Navigator Holdings Ltd (NVGS) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the Navigator Holdings Conference Call for the Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results. We have with us Mr. Mads Peter Zacho, Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Oeyvind Lindeman, Chief Commercial Officer; and myself, Randy Giveans, Executive Vice President of Investor Relations and Business Development in North America.

歡迎參加 Navigator Holdings 2023 年第二季度財務業績電話會議。與我們在一起的還有首席執行官 Mads Peter Zacho 先生； Oeyvind Lindeman 先生，首席商務官；我本人是北美投資者關係和業務開發執行副總裁蘭迪·吉文斯 (Randy Giveans)。

I must advise you that this conference is being recorded today. As we conduct today's presentation, we'll be making various forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, the future expectations, plans and prospects from both a financial and operational perspective, and are based on management assumptions, forecasts and expectations as of today's date and are subject to risks and uncertainties.

我必須告訴你，今天的會議正在錄製。當我們進行今天的演示時，我們將做出各種前瞻性陳述。這些陳述包括但不限於財務和運營角度的未來預期、計劃和前景，並且基於截至目前的管理層假設、預測和期望，並受到風險和不確定性的影響。

Actual results may differ significantly from our forward-looking information and financial forecast. Additional information about these factors and assumptions are included in our annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

實際結果可能與我們的前瞻性信息和財務預測存在很大差異。有關這些因素和假設的更多信息包含在我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的年度和季度報告中。

With that, I now pass the floor to Mads Peter Zacho, the company's Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, Mads.

現在我請公司首席執行官麥茲·彼得·扎喬 (Mads Peter Zacho) 發言。請繼續，麥德斯。

Good morning, and thank you for dialing in to the Navigator Gas earnings call. I'll start off by providing a brief overview of our Q2 results and then hand over to Oeyvind and Randy for greater details on business drivers and recent events. Our second quarter results came in similar to Q1 and much stronger than Q2 2022, with revenues of $135 million. Adjusted EBITDA, just below $70 million and net income of $27 million. The result was mainly driven by higher charter rates, whereas vessel utilization was below that of Q1.

早上好，感謝您撥通 Navigator Gas 財報電話會議。首先，我將簡要概述我們第二季度的業績，然後交給 Oeyvind 和 Randy，了解有關業務驅動因素和近期事件的更多詳細信息。我們第二季度的業績與 2022 年第一季度相似，但遠強於第二季度，收入為 1.35 億美元。調整後 EBITDA 略低於 7000 萬美元，淨利潤為 2700 萬美元。這一結果主要是由於租船率上升，而船舶利用率低於第一季度。

Our balance sheet is robust with cash of $180 million at the end of the quarter. The initial $50 million share purchase program was completed in Q2 and a further $25 million authorized as part of our new capital return program, opening up for both dividend payments and for further share buybacks. Utilization came in Q2 at 89%, below the 96% seen in Q1, but higher than Q2 2022, 87%. Terminal throughput ran well above nameplate capacity, 278,000 tons.

我們的資產負債表穩健，截至本季度末現金為 1.8 億美元。最初的 5000 萬美元股票購買計劃已於第二季度完成，作為我們新資本回報計劃的一部分，又授權了 2500 萬美元的股票購買計劃，用於股息支付和進一步股票回購。第二季度的利用率為 89%，低於第一季度的 96%，但高於 2022 年第二季度的 87%。碼頭吞吐量遠高於銘牌容量 278,000 噸。

As previously announced, we grew our vessel capacity through the acquisition of 5 efficient modern secondhand vessels. The takeover was completed faster than originally planned and completed mid-April. Expansion of the Ethylene Export Terminal at Morgan's Point has come off to a good start. And the first installment of $9 million have been paid, we're expecting to pay another $9 million in August. The expansion will give us up to 2 million tons of additional export capacity.

正如之前宣布的，我們通過收購 5 艘高效的現代化二手船來擴大我們的船舶運力。此次接管的完成速度比原計劃要快，並於四月中旬完成。摩根角乙烯出口碼頭擴建工程已取得良好開端。第一期900萬美元已經支付，我們預計8月份再支付900萬美元。此次擴建將為我們帶來高達200萬噸的額外出口能力。

Total CapEx for our share is expected to be around $125 million and completed by the end of next year. We sold Navigator Orion in May, above book value, and we also formed Bluestreak, a joint venture with Bumi Armada to transport CO2 from U.K.-based stranded emitters.

我們股份的總資本支出預計約為 1.25 億美元，並於明年年底完成。我們於 5 月份以高於賬面價值的價格出售了 Navigator Orion，我們還與 Bumi Armada 成立了一家合資企業 Bluestreak，負責運輸來自英國滯留排放源的二氧化碳。

Outlook is good. Q3 utilization is expected to be above 90%, which is high in a historical context. Time charter rates are solid which lays the foundation for another robust EBITDA results in Q3. Terminal throughput in Q3 is expected to remain strong at or above main fleet capacity, and the ethylene continues to flow long distance to Asia. The global handysize order book has not changed much. So in combination with good demand, the sea bourne gas transport and an aging global fleet, we think that the outlook is better than what we've seen for a long time. This is normally the time when the presentation changes to proper English language, albeit with a distinct Irish accent.

前景良好。第三季度利用率預計將超過 90%，處於歷史最高水平。定期租船費率穩定，為第三季度另一個強勁的 EBITDA 業績奠定了基礎。第三季度的碼頭吞吐量預計將保持強勁，達到或高於主船隊的運力，乙烯將繼續長距離運往亞洲。全球靈便型訂單簿沒有太大變化。因此，結合良好的需求、海上天然氣運輸和老化的全球船隊，我們認為前景比我們長期以來看到的要好。這通常是演示文稿更改為正確的英語語言的時間，儘管帶有明顯的愛爾蘭口音。

So this time around, we have to bear with my broken English and the very danglish accent that I have got, I apologize for that.

