John Fredriksen's Flex LNG will list in New York in June after the US SEC declared its registration statement effective.
No new securities will be issued in connection with the move, which will see the company quoted on both the New York Stock Exchange and in Oslo.
A US listing will see it join fellow Fredriksen companies Frontline, Golden Ocean, Ship Finance International and Seadrill in New York.
In April, TradeWinds reported that Flex LNG had filed a draft registration with US regulators to float in the world’s largest capital market.
The company said on Friday it had logged a first quarter net loss of $3.4m compared to a profit of $15.23m a year ago.
Analysts at Arctic Securities said the results were below both its and consensus forecasts due to lower than projected revenue and higher costs.
DNB Markets says revenue of $19.1m was 6% below consensus, while core operating profit of $9m missed forecasts by one third.
Analysts led by Nicloay Dyvik, however, do not expect a host of changes to estimates as the challenging market during the first half of the year should already have been incorporated into models.
Oystein Kalleklev, chief executive of Flex, said: “First half of 2019 has been challenging due to the disruption in the LNG trade caused by a unseasonably mild winter, a glut of LNG hitting the market as well as shift in trading patterns favouring shorter hauls to Europe.
"We in Flex LNG have deliberately elected to sail against the current to be able to position us for the shift in currents expected to take place in the second half of the year.
"With tighter market and significant contango in the gas market we are upbeat about the outlook for owners of uncommitted two stroke LNG carriers."
He added: "Furthermore we continue to strengthen the organization with insourcing of ship management with the aim of delivering the highest standard in terms of customer experience.
"Additionally, our US listing will give us access to a larger and deeper capital market which is advantageous in such a capital intensive shipping segment as LNG transportation.”
Market to grow
Flex said the market is expected to grow substantially in the coming years.
Demand will expand firmly as China in particular continues to focus on energy efficiency and improvements in air quality in key metropolitan areas.
The outlook for LNG shipping demand, albeit showing slow growth in the first quarter of 2019, remains sound due to new liquefaction capacity coming on-line in the western hemisphere, coupled with robust demand growth in the eastern parts of the world, it added.
"Flex LNG expects the market for energy efficient modern LNG carriers to improve going forward, as mere seasonal effects fade, and the markets stabilise," it said.
"The long term projections for the industry are well supported, and Flex LNG is very well positioned to capitalise on the global shift for cleaner energy."
