季度，由於供需擔憂導致煉油利潤下降，基準輕質 WTI 原油與中質和重質高硫原油之間的價差縮小。

The average fuel cost differential in the last quarter between high sulfur fuel oil and very low sulfur fuel oil, the Hi-5 spread as it is called, was $169.3 million per metric ton less than the VLSFO fuel. In the next quarter, we expect a further narrowing of that spread as the middle distillate market supply has grown while the high-sulfur residual fuel supply has tightened.

上季度高硫燃料油和極低硫燃料油（即所謂的 Hi-5 價差）之間的平均燃料成本差異比 VLSFO 燃料每噸低 1.693 億美元。下一季度，我們預計隨著中間餾分油市場供應增加而高硫渣油供應收緊，價差將進一步收窄。

With most of the VLGC spot voyages originating from Houston, our LPG dual fuel engine vessels have benefited from the good reliability and the attractive pricing differential of LPG as fuel versus the very low sulfur fuel oil. It currently stands at about $210 per metric ton less than the VLSFO after taking into consideration the energy density differential of the 2 fuels.

由於大部分 VLGC 現貨航程均從休斯頓出發，我們的液化石油氣雙燃料發動機船舶受益於液化石油氣燃料與極低硫燃料油相比的良好可靠性和有吸引力的價差。考慮到兩種燃料的能量密度差異，目前每噸比 VLSFO 低約 210 美元。

On the technical front, during the recent dry docking of 1 of our vessels, we completed the retrofit of a scrubber unit, thus increasing our fleet of scrubber vessels to 13.

在技​​術方面，在我們最近對一艘船舶進行幹塢時，我們完成了洗滌器裝置的改造，從而將我們的洗滌器船隊增加到 13 艘。

Installations of energy saving devices on our vessels are continuing as we also continue in reviewing new devices, like for example, wind assisted propulsion or air lubrication.

我們正在繼續在船舶上安裝節能設備，同時我們也在繼續審查新設備，例如風力輔助推進或空氣潤滑。

We are progressing with the implementation of engine power limitation on our vessels in compliance with the 2023 EEXI regulations, and with installation of engine software upgrades that are expected to improve our CII ratings on our vessels.

我們正在按照 2023 年 EEXI 法規在船舶上實施發動機功率限制，並安裝發動機軟件升級，預計將提高我們船舶的 CII 評級。

In July, the IMOs MEPC Committee met and adopted a revised greenhouse gas strategy that aspires to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Also to ensure a peak in emissions is reached as soon as possible. The committee also set intermediate checkpoints on the total amount greenhouse gas emissions, indicating at least a 20% reduction needed by 2030 and a 70% reduction by 2040. It also agreed that to achieve such emission targets, there will need to be an increase in the uptake of 0 and near 0 greenhouse gas emission technologies on new fuels and energy sources, all of which should comprise about 5% to 10% of the energy used in shipping by 2030.

7 月，IMO 的 MEPC 委員會召開會議並通過了修訂後的溫室氣體戰略，旨在到 2050 年實現淨零排放，同時確保盡快達到排放峰值。委員會還對溫室氣體排放總量設定了中間檢查點，表示到2030年至少需要減少20%，到2040年需要減少70%。委員會還同意，要實現這樣的排放目標，需要增加在新燃料和能源上採用零和接近零溫室氣體排放技術，到2030 年，所有這些技術應佔航運能源使用量的約5% 至10%。

Life cycle assessment guidelines were also adopted that address the well to wake greenhouse gas intensity of marine fuels. Some further development is anticipated in the next committee meetings regarding methodologies, default emission factors, sustainability aspects and certification processes for these fuels.

還採用了生命週期評估指南，以解決船用燃料從油井到喚醒的溫室氣體強度問題。預計在接下來的委員會會議上將就這些燃料的方法、默認排放因子、可持續性方面和認證流程進行一些進一步的發展。

The global greenhouse gas objectives have become more urgent as we experience daily extreme climate changes around the world. The EU, followed by the IMO more recently, have tightened their greenhouse gas strategies to net 0 emissions by 2050 or earlier, a target that will necessitate significant reductions of greenhouse gas within this decade and the next.

隨著我們每天在世界各地經歷極端氣候變化，全球溫室氣體目標變得更加緊迫。歐盟和國際海事組織最近都緊隨其後，收緊了溫室氣體戰略，以期到2050 年或更早實現淨零排放，這一目標將需要在本十年和下一個十年內大幅減少溫室氣體排放。

After considering the numerous technical and operational improvements being implemented by the marine industry, the EEXI and CII regulations of 2023 and the increased use of alternative marine fuels, we still believe that additional measures will need to be implemented to achieve those tighter greenhouse gas objective for the 2030s and 2040s.