所以這一次，我們必須忍受我蹩腳的英語和我的口音，對此我深表歉意。

Slide 6, please. The Q2 financial result was a continuation and even slight improvement compared to previous quarter and a clear improvement over the same period last year. The financial result was mainly driven by a stronger top line. Total operating revenue of $135 million was up 9.3% year-on-year, driven mainly by higher TCE rates.

請幻燈片 6。第二季度財務業績較上一季度延續甚至略有改善，較去年同期有明顯改善。財務業績主要是由更強勁的營收推動的。總營業收入為 1.35 億美元，同比增長 9.3%，主要是由於 TCE 率上升。

As you can see from the lower right table, TCE rates came in at $27,241 in average, which is a clear improvement over the $24,630 earned same time last year, and also better than the $25,620 earned in Q1. Utilization also increased to 89.1% (sic) [89.0%] during Q2, up from 87.4% in the same period last year. It was below the exceptional 96% that we achieved in Q1, but as you would appreciate, it's been more than offset by higher TCE rates. Our Greater Bay joint venture, which is 60% owned by us, acquired its final vessel during the second quarter of the year, the third 22,000 cubic meter 2019-built ethylene-capable liquified gas carrier, Navigator Vega, on the April 13 and the vessel acquisition is now completed.

從右下表可以看出，TCE 平均費率為 27,241 美元，比去年同期的 24,630 美元有明顯改善，也比第一季度的 25,620 美元好。第二季度的利用率也從去年同期的 87.4% 增至 89.1%（原文如此）[89.0%]。它低於我們在第一季度實現的 96% 的出色水平，但正如您所知，它已被較高的 TCE 率所抵消。我們持股 60% 的大灣區合資企業於今年第二季度收購了最後一艘船舶，即 2019 年建造的第三艘 22,000 立方米乙烯液化氣體運輸船 Navigator Vega，於 4 月 13 日和船舶收購現已完成。

This also increased vessel available days, which contributed to an increase in revenue during the quarter. You'll note that the operating revenue from the Luna Pool reduced to almost 0. Following the acquisition of the fifth vessel by the Greater Bay joint venture in April, the revenue from these vessels will now be fully consolidated into our financial statements and will not be [shown] as operating revenues or voyage expenses from the Luna Pool collaborative agreements.

這也增加了船舶可用天數，從而促進了本季度收入的增加。大家會注意到，Luna Pool 的營業收入幾乎降為 0。繼 4 月份大灣區合資企業收購第五艘船之後，這些船舶的收入現在將完全合併到我們的財務報表中，並且不會[顯示]為Luna Pool 合作協議的營業收入或航次費用。

Our vessel operating expenses, or OpEx, as we call it, increased by 11.3% to $43 million compared to the same quarter of last year, which resulted in vessel operating expenses per vessel day, increasing 6% year-over-year to [8,500]. This was a reduction from the previous 2 quarters as we continue to focus on our vessel operating costs. Depreciation of our vessels increased slightly by 2.3% or $0.7 million, as the additional Greater Bay venture vessels joined the fleet. Keep in mind that we depreciate all our vessels to their scrap value, recycling value on the 25th anniversary. We realized a book gain of $4.9 million from the sale of Navigator Orion in the month of May.

我們的船舶運營費用（我們稱之為 OpEx）與去年同期相比增長了 11.3%，達到 4,300 萬美元，這導致每船日的船舶運營費用同比增長 6%，達到 [8,500 ]。由於我們繼續關注船舶運營成本，這比前兩個季度有所減少。隨著更多大灣區風險投資船加入船隊，我們船舶的折舊小幅增加 2.3% 或 70 萬美元。請記住，我們會在 25 週年紀念日將所有船隻折舊至其廢品價值和回收價值。 5 月份出售 Navigator Orion 後，我們實現了 490 萬美元的賬面收益。

There was also an unrealized gain on our derivative instruments of $3.2 million during the second quarter as the fair value of our fixed interest rate swaps increased. Interest expense for the second quarter was $16.9 million compared to the $11.5 million for the second quarter of 2022, as a result of higher interest rates on the portion of our debt that is subject to floating interest rates. With fixed interest rates that have interest rate swaps, were just below 50% of our debt. The tax charge for the quarter was $2 million, it is predominantly relating to both cash and deferred taxes on our share to profits from the Ethylene Terminal in Q2.

由於固定利率互換的公允價值增加，第二季度我們的衍生工具還產生了 320 萬美元的未實現收益。第二季度的利息支出為 1,690 萬美元，而 2022 年第二季度的利息支出為 1,150 萬美元，這是由於我們浮動利率債務部分的利率較高。採用具有利率掉期的固定利率，略低於我們債務的 50%。本季度的稅費為 200 萬美元，主要與我們第二季度乙烯終端利潤份額的現金稅和遞延稅有關。

Our share results from the term loan was $6 million in Q2, down from the $6.8 million for the comparative quarter of last year, as a result, lower gas prices and therefore, reduced throughput rates, throughput of 277,582 tons compared to 268,444 tons during the same quarter of last year. Net income for the second quarter was $26.6 million or $0.36 per share.

