FRONTLINE PLC REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE SECOND QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2024
Frontline plc (the "Company" or "Frontline"), today reported unaudited results for the six months ended June 30, 2024:
Highlights
Profit of $187.6 million, or $0.84 per share for the second quarter of 2024.
Adjusted profit of $138.2 million, or $0.62 per share for the second quarter of 2024.
Declared a cash dividend of $0.62 per share for the second quarter of 2024.
Reported revenues of $556.0 million for the second quarter of 2024.
Achieved average daily spot time charter equivalent earnings ("TCEs")1 for VLCCs, Suezmax tankers and LR2/Aframax tankers in the second quarter of $49,600, $45,600 and $53,100 per day, respectively.
Entered into an agreement to sell its oldest Suezmax tanker built in 2010, for a net sales price of $48.5 million. After repayment of existing debt, the transaction is expected to generate net cash proceeds of approximately $36.5 million.
Entered into a senior secured term loan facility in an amount of up to $606.7 million to refinance eight Suezmax tankers and eight LR2 tankers, which generated net cash proceeds of approximately $275.0 million.
Repaid an aggregate of $395.0 million under both the shareholder loan with Hemen Holding Limited ("Hemen"), our largest shareholder, and the $275.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility with an affiliate of Hemen in the second and third quarters of 2024.
Secured a commitment for a sale-and-leaseback agreement in an amount of up to $512.1 million to refinance 10 Suezmax tankers, which is subject to execution of final transaction documents to both parties' satisfaction. The refinancing is expected to generate net cash proceeds of approximately $101.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, which is expected to be partly used to repay the remaining $75.0 million drawn under the $275.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility with an affiliate of Hemen.
Lars H. Barstad, Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Management AS, commented:
"The second quarter of 2024 was very much in line with first quarter. Markets carried on at the same pace with positive volatility in an increasingly complicated geo-political landscape. Frontline continued optimizing its position by divesting older assets, consolidating our financials and executing on our strategy of efficiently running one of the largest modern fleets in the tanker market to enhance shareholder returns. Seasonality has a big effect on tanker markets, and as most of the global population lives in the northern hemisphere, the summer is the soft period. Historically, refinery utilization increases from here, as the world begins to prepare for winter and volatility in the tanker markets resumes."
Inger M. Klemp, Chief Financial Officer of Frontline Management AS, added:
"In the second and third quarters of 2024 we completed our strategy of freeing up capital by re-leveraging part of the existing fleet and selling older non-Eco vessels enabling us to repay an aggregate of $395.0 million, which was drawn under the Hemen shareholder loan and our $275.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility with an affiliate of Hemen to partly finance the acquisition of the 24 VLCCs from Euronav NV. In the third quarter, we further secured a commitment for a sale-and-leaseback agreement to refinance 10 Suezmax tankers. The refinancing is expected to generate net cash proceeds of approximately $101.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, which will enable us to repay the remaining $75.0 million drawn under our $275.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility with an affiliate of Hemen."
Average daily TCEs and estimated cash breakeven rates
($ per day)
Spot TCE
Spot TCE currently contracted
% Covered
Estimated average daily cash breakeven rates for the next 12 months
...
