This was due to increased fleet utilisation and a slight increase in market rates, the company said.
Voyage and vessels’ operating expenses for 1Q17 were $3.6 mill and $14.9 mill, respectively, compared to $4 mill and $14.5 mill respectively, for 1Q16. The $400,000 decrease in voyage expenses was due to the lower number of vessels operating in the spot market during the first quarter, compared to the same period of last year. The 2.8% increase in operating expenses was due to one product tanker coming off bareboat in January, 2017. It should be noted that product tankers operating costs are significantly higher than that of LPGs, thus increasing the average operating cost.
For the first quarter, StealthGas reported a net income of $2 mill, compared to a net income of $0.6 mill for 1Q16. Adjusted net income was also $2 mill for 1Q17, compared to adjusted net income of $0.1 mill for the same period of 2016. EBITDA for 1Q17 amounted to $15.4 mill.
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An average of 53 vessels were owned by the company during the quarter, compared to 52.8 vessels for the same period in 2016.
Board chairman, Michael Jolliffe, commented; “Our performance during the first quarter of 2017 leaves us cautiously optimistic for the future. Our company, taking advantage of our well chartered position and the significant reduction in idle days, managed to achieve record revenues and high operational utilisation, thus improving on profitability margins.
“It must be taken into consideration though, that as is customary, the first quarter is driven mostly by seasonal demand with weaker quarters anticipated to follow. Nevertheless, we believe that the low orderbook of our segment and a further stabilisation in oil prices have the potential to reinforce improvements in our market fundamentals.
“Our strategy for the periods to follow is to take delivery and integrate in our fleet the remaining 22,000 cu m eco semi-ref new vessels, acknowledging that this segment has been facing challenges for quite some time now. But most importantly our commitment towards our company and our investors is to continue outperforming our peers, leveraging on our solid financial and market leading position in our segment.
“Over the years we have proven that we do not run our business based on day- to- day stock movements. What we continue to do is focus our business on what drives value creation, which is profitable growth, minimising risks and delivering strong returns,” he said.