考慮到海洋行業正在實施的眾多技術和運營改進、2023 年的 EEXI 和 CII 法規以及替代海洋燃料的使用增加，我們仍然認為需要採取額外措施來實現更嚴格的溫室氣體排放目標2030 年代和 2040 年代。

In the medium term, we expect that carbon capture and storage will become of those necessary measures much like the socks scrubbers of the 2020s, which will enable the marine industry to transition to more advanced fuels and engine technologies that can produce near zero emissions.

從中期來看，我們預計碳捕獲和儲存將成為那些必要的措施，就像2020 年代的襪子洗滌器一樣，這將使海洋工業能夠過渡到更先進的燃料和發動機技術，可以產生接近零的排放。

And now I would like to pass it over back to John Hadjipateras for closing remarks. Thank you.

現在我想將其轉回約翰·哈吉帕特拉斯 (John Hadjipateras) 作結束語。謝謝。

Thank you. We're happy to take questions.

謝謝。我們很樂意回答問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from the line of Omar Nokta with Jefferies.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Omar Nokta 和 Jefferies 的電話。

I wanted to sort of just follow up on a couple of items you mentioned in your opening remarks and perhaps maybe first on sort of capital allocation. You've added the final of the 4 dual-fuel ships into your fleet here recently.

我想跟進您在開場白中提到的幾個項目，也許首先是資本配置。您最近已將 4 艘雙燃料船中的最後一艘添加到您的艦隊中。

We've got no commitments from here -- or no meaningful commitments. How are you thinking about the strategy of the company, the capital allocation? Obviously, Ted, you're pretty clear with irregular dividends being irregular, you reiterated that. How are you kind of thinking about just the use of capital or use of cash as it comes in?

我們在這裡沒有做出任何承諾——或者說沒有任何有意義的承諾。您如何看待公司的戰略、資本配置？顯然，特德，你很清楚不規則的股息是不規則的，你重申了這一點。您如何看待資本的使用或現金的使用？

Are there more deals available similar to the way you structured those 3 TCNs on the 7-year duration. Can that be repeated? Is that something that's interesting. Maybe just big picture, how do you think about the use of cash going forward?

是否還有更多類似於您在 7 年期限內構建這 3 個 TCN 的方式的交易？可以重複嗎？這是一件很有趣的事情嗎？也許只是大局，您如何看待未來現金的使用？

I think that what you heard is more or less everything we have to say at the moment. It is -- I can't repeat those deals because history kind of repeats itself, but circumstances are not right now, right to do the exact same thing with the exact same ships but similar deals and other opportunities are always in front of us, and we're evaluating them in the context of the discipline that we talked about.

我想你所聽到的或多或少就是我們此刻要說的一切。我不能重複這些交易，因為歷史會重演，但現在的情況不適合用完全相同的船隻做完全相同的事情，但類似的交易和其他機會總是在我們面前，我們正在我們討論的學科背景下評估它們。

Okay. No. That's fair. And then maybe then just sort of thinking about the market, clearly, it's been much stronger than many anticipated, especially with the new building deliveries coming on. It was interesting just hearing the comments about the market.

好的。不，那是公平的。然後也許只是考慮一下市場，顯然，它比許多人預期的要強大得多，尤其是隨著新建築的交付即將到來。聽到有關市場的評論很有趣。

And I think one of the things that maybe is somewhat interesting is the fact that despite the OPEC cuts, you noted that the Saudi volumes -- or the Middle East volumes were higher. Is that still the case? Is that a surprise? Normally, we would have assumed that crude production declines have an associated decline of LPG. What's happened there to cause that decline not to happen this time?

我認為可能有點有趣的事情之一是，儘管歐佩克減產，但您注意到沙特或中東的產量更高。現在還是這樣嗎？這是一個驚喜嗎？通常情況下，我們會假設原油產量下降會導致液化石油氣產量下降。到底發生了什麼，導致這次沒有出現這種下降？

Yes. It's -- well, there's 2 elements to that. One is that when you see crude production cuts, that doesn't include gas production. So a lot of the LPG that we carry is associated with natural gas.