第二季度我們的定期貸款份額結果為 600 萬美元，低於去年同期的 680 萬美元，因此天然氣價格下降，吞吐量下降，吞吐量為 277,582 噸，而去年同期為 268,444 噸。去年同季度。第二季度淨利潤為 2660 萬美元，即每股 0.36 美元。

If we turn to the balance sheet on Slide 7. You can see that it remains strong with a cash balance of $180 million at June 30. This compares to a minimum liquidity covenant on our bank loans and credit agreements of $50 million. This cash balance is after buying back $50 million worth of (inaudible) shares during the first half of the year. The strong cash balance will be used for capital redistribution, the Ethylene Terminal expansion, and as mentioned earlier, we keep looking for projects and investments that can enhance our shareholder returns.

如果我們看一下幻燈片7 上的資產負債表。您可以看到，截至6 月30 日，現金餘額仍然強勁，現金餘額為1.8 億美元。相比之下，我們的銀行貸款和信貸協議的最低流動性契約為5,000 萬美元。該現金餘額是在今年上半年回購了價值 5000 萬美元（聽不清）的股票後得出的。強勁的現金餘額將用於資本重新分配、乙烯終端擴建，並且如前所述，我們不斷尋找能夠提高股東回報的項目和投資。

While the debt has increased due to the financing of 5 Greater Bay joint venture vessels. Our net debt to capitalization flow at 36.9%, and the net debt to EBITDA amounts to a manageable 3.4x. Following the recent refinancing, the company now has no loan maturities until 2025, as shown on Slide #8, please. Maturities for 2025 includes the $100 million senior unsecured bond, which may or may not be refinanced depending on any investment opportunities that may occur. The 2 bank facilities totaling $190 million will likely be refinanced at a higher than current loan-to-value, as the vessel serving as per natural amongst our younger vessels.

而債務則因5艘大灣區合資船舶融資而增加。我們的淨債務佔資本流動率為 36.9%，淨債務佔 EBITDA 的比例為 3.4 倍，處於可控範圍內。在最近的再融資之後，該公司現在在 2025 年之前沒有貸款到期，請參見幻燈片#8。 2025 年到期的債券包括 1 億美元的高級無擔保債券，該債券可能會也可能不會進行再融資，具體取決於可能出現的任何投資機會。由於該船在我們較年輕的船舶中自然服役，因此總計 1.9 億美元的 2 項銀行貸款可能會以高於當前貸款價值比的價格進行再融資。

So we expect that this refinancing when it occurs in 2025 will be the cash positive event. On Slide #9, we outlined the estimated cash breakeven for 2023 at $19,460 per day. This low level relative to the charter rate market enables us to generate positive EBITDA throughout the shipping cycle.

因此，我們預計 2025 年發生的再融資將是現金積極事件。在幻燈片 #9 上，我們概述了 2023 年預計現金盈虧平衡點為每天 19,460 美元。相對於租船費率市場的較低水平使我們能夠在整個運輸週期中產生正的 EBITDA。

In the box on the right, Slide 8, we provide our daily OpEx expectations for 2023 across our different vessel size segments, ranging from $7,600 per day for the smaller vessels, up to $10,100 per day for the larger, more complex ethylene vessels. We also provide a rate to the expected annual spend for G&A cost for depreciation and for interest expense [preventions].

在右側的方框（幻燈片8）中，我們提供了不同船舶尺寸細分市場2023 年的每日運營支出預期，範圍從小型船舶每天7,600 美元，到較大、更複雜的乙烯船舶每天10,100美元。我們還提供折舊和利息費用[預防]的一般管理費用的預期年度支出率。

On Slide #10, we outlined our historical quarterly EBITDA showing a step-up over the past 7 quarters and a further step-up in this quarter. A trajectory that I mentioned at the outset that we expect to continue at least in the near term. On the right-hand side of Slide 10, we show our historical EBITDA bar, with the last 12 months incorporating the latest quarter and an annualized EBITDA based on this second quarter results.

在幻燈片 #10 上，我們概述了歷史季度 EBITDA，顯示過去 7 個季度的增長以​​及本季度的進一步增長。我在一開始提到的這一軌跡，我們預計至少在短期內會持續下去。在幻燈片 10 的右側，我們顯示了歷史 EBITDA 條形圖，其中包含最近 12 個月的 EBITDA 以及基於第二季度業績的年化 EBITDA。

In addition, the EBITDA bars to the right of those, show the effect of an increase in EBITDA in average charter rates were to increase by increments of $1,000 per day. With this, I'll hand it over to you, Oeyvind. Please go ahead.

此外，右側的 EBITDA 條顯示 EBITDA 增加對平均包機費率的影響，即每天增加 1,000 美元。有了這個，我就把它交給你了，奧伊文德。請繼續。

Thank you, Mads, and good morning all. Moving to Slide 12. After a small drop in U.S. natural gas liquids production during the first quarter, the EIA statistics are currently showing a strong return to U.S. production. The final figures from May came in at a record level of nearly 200 million barrels per day production. U.S. price of LPG is therefore attractive against oil equivalents, measured both in price and energy content. This will continue to support export fundamentals.

謝謝你，麥茲，大家早上好。轉向幻燈片 12。在第一季度美國液化天然氣產量小幅下降之後，EIA 統計數據目前顯示美國產量強勁恢復。 5 月份的最終數據產量達到近 2 億桶/日的創紀錄水平。因此，從價格和能源含量來看，美國液化石油氣價格相對於石油等價物具有吸引力。這將繼續支撐出口基本面。

So far, LPG exports for the month of August this month is up 12% compared to August of '22. These volumes are happening simultaneously to inventory build in Mt Belvieu, Texas. Typically, during summer, inventory build exports are soft, but that's not the case for this year. The impact of recent U.S. natural gas production growth can be seen on the price of ethane on Page 13. It has decreased over the last 2 months, further increasing the competitive price production of American ethylene. The price arbitrage of ethylene to Europe and Asia is widening. The current spread at least to Asia, is about $400 a ton, which is sufficient to allow for terminal handling and freight at decent returns.

