Navigator Holdings Ltd (NVGS) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by, ladies and gentleman, and welcome to the Navigator Holdings' conference call for the fourth-quarter 2023 financial results. On today's call, we have Gary Chapman, Chief Financial Officer; Oeyvind Lindeman, Chief Commercial Officer; and myself, Mads Peter Zacho, CEO.

女士們、先生們，感謝大家的耐心等待，歡迎參加 Navigator Holdings 2023 年第四季財務業績電話會議。出席今天的電話會議的有財務長加里‧查普曼 (Gary Chapman)；奧伊溫德‧林德曼 (Oeyvind Lindeman)，商務長；還有我自己，執行長 Mads Peter Zacho。

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's assumptions, forecasts, and expectations as of today's date and are subject to material 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營運角度的未來預期、計劃和前景，並且基於管理層截至今日的假設、預測和預期，並受到重大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資訊和財務預測有很大差異。有關這些因素和假設的更多資訊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, please go ahead to page number 3, and we'll get going on the presentation. Good morning, everybody, and thanks a lot for taking part in this Navigator Gas earnings call. I'll begin with an overview of the highlights for the fourth quarter of 2023, and then I'll talk a little bit about the outlook for the year that we just started. As always, Gary and Oeyvind will follow up in a couple of minutes with more color on our business.

接下來，請轉到第 3 頁，我們將繼續進行示範。大家早安，非常感謝您參加這次 Navigator Gas 財報電話會議。我將首先概述 2023 年第四季的亮點，然後我將談論我們剛剛開始的這一年的展望。像往常一樣，加里和奧伊溫德將在幾分鐘內跟進，為我們的業務提供更多資訊。

We generated a solid top-line with growth in operating revenues compared to both Q3 '23 and same period 2022. This was mainly driven by higher time charter rates. Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 was equal to the record of $72 million that we set in Q3, and it was a significant improvement over last year's $55 million. The progress was reflected in adjusted net income, which more than doubled compared to same period last year. Our cash position remained robust even when we repaid on our credit revolver and invested into our ethylene terminal expansion.

與 23 年第三季和 2022 年同期相比，我們的營業收入實現了穩健的成長。這主要是因為期租費率上升所致。第四季調整後 EBITDA 等於我們在第三季創下的 7,200 萬美元的記錄，比去年的 5,500 萬美元有了顯著改善。這一進展反映在調整後淨利潤上，與去年同期相比增長了一倍多。即使我們償還了信用循環貸款並投資於乙烯終端擴建，我們的現金狀況仍然強勁。

In Q4, we continued paying the cash dividend of $0.05 per share, and we repurchased own shares similar to previous quarters. You'll see this continue as we now also declare a further $0.05 per share in dividends and some additional share buybacks. This will, in total, be equivalent to 25% of our net income following our fourth-quarter results.

第四季度，我們繼續支付每股 0.05 美元的現金股息，並與前幾季類似地回購了自己的股票。您將看到這種情況繼續下去，因為我們現在也宣布進一步派發每股 0.05 美元的股息並進行一些額外的股票回購。這總共相當於我們第四季業績後淨利的 25%。

The average TCE, or time charter equivalent, rate per day earned by our vessels reached more than $28,000 for Q4 2023. This compares to less than $24,000 in Q4 of 2022. Fleet utilization stayed above 90% in Q4, and that was just shy of the utilization that we achieved in Q3 and same period 2022. Utilization at or above 90% typically allows for higher TCE rates.

2023 年第四季度，我們的船舶每天賺取的平均 TCE（或相當於期租）費率超過 28,000 美元。相比之下，2022 年第四季的銷售額還不到 24,000 美元。第四季機隊利用率維持在 90% 以上，略低於第三季和 2022 年同期的使用率。利用率達到或高於 90% 通常可以實現更高的 TCE 率。

Throughput at our joint venture, Ethylene Export Terminal, was slightly down at 208,000 tons for the quarter, but it was nevertheless brought to a total of the terminal capacity of 1 million tons per annum. The expansion of the terminal continues to be on track for completion in Q4 '24. And in '23, we contributed progress payments of $35 million, made up of four payments of around $9 million each in April, August, October, and December.

我們的合資企業乙烯出口碼頭本季的吞吐量略有下降，為 208,000 噸，但碼頭總容量仍達到每年 100 萬噸。航站樓的擴建預計將於 2024 年第四季完成。2023 年，我們貢獻了 3500 萬美元的進度付款，由 4 月、8 月、10 月和 12 月的四筆付款組成，每筆金額約為 900 萬美元。

The outlook for our business remains robust. We expect utilization to remain near 90%, and we continue to renew our expiring time charters at higher rates. With solid NGL production and thereby demand for transportation on handysize gas carriers, combined with limited supply from new buildings in our segment, we expect this to continue.

我們的業務前景依然強勁。我們預計利用率將保持在 90% 附近，並且我們將繼續以更高的利率續約即將到期的期租合約。由於液化天然氣產量穩定，因此對靈便型天然氣運輸船的運輸需求，加上我們細分市場新建築的供應有限，我們預計這種情況將持續下去。

We also do not expect that the trade patterns through Panama Canal and Suez will be restored in the near future, which may lead to more cubic meter miles transport work for us. We work intensively with our customers to improve the efficiency and avoid idling or ballast voyages. The most recent examples of backhaul in propylene from Asia is a great example of that joint work.

我們也不期望通過巴拿馬運河和蘇伊士運河的貿易模式會在不久的將來恢復，這可能會導致我們需要更多的立方公尺英里運輸工作。我們與客戶密切合作，以提高效率並避免空載或壓載航行。來自亞洲的丙烯回程的最新例子就是這種共同工作的一個很好的例子。

With that, I'll just hand it over to Gary for more detail of our financial results. Go ahead, Gary.