是的。這是——嗯，有兩個要素。一是當你看到原油產量削減時，這並不包括天然氣產量。因此，我們攜帶的許多液化石油氣都與天然氣有關。

And the other is timing. And you never know with the production part, especially with Saudi Arabia, whether there will be fully implemented, partly implemented or not implemented at all, it's kind of a bit all over the place. So I can't really -- I can't say that what we've seen is we can use to predict what will happen.

另一個是時機。你永遠不知道生產部分，特別是沙特阿拉伯，是否會完全實施、部分實施或根本不實施，有點到處都是。所以我真的不能——我不能說我們所看到的是我們可以用來預測將會發生什麼。

Another aspect going back to your question before about our investment how we're looking at deploying cash, et cetera. Ted pointed out to me, of course, that it's also -- we're also mindful of the cyclicality of our market, and that it's a question of whether now is the right time or in the cycle, which we can never play.

另一方面回到你之前關於我們的投資的問題，我們如何考慮部署現金等等。當然，特德向我指出，我們也注意到市場的周期性，這是一個問題，現在是否是正確的時機，還是在我們永遠無法玩弄的周期中。

But that's why I said, given the 25-ship fleet, which is approximately where we are, and a 25-year life, which is approximately what it is, you really kind of as a guide to stand still, you should be doing the equivalent of 1 ship a year. Not all -- not -- probably every year, but over time, sort of trailing period average, you should be doing that to be keeping the same kind of fleet age profile and exposure and basically to be able to offer a quality product to our charterers.

但這就是為什麼我說，考慮到擁有25 艘船的艦隊（大約是我們現在的情況）以及25 年的壽命（大約是這樣），你真的有點像站在原地不動的指南，你應該這樣做相當於一年1艘船。並非所有 - 不是 - 可能每年，但隨著時間的推移，某種尾隨期間的平均水平，您應該這樣做，以保持相同的機隊年齡概況和曝光度，並且基本上能夠為我們提供優質的產品租船人。

Yes, definitely. And maybe just one more. Just kind of thinking about the -- I think I noticed in your fleet table, a couple of vessels that were in the pools have been put on time charter here. Any color you can give on what those charters look like?

當然是。也許還有一個。只是想一下——我想我注意到在你們的船隊表中，池中的幾艘船已經在這裡進行了定期租船。您可以為這些章程的外觀提供任何顏色嗎？

And then maybe just bigger picture on that, given the strength of the market, has there been a jump in overall opportunities to fix ships out on the medium-term contracts? And is that something that's interesting to you guys?

然後，也許從更大的角度來看，鑑於市場的強勁，修復中期合同船舶的整體機會是否有所增加？你們對此感興趣嗎？

I think if you compare to 6 months ago, there has been a bit more interesting period. It's the kind of interest that you observed when the market spikes really. And you -- and the charterers are incentivized to take -- to commit for longer to save the money upfront.

我認為與 6 個月前相比，現在是一段更有趣的時期。這是當市場真正飆升時你觀察到的那種興趣。你和承租人都會被​​激勵去承諾更長時間以預先節省資金。

So at the moment, there's nothing from our point of view that is actionable. But we're always in the market, and we do have a percentage of our Helios exposure committed on short, medium-term time shutout. We think we have a good product mix, but I'm not sure that we want to disclose exactly what it is.

因此，目前從我們的角度來看，沒有什麼是可行的。但我們始終在市場中，而且我們確實有一定比例的 Helios 敞口致力於短期、中期的停倉。我們認為我們有一個很好的產品組合，但我不確定我們是否想透露它到底是什麼。

It's better for our competitors, for our investors.

這對我們的競爭對手和我們的投資者來說都更好。

Our next question comes from the line of Brian Reynolds with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的布萊恩雷諾茲。

In your prepared remarks, you talked about firming of demand in the LPG market. So just curious if you could discuss whether you're seeing a bottoming in China PDH demand just given some of the deferrals that we've seen on some of those projects?

在您準備好的發言中，您談到了液化石油氣市場需求的堅挺。那麼，您是否可以討論一下，鑑於我們在其中一些項目上看到的一些延期，您是否看到中國 PDH 需求觸底？

And perhaps how could that impact the arb given that we're trading at historical lows for propane and butane as a percentage of crude?

鑑於丙烷和丁烷佔原油的比例處於歷史低位，這可能會對套利產生怎樣的影響？

Yes. Well, Ted will pick that one off. We all have very firm opinions, and we're all aligned on it. So you'll hear the party line from Ted.