到目前為止，本月8月份液化石油氣出口量比2020年8月增長了12%。這些產量與德克薩斯州貝爾維尤山的庫存建設同時發生。通常情況下，夏季期間，出口庫存會疲軟，但今年情況並非如此。近期美國天然氣產量增長的影響可以從第 13 頁的乙烷價格看出。過去 2 個月乙烷價格有所下降，進一步提高了美國乙烯生產的價格競爭力。乙烯對歐洲和亞洲的價格套利正在擴大。目前至少到亞洲的價差約為每噸 400 美元，這足以讓碼頭裝卸和貨運獲得可觀的回報。

Asia Pacific consumers are importing about 65% of total U.S. ethylene exports with the remaining 35% heading to Europe. Our ethylene market conditions benefit with every cargo heading through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific Ocean due to the long duration of these voyages. Similar to ethylene, ethane as a feedstock also enjoys U.S. domestic excess supply. Therefore, it is cheap and its exports are increasing. And remember, all our ethylene capable ships can also carry ethane.

亞太地區消費者進口的美國乙烯出口總量約 65%，其餘 35% 運往歐洲。由於航程時間長，通過巴拿馬運河和太平洋的每批貨物都對我們的乙烯市場狀況有利。與乙烯類似，作為原料的乙烷也存在美國國內供應過剩的情況。因此價格低廉，出口量不斷增加。請記住，我們所有能夠運輸乙烯的船舶也可以運輸乙烷。

On Page 14, please. Ammonia has become an important commodity for us. Despite natural gas prices [are starting] to return to normal levels, the demand for maritime logistics for ammonia's input to the fertilizer industry has remained. Europe continues to source ammonia from across the oceans, both from North America and Asia. And this is a shift from the past, whereby most of the volumes were supplied from within the continent. European ammonia importers tend to favor handysize and medium-sized vessels. 7 out of the 9 gas carriers, we currently have contracted for ammonia employment, are servicing these European consumers and ports. So it matters to Navigator.

請參閱第 14 頁。氨已成為我們的重要商品。儘管天然氣價格開始恢復到正常水平，但化肥行業對氨的海運物流的需求仍然存在。歐洲繼續從北美和亞洲跨洋採購氨。這與過去的情況有所不同，過去大部分產量都是從非洲大陸內部供應的。歐洲氨進口商傾向於青睞靈便型和中型船舶。目前，我們已與 9 艘天然氣運輸船簽訂了氨僱傭合同，其中 7 艘正在為這些歐洲消費者和港口提供服務。所以這對 Navigator 來說很重要。

Asia has reached about 50% share of the 17 million tons of yearly amount of ammonia exported by shares. However, we strongly believe that the light blue line in the graph to the right will increase over the next few years. as U.S. Gulf blue and green ammonia production comes on stream with a focus for exports, targeted for global energy demand.

年氨出口量1700萬噸，亞洲份額已達到50%左右。然而，我們堅信右圖中的淺藍色線在未來幾年將會增加。隨著美國海灣藍氨和綠氨生產投產，重點用於出口，以滿足全球能源需求。

Page 15, please. On the back of healthy natural gas liquids production in the U.S., robust ethane and ethylene exports as well as continued demand coming from Asia Pacific. We are glad to see utilization reducing less this quarter as we have historically experienced during the summer months. And we're also happy to see that the utilization has bottomed out and, in fact, increased earlier than previous summer months. This gives us a certain degree of confidence to guide third quarter utilization for the 3 months above the 90% mark.

請看第 15 頁。在美國天然氣液體生產健康、乙烷和乙烯出口強勁以及亞太地區持續需求的支持下。我們很高興看到本季度利用率下降幅度較小，正如我們在夏季的歷史經歷一樣。我們也很高興地看到利用率已經觸底，而且實際上比前幾個夏季月份更早增加。這讓我們有一定的信心來指導第三季度利用率超過 90% 大關的 3 個月。

Page 16 illustrates the latest gas carrier rate indicators, all pointing in the right direction. One point to note, we are far away from the COVID dip during 2020 and 2021. And we see the trajectory continuing. On Page 17, the graph here illustrates the gas carrier segment and the respective order book and age profiles. As Mads mentioned, the handysize segment has a meager 4% order book against an existing fleet of 122 vessels.

第 16 頁說明了最新的氣體載運率指標，所有指標都指向正確的方向。需要注意的一點是，我們距離 2020 年和 2021 年新冠肺炎疫情下降還很遠。而且我們看到這一軌跡仍在繼續。第 17 頁上的圖表說明了氣體運輸船段以及相應的訂單簿和船齡概況。正如 Mads 提到的，與現有 122 艘船舶組成的船隊相比，靈便型船舶市場的訂單量僅為區區 4%。

Of these 122 vessels, 25 of them are over 20 years of age and will be recycled at some point during this decade. With order book lead times of more than 3 years, we have a pretty good line of sight of the vessel supply situation in our segments. Randy will take over from here to give an exciting rundown of the latest developments. Over to you, Randy.