這樣，我就把它交給加里，了解我們財務表現的更多細節。繼續吧，加里。

Thank you very much, Mads, and good morning or good afternoon, everybody. I'm pleased to report our latest fourth-quarter 2023 results, in which we've continued our momentum with again some very positive results.

非常感謝，麥茲，大家早安或下午好。我很高興地報告我們最新的 2023 年第四季業績，我們繼續保持勢頭，再次取得了一些非常積極的成果。

On slide 6, we see our total operating revenue up over $18 million or 14.9% to $141.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, with much of this increase due to stronger time charter equivalent rates, as Mads has pointed out, that were on average $28,428 per day in the quarter compared to $23,622 in the fourth quarter of 2022.

在投影片6 中，我們看到與2022 年第四季相比，2023 年第四季我們的總營業收入成長了1,800 萬美元以上，即14.9%，達到1.416 億美元，其中大部分成長是由於定期租船等價費率的提高，正如Mads 所言指出，該季度平均每天費用為 28,428 美元，而 2022 年第四季為 23,622 美元。

There were further positive effects as a result of having our five Navigator Greater Bay vessels fully operational in the fourth quarter of 2023. And this was also reflected in our ownership days, available days, and operating days figures as shown on the right-hand side. Against this, utilization was a little down in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, but at 91.3%, it is still very healthy, as Mads has already said, and as Oeyvind will confirm later.

我們的五艘 Navigator Greater Bay 船舶於 2023 年第四季全面投入運營，產生了進一步的正面影響。這也反映在我們的所有權天數、可用天數和營運天數資料中，如圖所示。與此相反，與 2022 年第四季相比，2023 年第四季的使用率略有下降，但為 91.3%，仍然非常健康，正如 Mads 已經說過的那樣，並且 Oeyvind 稍後將證實。

Our ethylene terminal throughput volumes in 2023 were 987,000 tons, closely in line with nameplate capacity at 1 million tons, and we currently expect to remain near capacity in 2024. Our daily vessel operating expense in the fourth quarter of 2023 was essentially in line with the fourth quarter of 2022 at $9,067 per day, noting that the fourth and the last quarter of the year is typically a little higher than the other quarters, and 2023 was no different. We are providing some full-year 2024 expense guidance on slide 9 for those that are interested in this.

2023 年我們的乙烯終端吞吐量為 987,000 噸，與 100 萬噸的銘牌產能非常一致，我們目前預計 2024 年將保持在接近產能的水平。我們 2023 年第四季的每日船舶營運費用與 2022 年第四季基本一致，均為每天 9,067 美元，並指出該年第四季和最後一個季度通常略高於其他季度，而 2023 年沒有什麼不同。我們在幻燈片 9 上為對此感興趣的人提供了一些 2024 年全年費用指南。

Depreciation was up slightly over the same period in 2022, mainly due to the addition of the five Navigator Greater Bay vessels that were acquired at various times from and after December 2022. The non-cash movements in the mark-to-market valuations of our interest rate swaps was a loss in the fourth quarter of $5.2 million as a result of softening forward interest rates, and our interest expenses were cushioned by interest income earned on our cash balances in the quarter.

折舊較2022年同期略有上升，主要是因為增加了2022年12月及之後不同時間收購的五艘Navigator Greater Bay船舶。由於遠期利率疲軟，我們的利率掉期按市值計價的非現金變動在第四季度虧損了 520 萬美元，我們的利息支出透過現金賺取的利息收入得到了緩衝本季度的餘額。

Our income tax line reflects current tax and deferred taxes, mainly on our share of profits from our Ethylene Export Terminal at Morgan's Point. Overall, our earnings per share for the quarter was $0.24 for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $0.13 for the same period in 2022, with adjusted EPS up at $0.32. And as Mads mentioned, the fourth-quarter 2023 results provide a record equaling $72 million adjusted EBITDA. When taken across the full year, we're reporting the highest annual adjusted EBITDA in Navigator's recorded history of $282 million.

我們的所得稅線反映了當期稅和遞延稅，主要是我們在摩根角乙烯出口終端的利潤份額。總體而言，2023 年第四季我們的每股收益為 0.24 美元，而 2022 年同期為 0.13 美元，調整後每股收益為 0.32 美元。正如 Mads 所提到的，2023 年第四季的業績創下了相當於 7,200 萬美元調整後 EBITDA 的記錄。從全年來看，我們報告的年度調整後 EBITDA 為 Navigator 有史以來最高的 2.82 億美元。

The balance sheet, shown on slide 7, remains strong with a cash balance of over $158 million at December 31. This compares to a minimum total liquidity covenant on all of our bank loans and credit agreements of around $50 million. This cash balance is after all of our recent buybacks, our dividends paid in 2023, and after repaying $23.8 million of the $111 million term loan and revolving credit facility, which funds remain available to be redrawn under the terms of the facility agreement. This basically means that we had around $182 million of liquidity at the end of 2023. Our net debt to capitalization was just under 35% as of December 31, and net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 2.6x for the 12 months to December 31.

如投影片 7 所示，資產負債表依然強勁，截至 12 月 31 日現金餘額超過 1.58 億美元。相較之下，我們所有銀行貸款和信貸協議的最低總流動性契約約為 5,000 萬美元。這筆現金餘額是在我們最近進行的所有回購、2023 年支付的股息以及償還了1.11 億美元定期貸款和循環信貸額度中的2380 萬美元之後的餘額，這些資金仍然可以根據額度協議的條款重新提取。這基本上意味著到 2023 年底我們擁有約 1.82 億美元的流動資金。截至 12 月 31 日，我們的淨負債與資本總額比略低於 35%，截至 12 月 31 日的 12 個月內，淨負債與調整後 EBITDA 的比率為 2.6 倍。

We see our cash being needed for our ethylene export expansion project until we fix finance for that later in the year as well as for other projects and investments that enhance shareholder returns. As you would expect, there are a number of projects that we're actively looking at.