是的。好吧，特德會挑選那個。我們都有非常堅定的意見，而且我們都一致同意。所以你會聽到特德的派對台詞。

Look, Brian, as you know, there's a lot of PDH capacity that's come on in China. The economic recovery there has not been as steep as everyone hope, but it's still coming along. So I guess the short answer is we expect to see continued growth. Given the attractive pricing on LPG, it's a good time to build inventories.

Brian，你看，正如你所知，中國有大量的 PDH 容量。那裡的經濟復甦並未像所有人希望的那樣迅速，但仍在繼續。所以我想簡短的答案是我們預計會看到持續增長。鑑於液化石油氣的價格極具吸引力，現在是建立庫存的好時機。

The other thing that's important to recognize in petrochemical demand broadly in Asia, but particularly in China is that a lot of the steam cracker capacity that's come on over the last couple of years and is on the books to come on is actually more flexible than in the past with respect to taking LPG. So we don't think that segment should be overlooked either.

另一件重要的事情是，在亞洲，尤其是在中國，石化產品的需求量很大，過去幾年中新增的以及即將投入使用的許多蒸汽裂解裝置產能實際上比中國更加靈活。過去關於使用液化石油氣的情況。因此，我們認為該細分市場也不應該被忽視。

So I think you look at LPG continuing to be attractively priced on naphtha as Taro talked about. And you look at, I think, what we all believe will be a more sustained, if not a steep economic recovery in China, and I think that sets up pretty well for PDH demand over the coming quarters.

因此，我認為正如塔羅所說，液化石油氣對石腦油的定價仍然具有吸引力。我認為，我們都相信中國的經濟復甦即使不是急劇的，也將是更加持續的，我認為這為未來幾個季度的 PDH 需求奠定了良好的基礎。

Great. Appreciate all that color. And then my second question is just around IMO. With the meeting behind us, just curious if management is looking at any subtle or maybe more than subtle strategic adjustments after the meeting? Or was that kind of in line with the current expectations and future strategic decisions?

偉大的。欣賞所有這些顏色。我的第二個問題是關於 IMO 的。會議結束後，只是好奇管理層是否會在會議後考慮進行任何微妙或可能不僅僅是微妙的戰略調整？或者說這符合當前的預期和未來的戰略決策？

Subtle. John Lycouris, are you capable of being subtle when -- in answering that? We are pursuing a lot of initiatives, but John on the specific IMO results, can you comment for me -- for us, please?

微妙的。約翰·萊庫里斯（John Lycouris），當你回答這個問題時，你能表現得很微妙嗎？我們正在推行很多舉措，但約翰關於具體的 IMO 結果，你能為我發表評論嗎——請為我們發表評論？

Yes. Yes, of course, John. So Brian, it was all expected. The IMO was obliged to tighten the strategy and revise it to 2050, just like everybody else has done. And it was expected. It is what we have been working for that we will be looking at a tighter strategy for greenhouse gas emissions.

是的。是的，當然，約翰。所以布萊恩，這一切都在意料之中。 IMO 有義務收緊戰略並將其修改為 2050 年，就像其他人所做的那樣。這是預料之中的。我們一直在努力尋求更嚴格的溫室氣體排放戰略。

And hence, our comments about doing all that we can and is available to us at this time and looking at new technologies as they come around, but I'm highlighting again the last few lines of my comments would say that we're going to be looking at alternative fuels, at advanced fuels. We will be looking at various measures that we could do, but also carbon capture and storage is one of those measures that we will have to undertake just like we did scrubbers in 2020s.

因此，我們關於盡我們所能並且目前可用的評論，並關注新技術的出現，但我再次強調我評論的最後幾行會說我們將正在尋找替代燃料、先進燃料。我們將研究可以採取的各種措施，但碳捕獲和儲存也是我們必須採取的措施之一，就像我們在 2020 年代採取的洗滌器一樣。

Great. And maybe just a quick follow-up on that. I know you guys are investigating potential CCS technologies for your vessels. Just kind of curious if there's any initial comments from some of your early findings of how that would work on a lot of your fleet and potential CapEx implications there?

偉大的。也許只是對此進行快速跟進。我知道你們正在為你們的船舶研究潛在的 CCS 技術。只是有點好奇您的一些早期發現是否對這將如何在您的許多機隊中發揮作用以及潛在的資本支出影響有任何初步評論？

John, you can continue.

