US-listed shipowner GasLog Partners has logged an asset impairment loss of $104m on the five steam turbine LNG carriers in its fleet pushing its fourth-quarter results into the red.
The partnership said the non-cash impairment loss compared to an aggregate impairment loss of $5.1m million for the same period in 2020.
The company said the factors that led to this included the differences of the shipbroker estimates of its steam vessels’ fair market values compared to their carrying values, along with reduced expectations of the long-term rates for these older technology vessels.
Turnaround
GasLog Partners reported a fourth-quarter loss of $70.8m, a large turnaround on a profit of $22.6m in the same period of 2020.
Revenue inched up 4% during the three months to $88.2m, compared to $85.1m in the same quarter of 2020.
GasLog said the improved revenue was mainly due to improved performance for its spot fleet in the fourth quarter of 2021 on the back of an improved shipping market and the short-term charters it entered into.
The company said its operating costs for the period fell by $0.6m during the quarter but this was partially offset by an increase in other operating expenses.
GasLog Partners detailed that daily operating costs per vessel for the period — minus one of its ships where these are covered by the charterer — fell to $14,695 per day from $15,127 per day in the same period for 2020.
General and administrative expenses decreased by $1.5m in the quarter on the back of cost-reduction initiatives and a drop in legal and professional fees.
Performance
The company repaid $17.3m of debt during the quarter bringing total debt repayment to $108.1m during 2021.
Chief executive Paolo Enoizi said the fourth quarter was “another period of strong operational and financial performance”.
Enoizi said the fleet had 100% fleet uptime and zero lost-time incidents during the quarter.
He said continued cost optimisation and rechartering activities helped improve profitability.
“We keep focusing on debt repayments and improving the breakeven rates of the partnership,” he said.
“As we look ahead to 2022, we expect to continue with our capital allocation strategy, which will enhance our competitiveness and position the Partnership for continued success in the spot and short-term market for LNG shipping.”
GasLog Partners controls a fleet of 14 LNG carriers comprising five steamships and nine tri-fuel diesel-electric vessels.