我們認為我們的乙烯出口擴張項目需要現金，直到我們在今年稍後確定該項目的融資，以及其他可提高股東回報的項目和投資。正如您所料，我們正在積極研究許多項目。

In addition, under our five pillars that we'll mention later, we'll continue to reduce our debt, look to capital distributions and share buybacks, and we're always looking at how we can renew and potentially add to our fleet.

此外，在我們稍後將提到的五個支柱下，我們將繼續減少債務，尋求資本分配和股票回購，並且我們一直在研究如何更新和潛在地增加我們的機隊。

Of course, finance is very important to all of this. And as shown on slide 8, we have no loan maturities until 2025. The maturities for 2025 include $100 million senior unsecured bond, which we might refinance depending on investment opportunities, and the two bank facilities totaling $190 million that will likely be refinanced in a cash positive transaction. On these 2025 maturing bank facilities, we already have commenced discussions with our lending group, and we've received very positive feedback already. We'll provide further updates on these as discussions progress over the coming quarters.

當然，金融對這一切來說非常重要。如投影片 8 所示，我們在 2025 年之前沒有貸款到期日。2025 年到期的債券包括1 億美元的優先無擔保債券，我們可能會根據投資機會對其進行再融資，以及總計1.9 億美元的兩項銀行融資，可能會在現金正數交易中進行再融資。對於這些 2025 年到期的銀行融資，我們已經開始與我們的貸款團隊進行討論，並且我們已經收到了非常積極的回饋。隨著未來幾季討論的進展，我們將提供有關這些內容的進一步更新。

On slide 9, we outline our estimated cash breakeven for 2024, which is $20,705 per day, which figure includes scheduled debt repayments and our heavier drydock scheduling this coming year compared to 2022 and 2023. Even considering this, with this relatively low breakeven level relative to charter rates, recalling our average TCE for the fourth quarter of 2023 was over $28,000, it enables Navigator to generate positive EBITDA throughout the shipping side.

在幻燈片 9 中，我們概述了 2024 年的預計現金收支平衡，即每天 20,705 美元，其中包括預定的債務償還以及與 2022 年和 2023 年相比，我們來年的干船塢調度量更大。即使考慮到這一點，相對於租船費率而言，盈虧平衡水平相對較低，回想一下我們 2023 年第四季度的平均 TCE 超過 28,000 美元，這使得 Navigator 能夠在整個航運方面產生正的 EBITDA。

Then to the right on this slide is daily OpEx expectations for 2024 across our different vessel size segments, ranging from our smaller vessels to our larger, more complex ethylene vessels. We also provide a range for the expected annual spends for vessel OpEx, general and admin costs, depreciation, and net interest expenses, all of which are broadly in line with 2023 figures.

然後這張投影片的右側是我們不同船舶尺寸部分的 2024 年每日營運支出預期，從較小的船舶到較大、更複雜的乙烯船舶。我們還提供了船舶營運支出、一般和管理成本、折舊和淨利息支出的預期年度支出範圍，所有這些都與 2023 年的數據大致一致。

On slide 10, we outline our historic quarterly adjusted EBITDA, showing a step-up over the past four quarters and a continuing trend this quarter, all nicely demonstrating the very positive results we've been able to report across the whole of 2023, culminating in our highest adjusted EBITDA on record of $282 million. We also expect the first quarter of 2024 to provide a healthy result.

在幻燈片10 中，我們概述了歷史性的季度調整後EBITDA，顯示過去四個季度的增長以及本季度的持續趨勢，所有這些都很好地展示了我們在整個2023 年報告的非常正面的結果，最終調整後 EBITDA 創歷史新高，達 2.82 億美元。我們也預計 2024 年第一季將提供健康的業績。

On the right side of slide 10, we show our historic adjusted EBITDA bar; our last 12 months bar, essentially 2023; and an annualized adjusted EBITDA based on this quarter's results. In addition, the EBITDA bars to the right show the effects of an increase in adjusted EBITDA based on incremental increases in average charter rates of $1,000 per day to give some further perspective.

在投影片 10 的右側，我們展示了歷史性的調整後 EBITDA 條；我們過去 12 個月的酒吧，基本上是 2023 年；以及基於本季業績的年化調整後 EBITDA。此外，右側的 EBITDA 條顯示了基於每天 1,000 美元平均包機費率增量增加的調整後 EBITDA 增加的影響，以提供進一步的視角。

Then on slide 11, we cover the important topic of our vessels' scheduled drydocks. We have 17 vessels scheduled for drydocking during 2024, with an expected total of 399 off-hire days and with total drydocking CapEx anticipated of $22.9 million, all of which is fully budgeted. Some more detail on the expected timing and costs of these drydocks is shown below, noting that one vessel has already successfully completed its docking in January of this year.

然後在投影片 11 中，我們介紹了我們船舶預定乾船塢的重要主題。我們有 17 艘船舶計劃在 2024 年進行乾船塢，預計停租天數總計 399 天，幹船塢資本支出總額預計為 2,290 萬美元，所有這些都已編入預算。有關這些乾船塢的預期時間和成本的更多詳細資訊如下所示，並指出一艘船已於今年 1 月成功完成進塢。

Also, as we have announced before, we will take these drydocks as opportunities to install energy-saving technologies on those vessels at a cost of around $4.8 million, with many of those technologies having a very short payback period. Finally, we also provide here some guidance on 2025 and 2026 scheduled drydocks for those that are interested.

此外，正如我們先前宣布的，我們將利用這些乾船塢作為機會，在這些船舶上安裝節能技術，成本約為 480 萬美元，其中許多技術的投資回收期非常短。最後，我們也為有興趣的人提供了一些有關 2025 年和 2026 年計畫乾船塢的指南。

And with that, at the end of a good quarter and at the end of a very strong year, and with a great foundation set up for 2024, I'll stop there and I'll hand over to Oeyvind to give you an update on our commercial position. Thank you.

