Canada’s Teekay Tankers is sharing its record earnings with investors in the shape of stock repurchases and a special dividend.
The US-listed suezmax and aframax/LR2 specialist logged a best-ever net profit of $169.4m in the first quarter, erasing a loss of $13.9m in the same period of 2022.
Revenue jumped to $394.7m from $174m in a strong market, the owner said.
Spot suezmax rates were $55,891 per day and have jumped to $62,400 so far in the second three months.
Aframax/LR2 ships managed $67,346 per day, and have secured $58,500 for the second quarter.
The company was also boosted by four charter-in contracts starting in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first three months of 2023.
The board has approved a new capital allocation plan including a fixed quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share.
On top of this, the company has declared a special payout of $1 per share.
Directors have also authorised a new $100m share repurchase programme.
This provides another lever which can be utilised to optimise shareholder returns, the company said.
“In the first quarter of 2023, spot charter rates for mid-sized tankers rose to their highest level ever for a first quarter, on the back of clear, sustainable fundamentals," said chief executive Kevin Mackay.
Spot bonanza
“With Teekay Tankers’ fleet deployed almost entirely in the spot market, including six of our chartered-in vessels being employed on a spot basis, we have been prime beneficiaries of the current market conditions and have delivered another quarter of record-breaking net income,” he added.
Opec+ oil production cuts provide potential headwinds, the CEO said.
But the durability of the current market’s demand drivers and the structural constraints to global fleet supply growth should provide fundamental support for multi-year strength in the tanker market, he added.
The company also revealed a new secured revolving credit facility worth up to $350m to refinance 19 vessels.
These include the nine ships bought back with cash from sale and leaseback arrangements in March, as well as six more repurchased in May.
Four more ships to be bought back in the third quarter will also be covered by the loan.
