The trustee-manager of First Ship Lease Trust (FSL Trust) has announced a net profit of US$5.4 million ($7.69 million) for its 3QFY2022 ended September, reversing from the net loss of US$2.5 million in the previous corresponding quarter.
This includes a net gain from the sale of the chemical tanker FSL London of US$2 million.
For 9MFY2022, the trust reported a net profit of US$7.7 million, compared to a net loss of US$1.6 million in the corresponding period last year.
With the entire current fleet operating under fixed-rate period charters, the trust has contracted future revenue of up to US$30 million, including US$22.9 million of firm contracted revenue and US$7.1 million of optional contracted revenue.
FSL Trust ended its 3QFY2022 with a comfortable liquidity position of US$11.1 million and a very low net leverage of 0.4x. Post quarter-end, the trust has completed the disposal of the product tanker FSL Singapore, which generated net sales proceeds of US$16.7 million and resulted in a net gain of US$5 million.
FSL Trust’s vessel currently comprises eight tankers of different sizes, all of which are employed under fixed-rate period charters. The combined portfolio of vessels had an average age of approximately 17 years and a dollar weighted average remaining lease period of approximately three years (excluding optional extension periods and early termination options).
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The CEO of the trustee-manager Roger Woods says the quarter was very successful for FSL Trust, having reversed the quarterly loss from last year when tanker markets were suffering from the pandemic and low oil demand.
“Whilst the outlook for the tanker markets generally remains positive with healthy supply-side fundamentals, we are mindful of the geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties, which may have an adverse impact on ton-mile demand. As all of FSL Trust’s vessels are now chartered on fixed-rate period charters, the trust’s market exposure is very limited, providing meaningful downside protection,” he adds.
Units in FSL Trust closed 0.1 cent higher or 1.22% up on Nov 3 at 8.3 cents.