至此，在一個良好的季度結束時和一個非常強勁的一年結束時，並為 2024 年奠定了良好的基礎，我就到此為止，我將交給 Oeyvind 為您提供最新情況我們的商業地位。謝謝。

Thank you, Gary, and good morning, all. Let's move to slide 13 to take a closer look at the recent developments of American gas fundamentals. The US reported 210 million barrels of natural gas liquids production at year end, which is up 10 million barrels since of last earnings call. This is a meaningful increase, but why is it important?

謝謝你，加里，大家早安。讓我們轉到投影片 13，仔細看看美國天然氣基本面的最新發展。美國報告年底天然氣液體產量為 2.1 億桶，較上次財報電話會議增加了 1,000 萬桶。這是一個有意義的成長，但為什麼它很重要？

Well, remember, one barrel of natural gas liquids consists, on average, 42% of ethane, 45% of LPG, and the remaining natural gas liquids. US domestic consumption of ethane and LPG is relatively flat, and therefore any additional production is more or less solely aimed for export markets. As a consequence, American midstream companies are investing in additional gas processing plants, fractionators, and terminal expansions to allow for the increase in production. This is good for gas transportation. In general, it is great for Navigator and our growing ethane and ethylene business.

好吧，請記住，一桶天然氣液體平均由 42% 的乙烷、45% 的液化石油氣和其餘的天然氣液體組成。美國國內乙烷和液化石油氣的消費量相對平穩，因此任何額外的生產或多或少都只是針對出口市場。因此，美國中游公司正在投資額外的天然氣加工廠、分餾器和終端擴建，以增加產量。這有利於天然氣運輸。總的來說，這對於 Navigator 以及我們不斷成長的乙烷和乙烯業務來說非常有利。

The graph in the middle shows global handysize demand measured in volume transported. The volume includes LPG, ammonia, and petrochemical cargoes. As you can see, the total tons carried dropped during the last months of 2023. This is mostly due to disruptions at the Suez and Panama Canals. Many of the handysize petrochemical voyages were rerouted. Longer voyages reduce frequency of loading operations, which in turn reduce volume. However, as we can see, for the first two months of 2024, the total volumes is more or less tracking historical seasonality.

中間的圖表顯示了以運輸量衡量的全球靈便型船舶需求。此數量包括液化石油氣、氨和石化貨物。如您所見，2023 年最後幾個月的總運輸噸數有所下降。這主要是由於蘇伊士運河和巴拿馬運河的中斷所造成的。許多靈便型石化航行都改變了航線。更長的航程減少了裝載作業的頻率，從而減少了體積。然而，正如我們所看到的，2024 年前兩個月的總交易量或多或少遵循了歷史季節性。

If you look at handysize ethane and ethylene exports specifically, we see a positive development. The right-hand graph shows a positive counter seasonal development. We see more exports from the US of these cargoes compared to previous years. It tells us that despite the longer voyages, US ethane and ethylene remains highly attractive to international buyers. The updated ethylene arbitrage between US and Europe and Asia is shown on the left graph on slide 14.

如果你特別關注靈便型乙烷和乙烯出口，我們會看到正面的發展。右圖顯示了積極的反季節發展。與往年相比，我們看到美國出口的這些貨物增加。它告訴我們，儘管航程更長，美國乙烷和乙烯對國際買家仍然具有高度吸引力。美國與歐洲和亞洲之間更新的乙烯套利如幻燈片 14 的左圖所示。

Growing NGL production puts pressure on the domestic price of ethane. Ethane price, which is the lower line, continues to slide. US ethylene prices represented by the gray line on the left-hand graph, and European and Asian landed price is shown by the two top lines. As we can see, the arbitrage between the continents has widened since last earnings call. This is positive, of course. It is also needed to cover additional freight due to the longer voyages.

液化天然氣產量的成長對國內乙烷價格造成壓力。乙烷價格（下線）繼續下滑。美國乙烯價格由左側圖表中的灰線表示，歐洲和亞洲到岸價格由上面的兩條線表示。正如我們所看到的，自上次財報電話會議以來，各大洲之間的套利已經擴大。當然，這是積極的。由於航程較長，還需要支付額外的運費。

However, as you see on the middle graph, ethylene export volumes declined somewhat. This is counterintuitive. The explanation lies with the restricted transits at the Panama Canal. The number of gas carrier transits through the canal went rapidly downhill from September of last year onwards. The vast majority of vessels, including ours, were rerouted via Cape of Good Hope when bound to Asia. The duration of our round trips from Houston to Asia increased by 50%, which in turn stretched vessel availability at Morgan's Point export terminal. From a shipping perspective, this is not a bad thing, though.

然而，如中圖所示，乙烯出口量有所下降。這是違反直覺的。原因在於巴拿馬運河的過境限制。從去年9月起，通過運河的天然氣運輸船數量迅速下降。絕大多數船隻，包括我們的船隻，在前往亞洲時都改道經好望角。我們從休士頓到亞洲的往返航程時間增加了 50%，這反過來又增加了 Morgan's Point 出口碼頭的船舶可用性。不過，從運輸的角度來看，這並不是一件壞事。

What is interesting to comment on is that of ethane exports. Rerouting of larger ethane vessels, which service take-or-pay supply contracts, created a demand for handysize vessels. We fill the cracks that open in their supply chains. This is a nice increase in the handysize ethane volumes, and you can see that on the right-hand graph.

值得評論的是乙烷出口。為照付不議供應合約提供服務的大型乙烷船舶的改道創造了對靈便型船舶的需求。我們填補了他們供應鏈中出現的裂縫。這是靈便型乙烷體積的一個很好的增加，您可以在右側圖表中看到這一點。

Our earnings days mix on slide 15 reflects the flexibility in our fleet. 42% earnings days are derived from petrochemical cargoes, 20% from ammonia, leaving only 33% from LPG when taking into account the non-utilization factor for December. Canal disruptions and knock-on effects to logistics do cause fluctuation in utilization. And utilization is a dynamic metric; it also includes unforeseen technical issues and downtime across the fleet.

