FSL Trust Management Pte. Ltd., the trustee-manager of FSL Trust, announced the unaudited financial results of FSL Trust for the 2nd quarter and 1st half of 2021, ended 30 June 2021.
Despite the continuously challenging tanker market environment, the Trust reported a net profit of US$ 0.5 million for the 2nd quarter 2021 and US$ 0.9 million for the 1st half 2021. Adjusted EBITDA1 declined to US$ 2.2 million and US$ 4.7 million, respectively, reflecting the reduced earnings for those tankers operating in pools and the spot market, combined with a lower number of vessels in the Trust’s fleet compared to last year.
Whilst uncertainties remain, the Trust maintains a healthy financial position and solid capitalstructure, with US$ 26.7 million of cash and cash equivalents, zero net interest-bearing debt and US$ 22.3 million 2 in contracted revenue from fixed-rate period charters for seven vessels (excluding optional periods).
In May 2021, the Trust successfully completed the refinancing of six vessels with a loan ofUS$ 15.0 million from Chailease, a Taiwanese financial institution. The loan has a maturity of five years from drawdown and the Trust currently has no other loans outstanding.
Commenting on the results, Roger Woods, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“With the majority of FSL Trust’s vessels being employed under fixed-rate period charters and with limited market exposure, we ended the 2nd quarter 2021 with a positive result despite the continuously weak tanker market environment. The pandemic continues to weigh on freight rates for tankers, now coupled with summer seasonality. Yet, there have also been some positive signals as OPEC+ recently announced to increase oil production, whilst air traffic is slowly picking up, which is expected to support demand for product tankers.”
Stathis Topouzoglou, Chairman of the Board of Directors, commented: “COVID-19 continues to disrupt shipping operations around the globe and the Board of Directors once again expresses its gratitude to the FSL team and especially the seafarers on board our vessels for their continued support, commitment and professionalism. Great challenges are posed by closed boarders and the persisting travel restrictions as crew changes remain difficult, whilst thousands of seafarers serve on board vessels for extended periods, keeping global supply chains alive.
The investment environment in shipping remains challenging and we will continue to prioritise projects that can deliver long-term stable cash flows for the Trust and address the changing environmental regulation the shipping industry is confronted with.”