Imperial Petroleum posts “very good” Q1 25’ result

IMPERIAL PETROLEUM, a ship-owning company providing petroleum products, crude oil and dry bulk seaborne transportation services, announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Fleet operational utilization of 83.8% in Q1 25’ versus 86% in Q4 24’ and 80.6% in Q1 24’.
• About 47% of fleet calendar days were dedicated to time charter activity while 53% to spot activity.
• Delivery of the dry bulk carrier, Supra Pasha (2012 built) on April 26th 2025; the remaining six contracted dry bulk carriers will be delivered by June 2025.
• Revenues of $32.1 million in Q1 25’ compared to $41.2 million in Q1 24’- a 22.1% decline as market rates were stronger during Q1 24’.
• Net income of $11.3 million in Q1 25’ versus $16.7 million in Q1 24’, corresponding to an EPS, basic of $0.32.
• EBITDA¹ of $14.7 million for Q1 25’.
• Revenues and net income increased by $5.9 million (or 22.5%) and $7.4 million (or 189.7%), respectively, in Q1 25’ compared to Q4 24’.
• Cash and cash equivalents including time deposits of $227.4 million as of March 31, 2025 which is 167.5% higher than our current market capitalization of about $85 million.
• Recurring profitability and debt free capital structure facilitate robust cash flow generation.

First Quarter 2025 Results:

• Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2025 amounted to $32.1 million, a decrease of $9.1 million, or 22.1%, compared to revenues of $41.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, primarily due to a decrease in the spot market tanker rates. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 average spot rates for product and suezmax tankers were 26.9% and 24.2% higher than average spot rates during the three months ended March 31, 2025.
• Voyage expenses and vessels’ operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2025 were $10.5 million and $7.1 million, respectively, compared to $13.5 million and $6.0 million, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The $3.0 million decrease in voyage expenses is mainly attributed to increased time charter activity leading to a decline in spot days by 16.1%. The decline in spot days along with the decrease in the Suez Canal transits compared to the same period of last year, led to decreased bunker consumption by 21.2% and lower port expenses by 30.8%. The $1.1 million increase in vessels’ operating expenses is primarily due to the increased size of our fleet by an average of 2.1 vessels between the two periods.
• Drydocking costs for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 were nil and $0.6 million, respectively. This decrease is due to the fact that during the three months ended March 31, 2025, no vessel underwent drydocking whereas during the three months ended March 31, 2024 our aframax tanker commenced its drydocking which was concluded within April 2024.
• General and administrative costs for both the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 were $1.2 million.
• Depreciation for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $5.0 million and $4.0 million, respectively. The change is attributable to the increase in the average number of vessels in our fleet.
• Management fees for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 were $0.5 million and $0.4 million, respectively. The change is attributable to the increase in the average number of vessels in our fleet.
• Interest and finance costs for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 were $0.6 million and $0.002 million, respectively. The $0.6 million of costs for the three months ended March 31, 2025 relate mainly to accrued interest expense – related party in connection with the $14.0 million and $24.0 million part of the acquisition prices of our bulk carriers, Neptulus and Clean Imperial, respectively. These balances were completely settled in April 2025. For accounting purposes, the outstanding balances payable on the two vessels were required to be allocated between principal and imputed interest, despite the fact that no interest was contractually charged by the sellers. The total amounts ultimately paid remained consistent with the originally agreed purchase prices.
• Interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $2.2 million as compared to $1.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The $1.2 million increase is mainly attributed to a higher amount of funds placed under time deposits.
• Interest income – related party for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was nil as compared to $0.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The decrease is mainly attributed to the $0.8 million of accrued interest income – related party for the three months ended March 31, 2024 in connection with the $38.7 million of the sale price of the Aframax tanker Afrapearl II (ex. Stealth Berana). The balance was collected in July 2024, thus the balance for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was nil.
• Foreign exchange (loss)/gain for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was a gain of $1.7 million as compared to a loss of $0.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The $1.7 million foreign exchange gain for the three months ended March 31, 2025, is mainly attributed the strengthening of the euro currency against the dollar at the end of the three months ended March 31, 2025 when compared to the respective currency values at the end of year 2024.
• As a result of the above, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company reported net income of $11.3 million, compared to net income of $16.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Dividends paid on Series A Preferred Shares amounted to $0.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding, basic, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was 32.9 million. Earnings per share, basic and diluted, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 amounted to $0.32 and $0.30, respectively, compared to earnings per share, basic and diluted, of $0.56 and $0.50, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
• Adjusted net income¹ was $12.2 million corresponding to an Adjusted EPS¹, basic of $0.34 for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to an Adjusted net income of $17.5 million corresponding to an Adjusted EPS, basic, of $0.59 for the same period of last year.
• EBITDA¹ for the three months ended March 31, 2025 amounted to $14.7 million, while Adjusted EBITDA¹ for the three months ended March 31, 2025 amounted to $15.6 million.
• An average of 11.90 vessels were owned by the Company during the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to 9.84 vessels for the same period of 2024.

¹ EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS are non-GAAP measures. Refer to the reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable financial measure in accordance with GAAP set forth later in this release. Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income are set forth below.

Fleet Employment Table

As of May 23, 2025, the profile and deployment of our fleet is the following:

CEO Harry Vafias Commented:

“Another year commenced with a positive momentum for Imperial Petroleum. We are happy as we consider the $11.3 million of net income generated in Q1 25’ a very good result given the eventful but softish market. This is a busy period for our Company but at the same time exciting as we are taking on delivery of another six drybulk vessels. Within the short life of Imperial Petroleum, we are expanding our fleet from four vessels to nineteen by the second quarter of 2025; our goal of growing fast and transforming a small company to medium sized was achieved. We feel confident that the diversified quality non- Chinese fleet we have created will pay off. Imperial Petroleum enjoys fast growth, recurring profits, zero bank debt and liquidity as of March 31, 2025 in excess of $220 million and as per our view ticks all the boxes that define a successful operation“.