第 15 張投影片上的獲利日組合反映了我們機隊的靈活性。 42% 的收益日來自石化貨物，20% 來自氨，考慮到 12 月的非利用因素，只剩下 33% 來自液化石油氣。運河中斷和對物流的連鎖反應確實會導致利用率波動。利用率是一個動態指標；它還包括不可預見的技術問題和整個機隊的停機時間。

We have mentioned in the past, and you heard Mads mention it too, and I will take the opportunity to mention it again, that utilization around and above 90% mark represents a very good market. Around this level, we are in an environment where freight rates are relatively healthy. These healthy freight rates are shown on slide 16.

我們過去提到過，你也聽到Mads提到過，我會藉此機會再次提到，利用率在90%左右或以上代表著一個非常好的市場。在這個水平附近，我們處於運費相對健康的環境中。這些健康的運費率如投影片 16 所示。

There was a knee-jerk upswing in the third-party market assessment immediately after the Panama Canal issues, particularly for the green ethylene index. The assessment has now settled more in reality at quite robust levels. What we can say is that semi-refrigerated and fully-refrigerated vessels coming off time charters are being renewed at higher rates than we have seen for many years.

巴拿馬運河問題發生後，第三方市場評估立即出現上漲，尤其是綠色乙烯指數。現在，該評估已更接近現實，達到相當穩健的水平。我們可以說的是，半冷藏和全冷藏船舶的期租續約率比我們多年來看到的要高。

What typically ruins the shipping part is oversupply of vessels. We have said it in previous calls, and it remains valid today, we have clear visibility of supply coming into the segment over the next few years. It is low at 7%, shown on slide 17. At the same time, the segment has 21% of existing vessels over 20 years of age, therefore we are quite comfortable with the supply side of things in our core segment, and that's a good thing.

通常破壞航運部分的是船舶供應過剩。我們在先前的電話會議中已經說過，今天仍然有效，我們清楚地看到未來幾年該領域的供應情況。如投影片 17 所示，該比例較低，為 7%。同時，該細分市場有 21% 的現有船舶船齡超過 20 年，因此我們對核心細分市場的供應方面感到非常滿意，這是一件好事。

So I'm happy to take questions on all the above topics. But first, I'll hand it over to Randy for him to go over a few exciting developments on Navigator. Randy?

因此，我很樂意回答有關上述所有主題的問題。但首先，我會把它交給 Randy，讓他回顧一下 Navigator 的一些令人興奮的進展。蘭迪？

Thank you, Oeyvind. So, yes, following up on several announcements we made in recent months, we want to provide some additional details on these developments regarding a few of those announcements.

謝謝你，奧伊溫德。因此，是的，繼我們近幾個月發布的幾項公告之後，我們希望提供一些有關其中一些公告的進展的更多詳細資訊。

So turning to slide 19, we are pleased to announce a return of capital for the fourth quarter, in line with our recently announced return of capital policy in the table below. We're returning 25% of net income or $4.5 million to shareholders this quarter. The Board declared a cash dividend of $0.05 per share that will be payable on April 25 to all shareholders of record as of April 4, and that will be a quarterly dividend payment totaling $3.7 million.

因此，轉向投影片 19，我們很高興地宣布第四季度的資本回報，與下表中我們最近宣布的資本回報政策一致。本季我們將向股東返還 25% 的淨利潤（即 450 萬美元）。董事會宣布每股 0.05 美元的現金股利將於 4 月 25 日支付給截至 4 月 4 日在冊的所有股東，季度股利支付總額為 370 萬美元。

Additionally, with our shares trading well below our NAV of at least $24 a share, we'll use the variable portion of this policy to repurchase shares. As a reminder, between December 22 and May of 2023, we repurchased 3.8 million shares at an average price of $13.12 per share for a total of $50 million. And subsequently, the Board authorized a new $25 million repurchase program, of which we've used $4.1 million thus far.

此外，由於我們的股票交易價格遠低於每股至少 24 美元的資產淨值，我們將使用此政策的可變部分來回購股票。提醒一下，在 12 月 22 日至 2023 年 5 月期間，我們以每股 13.12 美元的平均價格回購了 380 萬股股票，總計 5,000 萬美元。隨後，董事會批准了一項新的 2,500 萬美元回購計劃，迄今為止我們已使用其中 410 萬美元。

Now looking ahead, we expect to purchase at least $800,000 of NVGS common shares between now and the quarter end, such that the dividend and the share purchases together equals 25% of net income. Return of capital to shareholders will remain a core focus for us.

現在展望未來，我們預計從現在到季度末將購買至少 80 萬美元的 NVGS 普通股，這樣股息和股票購買合計相當於淨利潤的 25%。向股東返還資本仍將是我們的核心關注點。

On the next slide, following up on our previous announcement regarding the expansion of our Ethylene Export Terminal, the project is, frankly, progressing nicely. Engineering is now fully complete, all the long-lead items have been ordered, and many of the key components have started to become delivered. If you want to come down in Houston and see for yourself, just let me know.

在下一張幻燈片中，繼我們先前宣布擴建乙烯出口碼頭之後，坦白說，專案進展順利。工程現已完全完成，所有長期交付的項目均已訂購，許多關鍵部件已開始交付。如果您想來休斯頓親眼看看，請告訴我。

Construction is expected to occur throughout 2024 and be completed during the fourth quarter. The total capital contributions required from us for this expansion project are expected to be less than $130 million. To-date, we've made five progress payments, totaling $43 million, and the remaining CapEx is expected to be paid from cash on hand until those new financing agreements are completed likely later this year.

