StealthGas is ready for 2020.
Alongside its third quarter earnings release Thursday, the Harry Vafias-led LPG carrier owner disclosed 13 charters and charter extensions, securing revenues of $138m and covering 88% of fourth quarter voyage days and 53% of 2020 voyage days.
The New York-listed company said the extensions came with higher rates.
"Our performance in the third quarter of the year improved to an optimal level in terms of fleet efficiency, as reflected in our operational utilization of 98%," said chairman Michael Jolliffe, who added the company experienced "persistently weak earnings" in the Asian spot market.
"We feel, however, that should market conditions improve as they seem to have based on the thirteen period charters and charter extensions we managed to conclude during the past couple of months, our profitability will be enhanced."
In the three months ending 30 September, StealthGas posted a slight adjusted profit of $443,481, which added back $140,548 in share-based compensation and a $492,989 loss on a vessel sale.
The performance was a slight improvement over the $325,368 profit posted for the third quarter of 2018.
Revenue fell $6.8m to $36.6m thanks to a smaller fleet, while both voyage and operating expenses fell by $900,000 and $3.3m respectively.
