Eneti lines up $436m newbuilding loan from two banks amid third-quarter profit

Offshore wind farm construction specialist Eneti has received a loan proposal from two French banks to finance its newbuildings on order in South Korea.

The financial package was unveiled as the Monaco company reported a quarterly profit for the third quarter, reversing a loss from a period a year earlier in which Eneti had just put its first ships on the water through its takeover of Seajacks International.

The New York-listed company said it turned to Credit Agricole and Societe General for the long-term, post delivery financing for the two wind-turbine installation vessels, or WTIVs.

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The banks have proposed a $436m term loan that will cover 65% of the cost of building the two vessels at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. Last year, Eneti ordered the two vessels at DSME for about $330m each.

The company said the proposed credit facility, which requires credit approval, execution of documentation and other requirements before it is finalised, includes the support of export credit agencies.

Meanwhile, Eneti said it logged a bottom-line net profit of $36.2m in the third quarter, which included an $8.1m gain in the price of its stake in sister company Scorpio Tankers.

A year earlier, it reported a loss of $900,000, including a $54.8m “gain on bargain” from the purchase of Seajacks that closed in August 2021, giving Eneti its present WTIV fleet. It also included $48.1m in transaction costs.

The company reported $69.2m in revenue, up from $34.4m a year earlier, with the help of revenue from wind farm projects in Taiwan and Japan.

Emanuele Lauro-led Eneti reported nine-month net income of $93.1m, including $54.9m in gains from its Scorpio Tankers shares, down from $54m in 2021.

In August, the company sold off its Scorpio Tankers holding, bringing in $82.5m in proceeds.

The outfit also purchased $17m of its own stock from Japan’s INCJ, which had received the stock as part of the Seajacks sale. The Japanese company said in September that it sold the rest of the Eneti shares to Citi.