Dynagas LNG Partners is close to a deal that would refinance the $421m in debt coming due later this year.
The New York-listed, George Procopiou-backed LNG carrier owner said in its fourth-quarter earnings report published on Thursday that it expects to close on a $345m financing deal in the second quarter of 2024 that together with other sources of money will have refinanced the company.
The lender was not named.
“We remain committed to our strategy of creating equity value through reducing debt and have since September 2019, repaid $254m in debt,” chief executive Tony Lauritzen said in a statement.
He said that $245m came from a $18.7m loan repayment in October 2022 and a $31.3m repayment in March 2023, helping to whittle a $675m credit facility down to $421m.
The $345m, subject to customary closing conditions according to Lauritzen, would reduce that figure to $76m, which the company plans to pay off using other forms of liquidity.
At the end of 2023, the company had $73.8m in cash and cash equivalents.
For the last three months of 2023, Dynagas LNG Partners recorded a $10.5m profit, down from $11.6m, despite voyage revenues rising to $37m from $35m.
The company attributed the decline to a decrease in year-over-year interest rate swap gains and a gain on debt extinguishment recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Dynagas LNG Partners’ eight-ship fleet, which is on long-term charters, made approximately $70,000 per day each, up from $62,700 per day for the same period last year.
Ship operating expenses for the quarter totalled $8.4m, rising from $7.8m, due to increased vessel maintenance costs.