在這 122 艘船舶中，有 25 艘船齡超過 20 年，將在這十年的某個時候進行回收。訂單交付週期超過 3 年，我們對各細分市場的船舶供應情況有很好的了解。蘭迪將接替這裡，對最新進展進行令人興奮的概述。交給你了，蘭迪。

Thank you, Oeyvind. So following up on some several announcements we made in recent months. We want to provide additional details on those updated developments regarding a few of these announcements. So as you can see on Slide 19, we are pleased to announce our return of capital for the second quarter of 2023, including our first ever dividend as a public company, in line with our recently announced return of capital policy and the illustrated table below, we are returning 25% of net income or $6.7 million to shareholders this quarter.

謝謝你，奧伊溫德。因此，請跟進我們近幾個月發布的一些公告。我們希望提供有關其中一些公告的最新進展的更多詳細信息。正如您在幻燈片 19 中看到的，我們很高興宣布 2023 年第二季度的資本返還，包括我們作為上市公司的首次股息，符合我們最近宣布的資本返還政策和下表，本季度我們將向股東返還25% 的淨利潤（即670 萬美元）。

The Board has declared a cash dividend of $0.05 per share, payable on September 22, 2023, to all shareholders of record as of September 8, 2023, equating to a quarterly dividend payment of $3.7 million.

董事會宣佈於 2023 年 9 月 22 日向截至 2023 年 9 月 8 日在冊的所有股東派發每股 0.05 美元的現金股息，相當於季度股息支付 370 萬美元。

Additionally, with NVGS shares trading well below our NAV of above $20. We will use the variable portion of the return of capital policy to repurchase sales. As a reminder, between December and this past May, we repurchased 3.8 million shares at an average price of $13.12 per share for a total of $50 million. Subsequently, the Board authorized a new $25 million repurchase program. As such, we will repurchase approximately $3 million of common shares between now and quarter end, such that the dividend and share repurchase together equal 25% of net income, $6.7 million. Returning capital to shareholders is relatively new to Navigator, but something we see as a requirement for a shareholder focused on.

此外，NVGS 股票的交易價格遠低於我們超過 20 美元的資產淨值。我們將使用資本回報政策的可變部分來回購銷售。提醒一下，從 12 月到今年 5 月，我們以每股 13.12 美元的平均價格回購了 380 萬股股票，總金額為 5,000 萬美元。隨後，董事會批准了一項新的 2500 萬美元回購計劃。因此，從現在到季度末，我們將回購約 300 萬美元的普通股，這樣股息和股票回購合計相當於淨利潤的 25%，即 670 萬美元。對 Navigator 來說，向股東返還資本相對較新，但我們認為這是對股東重點關注的一項要求。

Now turning to Slide 20. Following up on our previous announcement regarding the expansion of our Ethylene Export Terminal under our existing 50-50 joint venture with Enterprise Products Partners over at Morgan's Point. We agreed to a capital project to increase the export capacity from approximately 1 million tons per year as it is today, to at least 1.55 million tons and up to over 3 million tons per year by converting an existing ethane refrigeration train, to also refrigerate ethyl, and you'll see that in the yellow box. The project is now underway as the long-lead items have been ordered. Groundwork is progressing and construction is still expected to be complete by the end of next year.

現在轉向幻燈片 20。繼我們之前宣布擴建我們與 Enterprise Products Partners 位於 Morgan's Point 的現有 50-50 合資企業的乙烯出口碼頭之後。我們商定了一項資本項目，通過將現有的乙烷製冷機組改造為同時製冷乙烷，將出口能力從目前的每年約100 萬噸增加到每年至少155 萬噸，最高可達每年300 萬噸以上。 ，您會在黃色框中看到它。該項目目前正在進行中，因為長周期項目已被訂購。基礎工作正在進行中，預計施工將於明年年底完成。

The total capital contributions required from us to the joint venture are approximately $125 million, the majority of which will be paid in 2024. You can see the schedule in the bottom-right corner. We contributed the first progress payment of $9 million in April and the next payment is scheduled for late August. Remaining CapEx is expected to be paid from cash on hand, until new financing agreements are completed sometime in early 2024.

我們對合資企業所需的出資總額約為 1.25 億美元，其中大部分將於 2024 年支付。您可以在右下角看到時間表。我們在 4 月份支付了第一筆 900 萬美元的進度付款，下一筆付款計劃於 8 月底。剩餘的資本支出預計將從手頭現金支付，直到 2024 年初完成新的融資協議。

As you can see on the bottom-left chart, the terminal continues to run at or above nameplate capacity, with 20 -- second quarter '23 throughput, reaching a new quarterly record hot of 278,000 tons. The slight dip in July, which is due to an early loading of a cargo in late June and August is already trending higher. Discussions are ongoing, current and new customers for multiyear offtake contracts with the vast majority of the additional guaranteed capacity expected to be contracted during the construction phase next year.

正如左下圖所示，碼頭繼續以銘牌容量或高於銘牌容量運行，2023 年第二季度的吞吐量達到 278,000 噸的新季度紀錄。由於六月下旬和八月提前裝載貨物，七月的小幅下跌已經呈走高趨勢。目前正在與新客戶就多年期承購合同進行討論，其中絕大多數額外保證產能預計將在明年施工階段簽訂合同。

On Slide 21, our fleet renewal program continues to be implemented as we sell our oldest vessels and replace them with modern second-hand type [vessels]. Starting with the sale on May 2, 2023, we sold our oldest vessel, the Navigator Orion, a 2000-built, 22,000 cubic meter LPG carrier to a third party for $20.9 million, resulting in a $4.9 million profit. That leaves us with only 3 of our original Navigator vessels built in 2000, and we continue to engage buyers who are showing interest to acquiring those older vessels.

