KNOT Offshore posts lower first-quarter profit

KNOT Offshore Partners posted lower profits in the first quarter thanks to increased financing costs.

The Gary Chapman-led shuttle tanker owner also announced it extended the maturity of its $25m unsecured credit facility coming due in August.

For the first three months of 2019, KNOT posted $12.9m in profit, down from the $30.7m from the same period in 2018.

Revenues and expenses stayed largely steady at $70.5m and $38.2m respectively, but finance expenses shot up more than $18m.

The company said the increase was due to loss on derivative instruments, a higher Libor average and additional debt from the purchase of the 152,000-dwt Anna Knutsen (built 2017).