BW Offshore is maxing out its dividend after selling off old ships and its stake in BW Energy.
The floating production, storage and offloading unit owner reported a $40m profit for the last three months of 2023, with chief executive Marco Beenen trumpeting the balance sheet.
“We have a strong balance sheet after completing our fleet divestment programme and the sale of BW Energy shares, supported by strong cash generation from our FPSO fleet,” he said.
“This is reflected in our fourth-quarter dividend [of $0.09], which brings the total distribution based on 2023 results to $48.6m, being the maximum allowed under our debt covenants, and shows our continuous commitment to returning value to shareholders.”
Since 2021, the Andreas Sohmen-Pao-backed company has sold 11 vessels, unlocking $331m in liquidity, it said, most recently parting with the 50,000-bpd Sendje Berge (built 1974) for $15m and taking steps to sell the 20,000-bpd Petroleo Nautipa (built 1975) for recycling following the end of its contract.
Once the Petroleo Nautipa is out of the fleet, BW Offshore will be left with three ships on the water and two under construction.
Two of the three are contracted to the end of 2024 with further options, another to mid-2028 and the last on a 15-year charter once it begins operation next year.
The fifth, the Barossa, is under construction.
The deals leave BW Offshore with a $6.6bn contract backlog, $5.5bn of which is firm.
The company made an additional $176m by selling its 22.5% stake in BW Energy amid a larger push by Sohmen-Pao to take his Oslo-listed companies private or seek second listings in New York.
BW Offshore’s independent directors initially rejected a NOK 27 per share offer in mid-January before accepting a NOK 32 per share offer 12 days later.
The divestments and share sales leave it with $361m in cash and cash equivalents.
The $40m profit was slightly lower than the $41.3m profit posted for the fourth quarter of 2022.
Revenue dipped from $211m to $170m year over year.
However, the company whittled its expenses down from $106m to $79.3m.
In early trading on Thursday, BW Offshore shares rose NOK 1.54 from the previous close, hitting NOK 24.78.
