According to a past article on MarketWatch (http://dtn.fm/ruK1O), after the Fukushima nuclear disaster there was an increase in liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand in 2012. This meant that the LNG carrier fleet was operating at a 98% utilization rate. These numbers eventually decreased due to the delay of several liquefaction projects and slowing LNG demand in Asia, but things have since been looking up. Australia and North America will see the addition of significant liquefaction capacity over the next few years. According to the original article, this is expected to increase spending on LNG carriers for supply transportation, with a market boost due to the need for more flexibility in the LNG fleet.
For companies such as Dynagas LNG Partners LP (NYSE: DLNG), this is good news. The company is a growth oriented partnership that operates liquefied natural gas carriers employed on multi-year charters. As well as conventional LNG shipping, DLNG aims to focus its efforts on a fleet that is equipped for trading flexibility, including some of the coldest, sub-zero areas in the world.
Most recently, the company released its results for the third quarter of 2016, showing an increase of distributable cash flow from $23 million during the first three months to over $68 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2016. Not only this, net income rose from just over $17 million to $51.4 million in less than a year, with adjusted net income coming in at just under $57 million in the first nine months of 2016. Earnings per common unit grew from $0.44 to $1.30 in the six-month period, and adjusted earnings per common unit went from just under $0.50 to $1.45.
The company also entered into a new long-term charter agreement with Gazprom Marketing & Trading Singapore Pte Ltd. The agreement allows DLNG to employ the company’s 2007-built 150,000 cbm steam turbine LNG carrier, Clean Energy. This new partnership is expected to start in mid-2018 and continue for a duration of seven years and nine months. During this period, the agreement is expected to generate over $130 million in gross contracted revenues.
In addition to the above, the partnership agreed to cut down the charter hire rate on two existing contracts, Yenisei River and Lena River, both of which were built in 2013. As of this month, the contracted revenues will be reduced by just under $9 million for the Yenisei River and closer to $10 million for the Lena River over the remainder of the current charter terms. CEO of the partnership, Tony Lauritzen, reported that these new charter arrangements increase the partnership’s contracted backlog to around $1.6 billion.
According to a recent article published by Engelwood Daily (http://dtn.fm/0QnNN), Wall Street released predictions that DLNG’s earnings per share will be $0.41 by the time the company releases its earning at the end of February 2017. Price targets released by Wall Street range from $9 to $18, and, according to the ABR ranking, where one represents a ‘Strong Buy’ and five is a ‘Strong Sell’, the company now has an ABR of two, representing a ‘Buy’ rating.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.dynagaspartners.com