約翰，你可以繼續。

Brian -- yes. Thank you, Brian. The key to carbon capture is marinizing the technology, and reducing the footprint, so it can be installed on board ships. This is what's been going on right now.

布萊恩——是的。謝謝你，布萊恩。碳捕獲的關鍵是使技術海洋化並減少佔地面積，以便可以安裝在船上。這就是現在正在發生的事情。

We think it will happen. And we expect that eventually, we will be able to install marine capture technology on board ships initially to be able to capture part of the CO2, eventually more. It's just a matter of the technology improving in the next few years.

我們認為這會發生。我們預計，最終我們將能夠在船上安裝海洋捕集技術，最初能夠捕集部分二氧化碳，最終捕集更多。這只是未來幾年技術進步的問題。

And it is there. It has been used by industry for decades, the oil and gas industry, and it will be marinized and it will be onboard ships. CapEx will come down, of course, as more sets of technology are being installed on board ships. But I think it is viable and possible and likely.

它就在那裡。它已經被工業界、石油和天然氣工業使用了幾十年，它將被海洋化並安裝在船上。當然，隨著船上安裝更多技術，資本支出將會下降。但我認為這是可行的、可能的、有可能的。

Our next question comes from the line of Climent Molins with Value Investor Edge.

我們的下一個問題來自價值投資者邊緣的克萊門特·莫林斯 (Climent Molins)。

It's been a few months since you took delivery of the first dual-fuel. Could you provide some commentary on the savings you are generating relative to burning VLSFO? And secondly, is there any appetite to explore potential dual-fuel retrofits on the existing fleet?

自您收到第一台雙燃料以來已經過去了幾個月。您能否對燃燒 VLSFO 所節省的費用提供一些評論？其次，是否有興趣探索現有機隊的潛在雙燃料改造？

The answer to your second question is no. The answer to the first question, John Lycouris will provide you.

你的第二個問題的答案是否定的。第一個問題的答案，John Lycouris 將為您提供。

We just mentioned or discussed this, and I'm happy to repeat part of my comments that the benefit of burning LPG as fuel versus very low sulfur fuel oil currently stands at about $210 per metric ton on an energy density adjusted basis because as you probably know, LPG has a higher energy density than low sulfur fuel oil by about 10% or 11%. So -- yes, it is beneficial and it is attractive.

我們剛剛提到或討論了這一點，我很高興重複我的部分評論，即燃燒液化石油氣作為燃料相對於極低硫燃料油的好處目前在能量密度調整的基礎上約為每噸210 美元，因為您可能要知道，液化石油氣的能量密度比低硫燃料油高約10%或11%。所以——是的，它是有益的，而且很有吸引力。

That's helpful. And I also wanted to ask a bit about the Captain John. I mean, you have a modern ECO-fleet, and that would be the sole exception. How do you think about it? Is it kind of non-core? Or are you happy to hold on to it going forward?

這很有幫助。我還想問一些關於約翰船長的事情。我的意思是，你們擁有一支現代化的生態艦隊，這是唯一的例外。你覺得怎麼樣？這是一種非核心的嗎？或者你願意繼續堅持下去嗎？

We're happy with the ship. She is a good performer. And she's not as new as the other ships, but we still consider to be a very viable asset to use. Therefore, we never say no about selling anything. But at the moment, she's not held for sale, put it that way.

我們對這艘船很滿意。她是一位出色的表演者。她不像其他船隻那麼新，但我們仍然認為它是一個非常可行的資產。因此，我們從不拒絕出售任何東西。但目前，她並沒有被出售，這麼說吧。

Yes. And I also Climent, it's worth noting that first, nothing's ever corded shipping, nothing strategic. So like John said, we'll consider anything, but also that ship because when she was constructed actually is ammonia capable to a great degree. So that does provide some optionality as ammonia becomes an increasing part of the decarbonization discussion.

是的。我還有克萊門特，值得注意的是，首先，沒有任何有線運輸，沒有任何戰略性的。所以就像約翰說的，我們會考慮任何事情，但也會考慮那艘船，因為當她建造時實際上在很大程度上具有氨能力。因此，隨著氨越來越成為脫碳討論的一部分，這確實提供了一些選擇。

And Ryan, we are done here, I think. Wishing everybody a happy August and looking forward to seeing you again in October. Thank you.

瑞安，我想我們已經完成了。祝大家八月快樂，期待十月再次見到您。謝謝。

Thank you, sir. The conference of Dorian LPG has now concluded. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝你，先生。 Dorian LPG會議現已結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開線路。