STEALTHGAS INC. Reports First Quarter Net Income of $14.1 Million
STEALTHGAS INC., a ship-owning company serving the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector of the international shipping industry, announced today its unaudited financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.
OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Strong profitability continued for the first quarter, with Net income of $14.1 million corresponding to a basic EPS of $0.38, similar to the previous quarter’s $14.2 million but reduced compared to the $17.7 million record at the time achieved in the first quarter of 2024.
Time Charter equivalent revenues decreased by 4.6% compared to the same period of last year to $36.9 million for the first quarter of 2025 as a result of a more muted market.
Preserved the high period coverage. About 70% of fleet days for 2025 are secured on period charters, with total fleet employment days for all subsequent periods generating over $165 million (excl. JV vessels) in contracted revenues.
Continued reducing leverage, making $34.4 million in debt repayments during the first quarter of 2025 and a further $19.2 million in the current quarter of 2025. Currently, all the vessels in the fully owned fleet except one are unencumbered.
Since the last quarterly announcement the Company has spent $1.8 million in share repurchases. Overall under the current program the Company has spent over $21.2 million in share repurchases since June 2023.
Maintaining ample cash and cash equivalents (incl. restricted cash) of $77.1 million as of March 31, 2025 enabling the Company to further reduce debt.
First Quarter 2025 Results1:
Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2025 amounted to $42.0 million compared to revenues of $41.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, based on an average of 28.0 vessels and 27.0 vessels owned by the Company, respectively, as the vessels remaining in the fleet earned higher revenues due to better market conditions.
Voyage expenses and vessels’ operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2025, were $5.1 million and $13.5 million, respectively, compared to $2.9 million and $11.5 million, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The $2.2 million increase in voyage expenses was mainly due to an increase in port expenses and in bunkers costs as a result of the increase in spot market days for the fleet. The $2.0 million increase in vessels’ operating expenses was mainly due to increase in crew costs and maintenance expenses.
Drydocking costs for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 were $0.4 million and nil, respectively. Drydocking expenses during the first quarter of 2025 mainly relate to the commenced drydocking of one vessel, compared to no drydocking of vessels in the same period of last year.
General and administrative expenses remained stable at $2.2 million for both the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.
Depreciation for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $6.7 million and $6.5 million, respectively, a $0.2 million increase is mainly related to the increase in average number of vessels owned by the Company and to the partial replacement of some of the older vessels with newer and larger ones which have a higher cost.
Impairment loss for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $0.5 million and nil, respectively. As a result of the agreed sale terms for the vessel Gas Cerberus, with delivery expected in the second quarter of 2025, a non-cash impairment loss of $0.5 million was recognized in the first quarter of 2025.
Interest and finance costs for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, were $1.4 million and $3.2 million, respectively. The $1.8 million decrease from the same period of last year is primarily due to continued debt prepayments.
Interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, remained unchanged at $0.8 million.
Equity earnings in joint ventures for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was a gain of $2.2 million and $2.6 million, respectively. The $0.4 million decrease was primarily due to decrease in number of vessels in joint ventures.
As a result of the above, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company reported net income of $14.1 million, compared to net income of $17.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The weighted average number of shares outstanding, basic, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was 35.7 million and 35.1 million, respectively.
Earnings per share, basic, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 amounted to $0.38 compared to earnings per share, basic, of $0.49 for the same period of last year.
Adjusted net income was $16.1 million corresponding to an Adjusted EPS of $0.44 for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to Adjusted net income of $19.1 million corresponding to an Adjusted EPS of $0.53 for the same period of last year.
EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2025 amounted to $21.4 million. Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income are set forth below.
An average of 28.0 vessels were owned by the Company during the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to 27.04 vessels for the same period of 2024.
1 EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP measures. Refer to the reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable financial measure in accordance with GAAP set forth later in this release.
Fleet Update Since Previous Announcement
The Company announced the conclusion of the following chartering arrangements (of three or more months duration):
A twelve months time charter for its 2016 built LPG carrier Eco Dominator, until Mar 2026.
A twelve months time charter extension for its 2016 built LPG carrier Eco Nical, until May 2026.
A six months time charter extension for the 2012 built LPG carrier Gas Esco, until Sep 2025.
As of June 2025, the Company has total contracted revenues of approximately $165 million.
As of June 2025, for the remainder of the year, the Company has circa 70% of fleet days secured under period contracts and contracted revenues of approximately $72 million.
In April 2025, the Company entered into an agreement to sell the vessel Gas Cerberus to a third party, with delivery expected in the second quarter of 2025. The vessel is debt-free, and the full proceeds from the sale will contribute to the Company’s liquidity position.
The Company has agreed in principle to purchase back from one of its joint venture partners the remaining share (49.9%) which it does not already own in the two vessels Eco Lucidity and Gas Haralambos. The transaction is subject to entry into definitive documentation and customary conditions and is expected to take place within June 2025. Following this transaction, these two vessels will be consolidated within the fully owned fleet of the Company and only one vessel will remain in a JV.
Board Chairman Michael Jolliffe Commented
The results that were announced today point to a strong start to the year and underpin our confidence in sustaining the momentum we have built over the last years, throughout 2025. It is no doubt a period of uncertainty and in such periods, among other things, there is reluctance by charterers to commit longer term. With the latest developments, we expect trade flows to normalize and sentiment to improve as the fundamentals of LPG shipping continue to be positive. In this volatile environment StealthGas remains steadfast in its strategy and has all but eliminated its financial risk, being net debt free after having made over $50 million in debt repayments during this year and having 27 out of 28 vessels unencumbered. At the same time in order to return value to our shareholders, we have begun buying back shares, spending $1.8 million in share repurchases since March. Overall under the current program the Company has spent over $21.2 million in share repurchases since June 2023.
Source: STEALTHGAS INC.