預計施工將於 2024 年進行，並於第四季完成。此擴建工程所需我們的出資總額預計少於1.3億美元。迄今為止，我們已經支付了五筆進度付款，總計 4,300 萬美元，剩餘的資本支出預計將從手頭現金支付，直到這些新的融資協議可能在今年稍後完成。

As you can see on the bottom-left chart, despite some softness in December and January due to tight commodity spreads and limited vessel availability, throughput is now back to nameplate capacity, with March looking to be another strong month. Discussions are ongoing with current and new customers for the multi-year offtake contracts, and we expect the vast majority of the additional capacity to be contracted during the construction phase throughout the coming months.

如左下圖所示，儘管由於大宗商品價差緊張和船舶供應有限，12 月和 1 月出現一些疲軟，但吞吐量現已恢復到銘牌容量，而 3 月似乎又是一個強勁的月份。正在與現有和新客戶就多年承購合約進行討論，我們預計絕大多數額外產能將在未來幾個月的施工階段簽訂合約。

Finishing on slide 21, in shipping, consistently making money is obviously important and so is spending this money wisely. As such, we just wanted to highlight our five key pillars for capital deployment: we remain focused on reducing debt, primarily through quarterly debt amortization; we remain committed to paying out consistent cash dividends; and also we continue to repurchase shares, especially at these steeply discounted levels; we've recently renewed the fleet by selling our oldest vessels, replacing them with modern second-hand vessels; and we'll continue to grow our energy infrastructure business, most recently highlighted by the Ethylene Export Terminal expansion and our investment in Azane Fuel Solutions for ammonia bunkering. Going forward, management will remain diligent in being good stewards of the capital.

投影片 21 的結尾是，在運輸領域，持續賺錢顯然很重要，明智地花錢也很重要。因此，我們只想強調資本部署的五個關鍵支柱：我們仍然專注於減少債務，主要透過季度債務攤提；我們仍然致力於支付持續的現金股利；我們也持續回購股票，特別是在這些大幅折扣的水平；我們最近透過出售最舊的船隻來更新船隊，並用現代二手船替換它們；我們將繼續發展我們的能源基礎設施業務，最近突出的亮點是乙烯出口碼頭擴建和我們對用於氨燃料加註的 Azane Fuel Solutions 的投資。展望未來，管理階層將繼續努力做好資本管家。

With that, I'll now turn it back over to Mads for his closing remarks.

現在，我將把它轉回給麥茲做總結發言。

Good. Thanks a lot, Randy. And on this page, we'll just take a quick look back at 2023. And as you can see here, we finished the year with strong earnings improvements over previous years and with progress on pretty much all parameters.

好的。非常感謝，蘭迪。在本頁中，我們將快速回顧 2023 年。正如您在這裡所看到的，今年我們的利潤比前幾年有了強勁的成長，幾乎所有參數都取得了進展。

Entering into an exciting 2024, Navigator is heading in the right direction and is well positioned for the future. Our leading market position, strong customer relationships, an experienced and engaged team, and our efficient fleet of handysize gas carriers leaves us with a really strong foundation for growth. The balance sheet is in its best shape ever, and it gives us the flexibility now to grow our business and return capital to shareholders at the same time. The best is yet to come.

進入激動人心的 2024 年，Navigator 正朝著正確的方向前進，並為未來做好了準備。我們領先的市場地位、強大的客戶關係、經驗豐富、敬業的團隊，以及高效的靈便型氣體運輸船船隊，為我們的發展奠定了堅實的基礎。資產負債表處於有史以來最好的狀態，它使我們現在能夠靈活地發展業務，同時向股東返還資本。最好的還在後頭。

And with that, I'll just hand it back to you, Randy.

這樣，我就把它還給你了，蘭迪。

Thanks so much, Mads. Operator, we'll now open the lines for some Q&A. (Event Instructions) First question, your line should be open.

非常感謝，麥德斯。接線員，我們現在將開通一些問答線。（活動說明）第一個問題，你的線路應該是開放的。

Thanks, Randy. Hi, guys. This is Omar Nokta from Jefferies. Well, thanks for the update, and good morning, good afternoon. Just a couple of questions for me. I wanted to get a sense of how the market thus far for your ships has progressed, say, the first couple of months. You mentioned, obviously, I think, Mads, in your -- one of the early slides that showed utilization being kind of maybe closer to 90% so far in 1Q, which is still obviously strong, slightly down, and you mentioned rates being firm. I just wanted to get a sense in terms of, say, the volatility that we saw in the larger VLGCs, we saw a good amount of volatility with rates starting the year on very strongly, then they fell off a cliff, and then they've started to rebound again. I just wanted to get a sense from you. Has that same type of dynamic translated into the handy segment?

謝謝，蘭迪。嗨，大家好。我是來自 Jefferies 的 Omar Nokta。嗯，感謝您的更新，早上好，下午好。只是問我幾個問題。我想了解一下你們的船舶市場迄​​今為止（例如前幾個月）的進展。我想，Mads，你顯然在你的一張早期幻燈片中提到，第一季度到目前為止，利用率可能接近 90%，顯然仍然強勁，略有下降，而且你提到利率很堅挺。我只是想了解一下，比如說，我們在大型 VLGC 中看到的波動性，我們看到了很大的波動性，從今年開始利率就非常強勁，然後它們跌落懸崖，然後它們’又開始反彈了。我只是想從你那裡得到一些感覺。同樣類型的動態是否已轉換為方便的部分？

Oeyvind, why don't you give a few words to that one?

奧伊溫德，你為什麼不跟那個人說幾句話呢？

Yes, of course, Omar. The very large gas carriers dropped off a cliff earlier in the year; that did not happen with the handysize segment. Contrary, it increased, both in the broker assessments that we show every earnings call, but it filtered through to the rates that we were able to renew at or some of the ethylene -- ethane spot fixtures. So we did not experience the same as the VLGCs. It was positive for us and remains positive.

