FRONTLINE PLC REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2023
Frontline plc (the “Company” or “Frontline”), today reported unaudited results for the three months ended March 31, 2023:
Highlights
- Highest first quarter profit since 2008 of $199.6 million, or $0.90 per basic and diluted share for the first quarter of 2023.
- Adjusted profit of $193.3 million, or $0.87 per basic and diluted share for the first quarter of 2023.
- Declared a cash dividend of $0.70 per share for the first quarter of 2023.
- Reported revenues of $497.3 million for the first quarter of 2023.
- Reported spot TCEs for VLCCs, Suezmax tankers and LR2/Aframax tankers in the first quarter of 2023 were $52,500, $64,000 and $56,300 per day, respectively.
- For the second quarter of 2023, we estimate spot TCE on a load-to-discharge basis of $75,000 contracted for 78% of vessel days for VLCCs, $65,000 contracted for 71% of vessel days for Suezmax tankers and $65,700 contracted for 63% of vessel days for LR2/Aframax tankers.
- Sold the 2010-built Suezmax tanker, Front Njord in May 2023, for aggregate gross proceeds of $44.5 million. After repayment of existing debt on the vessel, the transaction is expected to generate net cash proceeds of approximately $28.2 million.
- Entered into two fixed rate time charter-out contracts in April 2023 and May 2023 for two LR2/Aframax tankers to third parties on two-year time charters, both at a daily base rate of $46,500.
- Entered into a senior secured term loan facility in May 2023 for a total amount of up to $129.4 million at attractive terms to refinance an existing term loan facility maturing in August 2023.
Lars H. Barstad, Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Management AS, commented:
“Frontline continued to generate elevated cash returns for its shareholders in the first quarter of 2023. The most prominent market development during the quarter was that China abandoned its zero-tolerance policy in respect of Covid-19 and started reopening. Freight demand and rates remained firm throughout the quarter, defying historical seasonal patterns. Our constructive long-term outlook is not affected by short-term volatility, as oil demand is expected to rise significantly in the second half of the year. We will continue to position Frontline towards capturing value, both on assets and period business as we proceed into what we believe may be a very exciting cycle.”
Inger M. Klemp, Chief Financial Officer of Frontline Management AS, added:
“In May 2023, we entered into a senior secured term loan facility for a total amount of up to $129.4 million to refinance an existing term loan facility with total balloon payment of $80.1 million maturing in August 2023. We intend to use the expected net cash proceeds from the refinancing and from the sale of Front Njord to partially repay our $275.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility.”
Average daily time charter equivalents ("TCEs")1
| ($ per day) | Spot TCE | Spot TCE estimates | % Covered | Estimated average daily cash breakeven rates | ||
| Q1 2023 | Q4 2022 | 2022 | Q2 2023 | 2023 | ||
| VLCC | 52,500 | 63,200 | 31,300 | 75,000 | 78% | 26,500 |
| Suezmax | 64,000 | 57,900 | 37,100 | 65,000 | 71% | 22,700 |
| LR2 / Aframax | 56,300 | 58,800 | 38,500 | 65,700 | 63% | 16,800 |
We expect the spot TCEs for the full second quarter of 2023 to be lower than the TCEs currently contracted, due to the impact of ballast days at the end of the first quarter. The number of ballast days at the end of the first quarter was 359 for VLCCs, 429 for Suezmax tankers and 216 for LR2/Aframax tankers.
The Board of Directors
Frontline plc
Limassol, Cyprus
May 30, 2023
Ola Lorentzon - Chairman and Director
John Fredriksen - Director
Ole B. Hjertaker - Director
James O'Shaughnessy - Director
Steen Jakobsen - Director
Marios Demetriades - Director
Questions should be directed to:
Lars H. Barstad: Chief Executive Officer, Frontline Management AS
+47 23 11 40 00
Inger M. Klemp: Chief Financial Officer, Frontline Management AS
+47 23 11 40 00
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this report may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements, which include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
Frontline plc and its subsidiaries, or the Company, desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. This report and any other written or oral statements made by us or on our behalf may include forward-looking statements, which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results. When used in this document, the words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "will," "may," "should," "expect" and similar expressions, terms or phrases may identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this report are based upon various assumptions, including without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
In addition to these important factors and matters discussed elsewhere herein, important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies, fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, changes in the supply and demand for vessels comparable to ours, changes in worldwide oil production and consumption and storage, changes in the Company's operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry docking and insurance costs, the market for the Company's vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, our ability to obtain financing and comply with the restrictions and other covenants in our financing arrangements, availability of skilled workers and the related labor costs, compliance with governmental, tax, environmental and safety regulation, any non-compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) or other applicable regulations relating to bribery, the impact of increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, lenders and other market participants with respect to our ESG policies, general economic conditions and conditions in the oil industry, effects of new products and new technology in our industry, the failure of counter parties to fully perform their contracts with us, our dependence on key personnel, adequacy of insurance coverage, our ability to obtain indemnities from customers, changes in laws, treaties or regulations, the volatility of the price of our ordinary shares; our incorporation under the laws of Cyprus and the different rights to relief that may be available compared to other countries, including the United States, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, environmental factors, political events, public health threats, international hostilities including the ongoing developments in the Ukraine region, acts by terrorists or acts of piracy on ocean-going vessels, the length and severity of epidemics and pandemics, including the ongoing global outbreak of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"), and their impacts on the demand for seaborne transportation of petroleum products, the impact of increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, lenders and other market participants with respect to our Environmental, Social and Governance policies, the impact of port or canal congestion and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission or Commission.
We caution readers of this report not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. These forward-looking statements are no guarantee of our future performance, and actual results and future developments may vary materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
1 This press release describes Time Charter Equivalent earnings and related per day amounts, which are not measures prepared in accordance with IFRS (“non-GAAP”). See Appendix 1 for a full description of the measures and reconciliation to the nearest IFRS measure.
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