在幻燈片 21 中，我們的船隊更新計劃繼續實施，我們出售最舊的船舶並用現代二手船替換它們。從2023 年5 月2 日出售開始，我們以2090 萬美元的價格將我們最古老的船舶Navigator Orion（一艘建於2000 年、容量為22,000 立方米的液化石油氣運輸船）出售給第三方，帶來了490 萬美元的利潤。這使得我們只剩下 3 艘 2000 年建造的原始 Navigator 船舶，我們將繼續與有興趣購買這些舊船舶的買家進行接觸。

On the acquisition side, our new joint venture, owned 60% by Navigator and 40% by Greater Bay Gas, has now taken delivery of all 5 vessels, completing the acquisitions earlier than previously expected. As a reminder, the total cost is $233 million and 65% was financed by the $151 million bank loan with 60% of the remaining costs, roughly $49 million paid from our available cash. So as a result of this S&P activity, our current fleet consists of 56 vessels, average age of, right at 10 years, and an average size of 21,000 cubic meters.

在收購方面，我們的新合資企業（Navigator 持股 60%、Greater Bay Gas 持股 40%）現已接收全部 5 艘船舶，比之前預期更早完成收購。提醒一下，總成本為 2.33 億美元，其中 65% 由 1.51 億美元的銀行貸款提供，其餘成本的 60% 約為 4900 萬美元，由我們可用的現金支付。因此，由於這項標普活動，我們目前的船隊由 56 艘船舶組成，平均船齡為 10 年，平均尺寸為 21,000 立方米。

Now finishing on Slide 22. I want to personally invite all of you to our upcoming 2023 Analyst Investor Day here in Houston, Texas, a few months from now. So on Wednesday afternoon, November 15, we'll be hosting our Morgan's Point Tours of the Ethylene Export Terminal and (inaudible) vessels. So just take a look at that middle picture and imagine yourself climbing on board that beautiful ethylene carrier.

現在幻燈片 22 已經結束。我想親自邀請大家參加幾個月後在德克薩斯州休斯頓即將舉行的 2023 年分析師投資者日活動。因此，11 月 15 日星期三下午，我們將舉辦乙烯出口碼頭和（聽不清）船隻的摩根角之旅。因此，只要看一下中間的圖片，想像一下自己爬上那艘美麗的乙烯運輸船。

Later that evening, with the management team and some members of the Board of Directors will host a dinner for our analysts and investors. And then the next morning, Thursday, November 16, we will host company and industry presentations covering current market trends, a financial update as well as our medium-term strategy. We will then have lunch followed by an appreciation event for our analysts, shareholders, customers and partners. And unlike today's heat, the weather will be lovely. So you won't want to miss it. We really hope to see you in November. And with that, I'll now turn it back over to Mads for closing remarks.

當天晚上晚些時候，管理團隊和部分董事會成員將為我們的分析師和投資者舉辦晚宴。然後第二天早上，即 11 月 16 日星期四，我們將舉辦公司和行業演講，內容涵蓋當前市場趨勢、財務更新以及我們的中期戰略。然後我們將共進午餐，然後為我們的分析師、股東、客戶和合作夥伴舉辦答謝活動。與今天的炎熱不同，天氣會很好。所以你不會想錯過它。我們真誠地希望在 11 月見到您。現在，我將把它轉回給麥茲做總結髮言。

Thanks a lot, Randy. Yes. Just to round it off, and I just wanted to clarify that to emphasize here that Navigator is on a good path, earnings are trending in the right direction with robust utilization and gradually higher charter rates. Both are supported by the high utilization of our ethylene export facility at Morgan's Point, with more to come once the expansion is complete by end of '24. The balance sheet is in its best shape ever with an appropriate level of debt and also recently refinanced in portfolio.

非常感謝，蘭迪。是的。最後，我只是想澄清一下，在此強調 Navigator 正走在一條良好的道路上，盈利正朝著正確的方向發展，利用率強勁，包機費率逐漸上升。兩者都受到摩根點乙烯出口設施高利用率的支持，一旦擴建在 2024 年底完成，將會有更多設施。資產負債表處於有史以來最好的狀態，債務水平適當，最近還在投資組合中進行了再融資。

This gives us capacity for further growth, balancing growth redistribution of capital through dividends and further share buybacks, and now we will do both with dividends to be received on the 22nd of September and share buybacks to be intiated imminently. We published our annual ESG report in June. I hope you had a chance to read it. Our efforts in making our business more sustainable and significant and were quickly picked up by the Webber Research 2023 ESG Scorecard. We now ranked 7th among 64 shipping companies and we have more initiatives ready to climate further. So looking forward to seeing you in November in Houston. And thank you very much. Back to you, Randy.

這使我們有能力進一步增長，通過股息和進一步股票回購來平衡資本的增長再分配，現在我們將在 9 月 22 日收到股息並立即啟動股票回購。我們於六月發布了年度 ESG 報告。我希望你有機會閱讀它。我們為使我們的業務更具可持續性和重要性而做出的努力很快得到了 Webber Research 2023 ESG 記分卡的認可。我們現在在 64 家航運公司中排名第七，並且我們有更多舉措準備進一步應對氣候變化。期待 11 月在休斯敦見到您。非常感謝你。回到你身邊，蘭迪。

Thank you, Mads. So operator, we will now open the lines for some Q&A. (Operator Instructions) So first question.