是的，當然，奧馬爾。今年早些時候，超大型天然氣運輸船從懸崖上墜落。靈便型細分市場並沒有發生這種情況。相反，它在我們每次財報電話會議上展示的經紀人評估中都有所增加，但它滲透到我們能夠更新或部分乙烯-乙烷現貨固定裝置的利率。所以我們沒有經歷與 VLGC 相同的經驗。這對我們來說是積極的，並且仍然是積極的。

Okay. Thank you. And then I guess maybe just perhaps maybe for you, Randy, or just for everyone, just in terms of the terminal expansion, thinking about the contracts that could be entered into, how do you envision those starting to develop as we move through '24? You obviously have the existing nameplate capacity with a big chunk of that 1 million contract, 1 million tons. But for the expansion part, there's 550,000 tons that are coming on. Is that where we can see contracts coming? And then also, what about contracts for the potential upwards of, say, the extra 1.5 million? Does that become contracted also this year? Or is it more of a spot?

好的。謝謝。然後我想也許只是對你來說，蘭迪，或者只是對每個人來說，就航站樓擴展而言，考慮可以簽訂的合同，你如何設想隨著我們進入“24”，這些合同將開始發展？顯然，你現有的銘牌產能中有 100 萬份合約的很大一部分，即 100 萬噸。但就擴建部分而言，即將動工的產能為 55 萬噸。這是我們可以看到合約的地方嗎？那麼，額外的 150 萬份以上的潛在合約又如何呢？今年也簽了嗎？或者它更像是一個地方？

Yeah, Omar, I'll start on that. So in terms of the scale of contracting, clearly, we have the 94% on the existing 1 million contracted, but those unwind over the coming years, so we expect some extensions there. And then for additional new contracting, we expect that to happen, frankly, this year. So when you look at it as a portfolio, we'll have about 1.55 million tons that we can sell forward starting January 1, 2025, let's call it.

是的，奧馬爾，我就開始吧。因此，就合約規模而言，顯然，我們已經簽訂了現有 100 萬份合約的 94%，但這些合約將在未來幾年內解除，因此我們預計會有一些延期。對於額外的新合同，坦白說，我們預計今年會發生。因此，當你將其視為投資組合時，我們將有約 155 萬噸，我們可以從 2025 年 1 月 1 日開始遠期出售，我們就這麼稱呼吧。

The plan, the goal is to sell probably 90% of that forward. I think that's the enterprise and Navigator model for this asset. So that would be 1.4 million tons roughly that we'd want to have sold in advance. And we think the first few of these contracts, both on the upsized extension, new customers, should be happening here in the coming weeks, months at the latest. So that's kind of your first part.

該計劃的目標是出售約 90% 的遠期合約。我認為這就是該資產的企業和導航器模型。因此，我們希望提前出售的數量約為 140 萬噸。我們認為，這些合約中的前幾份，無論是關於擴大規模的擴建還是新客戶的合同，都應該在未來幾週、最遲幾個月內在這裡簽訂。這就是你的第一部分。

In terms of contracting additional tonnage, for now, we are guaranteed the 550,000 tons from the new train, the Flex Train, that can do up to 2.2 million tons in addition to the million that we already have. And in terms of contracting that, we cannot contract that forward because we are not guaranteed that capacity. Now maybe in future years, we will start buying additional guaranteed capacity per se. But for contracting purposes, the most we could sell forward is 1.55 million tons and then incremental cargoes would be then sold on a spot basis.

在合約額外噸位方面，目前，我們保證新列車 Flex Train 的運載量為 55 萬噸，除了我們已有的 100 萬噸之外，它還可以運載 220 萬噸。就合約而言，我們無法遠期合約，因為我們無法保證容量。現在也許在未來幾年，我們將開始購買額外的保證容量本身。但出於合約目的，我們最多可以出售155萬噸遠期貨物，然後增量貨物將以現貨出售。

Okay. Thanks, Randy. Okay. That is very, very clear. Final one for me, and I'll pass over. It is a separate topic, but something you guys have highlighted for several quarters now, and that's the ammonia trade as an area of growth, and you guys are very active in that already. And you mentioned recently seeing a good amount of cargoes there. We have seen owners in the shipping segment kind of -- or shipping side to kind of go after the [VLACs] as a way to capitalize on this trade going forward over the long term.

好的。謝謝，蘭迪。好的。這非常非常清楚。對我來說最後一個，我會跳過。這是一個單獨的主題，但你們幾個季度以來一直強調這一點，那就是氨貿易作為一個成長領域，你們已經在這方面非常活躍。你提到最近在那裡看到了大量貨物。我們看到航運領域的船東或航運方都在追求[VLAC]，以此作為長期利用這一貿易的一種方式。

I guess, one, is that something that Navigator has an interest in to explore the larger ammonia carriers? Or do you think that perhaps ammonia is more easily or realistically shipped on the midsize and smaller ships that you currently operate?

我想，第一，Navigator 有興趣探索更大的氨運輸船嗎？或者您認為氨在您目前運營的中型和小型船舶上運輸可能更容易或更現實？

Maybe I can just kick us off on this and then I'll invite my colleagues to add to it. We think that the majority of ammonia in the future is going to be transported on midsize. They're very flexible, and they're very well suitable for ammonia trade. It's not very expensive for VLGC owners today if they want to order a new-built VLGC to add, you could say, a small cost on to that and then make it capable of transporting ammonia. So you could say it's not -- I don't think necessarily you should assume that these VLGC owners necessarily expect that they will be transporting ammonia on those new build orders that they put in.

也許我可以先開始討論這個問題，然後我會邀請我的同事們補充。我們認為未來大部分氨將採用中型運輸。它們非常靈活，非常適合氨貿易。如今，對於 VLGC 所有者來說，如果他們想訂購一艘新建的 VLGC，並在其基礎上增加一點成本，然後使其能夠運輸氨，那麼價格並不是很昂貴。所以你可以說這不是——我認為你不一定應該假設這些 VLGC 所有者必然期望他們將在他們下達的新建訂單上運輸氨。

When it comes to our view on it, we are talking to a number of customers around this, and we do expect that, over time, we'll be building vessels, that being handysize or midsize vessels ,that will be carrying ammonia. For now, we would probably be looking to do it against an offtake contract, so that we have, you could say, at least the first couple of years covered, particularly if it comes to building vessels that are propelled also by ammonia.

當談到我們對此的看法時，我們正在與許多客戶就此進行交談，我們確實預計，隨著時間的推移，我們將建造船舶，即靈便型或中型船舶，將運載氨。目前，我們可能會尋求根據承購合約來做到這一點，這樣我們就可以說，至少可以覆蓋前幾年，特別是在建造也由氨驅動的船舶時。

So we do expect to take part in this market. We also expect to take part in the wider supply chain. Azane Fuel Solutions is a good example of that. And we think, also upstream, replicating a setup like we have with enterprise today on Morgan's Point for ethylene, if we can do something similar on production of ammonia or the marine logistics around it, we'd be quite interested in doing so.

所以我們確實希望參與這個市場。我們也期望參與更廣泛的供應鏈。Azane Fuel Solutions 就是一個很好的例子。我們認為，在上游，複製像我們今天在摩根角乙烯企業那樣的設置，如果我們能夠在氨生產或周圍的海運物流方面做類似的事情，我們對此會非常感興趣。

Okay. Thank you, Mads, for that. Very helpful color. And thanks guys for the time. I'll turn it over.

好的。謝謝你，麥茲。非常有用的顏色。感謝大家抽出時間。我會把它翻過來。

Appreciate it.

欣賞它。

Thanks, Omar. Next caller, your line should be open. (Event Instructions) Okay. While we wait for that one, we had a question come in around Azane. So, Oeyvind, I'll turn this over to you. For the Azane joint venture, it seems like there is a lack of ammonia infrastructure to use as a dual for the shipping community. How will Azane meet this need?

謝謝，奧馬爾。下一個呼叫者，您的線路應該處於空閒狀態。（活動說明）好的。當我們等待那個消息時，我們收到了一個關於 Azane 的問題。所以，Oeyvind，我會把這個交給你。對於 Azane 合資企業來說，似乎缺乏可供航運界使用的氨基礎設施。Azane將如何滿足這項需求？

So it's very simple. In order to encourage the ship-owning industry to construct, be confident in constructing vessels that use ammonia's fuel, the fuel needs to be available. Therefore Azane Fuel Solutions, which is one of the first infrastructure companies covering that particular challenge, is there to unlock that problem.

所以很簡單。為了鼓勵造船業建造、有信心建造使用氨燃料的船舶，需要提供燃料。因此，Azane Fuel Solutions 是最早應對這一特定挑戰的基礎設施公司之一，它可以解決這個問題。

So since Azane [participate in] investment and so forth, et cetera, a few people have come, confidently ordering vessels with ammonia fuel, knowing that ammonia fuel will be available in their short sea trades. Also, oil majors, particularly one in Norway, have since then launched a tender for offshore vessels exactly using ammonia's fuel. So you can see the start is the forefront and pushing the button to start the change, and it will happen slowly in the first instance and then grow exponentially. That is our belief, and Azane is part of that transition.

所以自從Azane[參與]投資等等之後，有些人就來了，自信地訂購帶有氨燃料的船隻，因為知道他們的短途海上貿易將提供氨燃料。此外，石油巨頭，尤其是挪威的石油巨頭，從那時起就開始了對完全使用氨燃料的近海船舶的招標。所以你可以看到開始是最前沿的，按下按鈕開始改變，它會在第一個實例中緩慢發生，然後呈指數增長。這是我們的信念，而 Azane 則是這項轉變的一部分。

Thank you, Oeyvind. Operator, any other questions with their hands raised? One last question here on drydocking. Are we anticipating any delays in materials, equipment, which might delay the drydocking or make it longer? How confident are you in the schedule that you provide?

謝謝你，奧伊文德。接線員，還有其他問題請舉手嗎？最後一個問題是關於乾船塢的。我們是否預期材料、設備會出現任何延誤，這可能會延遲進乾船塢或延長進塢時間？您對自己提供的時間表有多大信心？

I can kick us off here and say that we are well underway in terms of planning and executing on the drydockings that were planned for 2024. We don't expect per se that there will be any delays in these, and we also expect that they will stick to the schedule in terms of duration and also in terms of cost that we laid out.

首先我可以說，我們在規劃於 2024 年進行乾船塢的規劃和執行方面進展順利。我們本身並不期望這些項目會出現任何延誤，而且我們也期望它們在持續時間和成本方面能夠遵守我們制定的時間表。

So yes, there is inflationary pressure in the world around us. It's abating somewhat now, and we think we planned well for this. So we don't expect that there will be cost overruns or delays.

所以，是的，我們周圍的世界存在通膨壓力。現在情況有所減弱，我們認為我們對此計劃得很好。因此，我們預計不會有成本超支或延誤的情況。

Sounds good. I know we have one other analyst looking to ask the question. Is your line available? All right. Well, you know where to find us, so we'll take that offline. But thank you again for joining us for our 4Q '23 earnings call. Feel free to e-mail investorrelations@navigatorgas.com if you have any follow-ups, and we look forward to speaking with you in May for our first-quarter 2024 results. Have a great day.

聽起來不錯。我知道我們還有另一位分析師想問這個問題。你的線路可以用嗎？好的。好吧，您知道在哪裡可以找到我們，所以我們會將其離線。但再次感謝您參加我們的 23 年第 4 季財報電話會議。如果您有任何後續事宜，請隨時發送電子郵件至investorrelations@navigatorgas.com，我們期待在 5 月與您討論 2024 年第一季的業績。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。