謝謝你，麥茲。接線員，我們現在將開通一些問答環節。 （操作員說明）所以第一個問題。

Did I -- can you hear me? Am I unmuted? Figured it out. Good quarter. I have a couple of questions. First, Oeyvind, you talked about, it seems like more and more of cargoes of all varieties are going to Asia. But at the same time, I mean, we're seeing seemingly news every day about congestion around the Panama canal water levels and so forth. I assume that's a positive for your business, but is there any way to sort of think about the implications or how positive it is. Is it modest or something that's making a meaningful difference?

我——你能聽到我說話嗎？我沒有靜音嗎？弄清楚了。好季度。我有一些問題。首先，Oeyvind，你談到，似乎越來越多的各種貨物正在運往亞洲。但與此同時，我的意思是，我們似乎每天都能看到有關巴拿馬運河水位周圍擁堵等問題的新聞。我認為這對您的業務是積極的，但是有沒有什麼方法可以考慮其影響或它的積極程度。它是謙虛的還是能產生有意義的改變的東西？

Ben, excellent question. It's something we're looking at on a daily basis because we -- our ships transit there every week. And it has an impact positive. Now for the industry, for the gas industry, any inefficiencies or from a shipping point of view takes capacity out of the available market. So that is -- if you look at it from a shipping point of view, that's a good thing. And that is very much applicable for the bigger ships that has to transit through the new Panama locks.

本，很好的問題。這是我們每天都會關注的事情，因為我們的船隻每週都會經過那裡。它具有積極的影響。現在對於該行業，對於天然氣行業來說，任何效率低下或從運輸角度來看都會佔用可用市場的容量。所以，如果你從運輸的角度來看，這是一件好事。這非常適用於必須通過新巴拿馬船閘的大型船舶。

And the new locks only allow for 9 transit each way each day. And the gas carriers are competing with the bigger ships of containers and LNG and so forth. So we're starting to see large delays there, whereby ships are being deviated around the Cape if they go to Asia. So clearly, a positive from a shipping capacity point of view. For us, some of our midsized ships that are trading on ethane, so taking ethane from U.S. to also Asia, have also started to move via Suez or Cape. So that is an immediate impact on our business.

新的船閘每天單程只允許 9 次通行。天然氣運輸船正在與更大的集裝箱船和液化天然氣運輸船競爭。因此，我們開始看到那裡出現嚴重延誤，如果船隻前往亞洲，就會在好望角附近偏離航線。顯然，從運輸能力的角度來看，這是積極的。對於我們來說，我們的一些使用乙烷進行貿易的中型船舶也開始通過蘇伊士運河或開普敦運輸，將乙烷從美國運往亞洲。這對我們的業務產生了直接影響。

Our handysize ethylene ships are quite nimble. So they -- we have a pretty fixed schedule on them, so we can reserve canal slots and so forth in advance. So we see less of an impact on the handysize ethylene ships going across the Pacific. But I think, it is definitely one to watch, the more delays, the less shipping capacity, and that's a good thing.

我們的靈便型乙烯船非常靈活。所以他們——我們有一個非常固定的時間表，所以我們可以提前預訂運河槽位等。因此，我們認為對穿越太平洋的靈便型乙烯船的影響較小。但我認為，這絕對值得關注，延誤越多，運力就越少，這是一件好事。

Now, the other question that you might be thinking of, if that's the case, and that is going to be for a long time, then does the market lack vessels to get back in time to load LPGs, ethane, ethylene and that's an entirely different question. But for now, it brings some positive implications to our freight market.

現在，您可能會想到的另一個問題是，如果是這種情況，而且這種情況將持續很長一段時間，那麼市場是否缺乏及時返回裝載液化石油氣、乙烷、乙烯的船隻，這完全是一個問題不同的問題。但就目前而言，它給我們的貨運市場帶來了一些積極的影響。

Okay. That's helpful. And I appreciate all the color there, even. I guess for my second question, and I'll turn it over. We did see -- there's hardly anything in order, but we did see a different shipping company where it's a multi-gas carrier in last month or so that can do ammonia, CO2, LPG, all sorts of different things. I'm curious if that is something that you guys have considered doing just -- you're going through the fleet renewal program, as Randy outlined, there's not much on order. You still have some older assets that you're looking to divest. Any thoughts about maybe replacing them with something like that?

好的。這很有幫助。我什至欣賞那裡的所有顏色。我想我的第二個問題，我會翻過來。我們確實看到了——幾乎沒有什麼東西是有序的，但我們確實看到了一家不同的航運公司，它是上個月左右的一艘多氣體運輸船，可以​​運輸氨、二氧化碳、液化石油氣以及各種不同的東西。我很好奇你們是否考慮過這樣做——你們正在經歷機隊更新計劃，正如蘭迪所概述的那樣，訂單不多。您仍然擁有一些想要剝離的舊資產。有沒有想過用類似的東西取代它們？

If I can just start out and then you can complement me, Oeyvind and Randy. It's unlikely at this point in time that we'll be building ships that can transport CO2, as well as other gases. Right now, there's still some uncertainties around the technology. It's far from certain that given CO2 technologies such as low pressure or mid pressure is going to be the right one. We will be working with a number of projects as we do through our Bluestreak joint venture.

如果我能開始，那麼你們可以補充我、奧伊溫德和蘭迪。目前我們不太可能建造能夠運輸二氧化碳以及其他氣體的船舶。目前，該技術仍存在一些不確定性。還遠不能確定低壓或中壓等二氧化碳技術是否是正確的技術。正如我們通過 Bluestreak 合資企業所做的那樣，我們將與許多項目合作。

And here, we will be working very closely with the emitters to ensure that the technology and the capacity that we will be building for will be matching what is required here we don't think that the risk of building that on speculation right now it's worthwhile.

在這裡，我們將與排放者密切合作，以確保我們將要建設的技術和能力符合這裡的要求，我們認為現在基於投機進行建設的風險不值得。

I see Omar has his hands up.

我看到奧馬爾舉起了手。

Thanks for the update. And obviously, as you have continued to highlight it, seems like the past few quarters, the business continues to thrive and EBITDA is pushing higher. I wanted to ask, the TCE rate you guys captured on the handy fleet this past quarter was at 27,000-plus number. Even with utilization, having come off towards 89%, which is historically still fairly decent. How can we think about, say, the very near term? I know it's too short term.

感謝更新。顯然，正如您繼續強調的那樣，在過去的幾個季度中，業務繼續蓬勃發展，EBITDA 正在推高。我想問一下，上個季度你們在便利機隊上捕獲的 TCE 率為 27,000 多個。即使使用率也接近 89%，從歷史上看這仍然相當不錯。例如，我們如何考慮近期的情況？我知道這太短期了。

But in general, about the -- you've mentioned utilization for 3Q now being above 90%. What do you think of -- what can you give us in terms of guidance on the rate? Can we expect the rate to also be climbing with utilization here in the near term?

但總的來說，您提到第三季度的利用率現在超過 90%。您怎麼看——您能給我們什麼關於費率的指導？我們是否可以預期近期利用率也會隨著利用率的上升而攀升？

Thanks, Omar. We're very -- the prepared remarks was really about -- we typically have guided on utilization. And you might have picked up that the bottom in utilization during the summer months was higher than in previous years during the same period, and it also has shopped up. So we mentioned in the slide deck that July was close to 94%. So that's a big jump from the total of Q2. So in that respect, rates should also move.

謝謝，奧馬爾。我們非常——準備好的評論實際上是關於——我們通常對使用進行指導。您可能已經發現，夏季月份的利用率底部高於往年同期，而且也有所增加。所以我們在幻燈片中提到 7 月份接近 94%。因此，這比第二季度的總數有很大的躍升。因此，在這方面，利率也應該發生變化。

But in the handysize segment, things take a little bit of time. Generally, in the summer months, the rate environment is a little bit soft. It's less than this year. So I think this is why we're being confident or talking about forward guidance on EBITDA because it is likely it will continue to rise because of our confidence in utilization. And the rate level is also robust. I can't give you more guidance on the specific rates that we are seeing right now, except what your colleagues are -- what the different ship progress and so forth are putting out in the market. So there's a slide deck on that, and you can take a look, but it's moving in the right direction.

但在靈便型領域，事情需要一點時間。一般來說，在夏季，利率環境有點軟。比今年少了。所以我認為這就是為什麼我們對 EBITDA 充滿信心或談論前瞻性指引，因為由於我們對利用率的信心，它很可能會繼續上升。而且利率水平也很強勁。我無法就我們現在所看到的具體費率向您提供更多指導，除了您的同事的情況——市場上推出的不同船舶進度等。所以上面有一個幻燈片，你可以看一下，但它正在朝著正確的方向發展。

I appreciate that. And maybe just one follow-up in terms of the fleet renewal and your activity in the S&P market. I wanted to ask about your non-handy ships, in terms of I know the small LPG carriers perhaps aren't necessarily core to the main business, but what about the 5, 12,000 ethylene carriers. How are those since the merger? How are those transitioned into the fleet? Or do you view those as a meaningful piece of Navigator going forward? Or do you think those are monetizable?

我很感激。也許只是關於機隊更新和您在標準普爾市場的活動方面的一項後續行動。我想問一下你們的非靈便型船舶，我知道小型液化石油氣運輸船可能不一定是主營業務的核心，但5艘、12,000艘乙烯運輸船呢？合併後情況如何？這些是如何轉入艦隊的？或者您認為這些是 Navigator 未來有意義的一部分嗎？或者你認為這些可以貨幣化嗎？

We're very happy with our midsized vessels. We think they have built with [a rapid] technology. They are very efficient ships, and we think they have a bright future ahead within Navigator to serve the ethylene and ethane market. So it's definitely core. And we do see, in general, that the infrastructure over long periods of time, it's been operated globally so that larger and larger ships. I mean you see that in pretty much all segments. So we will think over time that there would be also gradually larger ships serving the markets that we're currently well positioned in. So I think that we define on -- for sure, our only [4] markets have been in the handysize but also the midsize segment.

我們對我們的中型船舶非常滿意。我們認為他們是用[快速]技術建造的。它們是非常高效的船舶，我們認為它們在 Navigator 中為乙烯和乙烷市場提供服務有著光明的前景。所以它絕對是核心。總的來說，我們確實看到，基礎設施在很長一段時間內一直在全球範圍內運營，因此船舶越來越大。我的意思是你幾乎在所有領域都看到了這一點。因此，隨著時間的推移，我們會認為，也會逐漸有更大的船舶為我們目前處於有利地位的市場提供服務。所以我認為我們定義——當然，我們唯一的[4]市場一直處於便利尺寸，但也是中型細分市場。

Thank you, Omar. Okay, I do not see any other hands. So I think that concludes our Q&A time. Thank you again for dialing in. We look forward to speaking soon and certainly seeing you in a few months. Have a great day.

謝謝你，奧馬爾。好吧，我沒有看到其他人的手。我認為我們的問答時間到此結束。再次感謝您撥入電話。我們期待很快與您交談，並且肯定會在幾個月後見到您。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you.

謝謝。