BW LPG Limited

Good morning, afternoon, evening everyone. Thank you for joining us today. My name is Aline Anliker and I'm the Head of Corporate Communications at BW LPG. On behalf of the management team, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to our shareholders, investors, analysts and valued stakeholders joining us for our quarterly earnings presentation. We appreciate you taking the time to be with us and for your continued interest and confidence in our company. Joining me today are our CEO, Kristian Sorensen, and our CFO, Samantha Xu, who will walk you through the quarter's performance, key market developments, and our strategic priorities moving forward. Following the presentation, we will open the floor for a Q&A session You are welcome to submit questions through the Q&A chat throughout the presentation, or alternatively, you can click the raise hand button to ask your question directly during the Q&A part. Before we begin, I would like to draw your attention to the legal disclaimers shown on the current slide. Please also note that today's presentation is being recorded. And with that, it is my pleasure to hand over to Kristian.

Thanks, Aline. And hi, everyone. Thanks for joining us as we take you through our second quarter financial results and latest market developments. But before we start, I would, together with my fellow Norwegians listening in, like to pay tribute to our late King Harald, who passed away this morning. Throughout his life, he fulfilled his royal duties and roles as Prince, Crown Prince and King impeccably for nine decades. He was also a great supporter of the Norwegian maritime community and his wife, Queen Sonja, was a godmother of two of our former VLGCs, the Berger Rachel and the Berger Racine. May King Harald rest in peace and long live our new King Haakon. Now, back to today's earnings release. The VGC market experienced extreme volatility in the first half of 2026. The Middle East war and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz shifted LPG arbitrage economics. New trade routes are driving pronounced changes in the global LPG trade flows and vessel supply. I will revisit these developments later in the market section. Moving on to the Q2 results, we reported a shipping TCE income of $74,000 per available day below our guidance of $81,000 per day. and the discrepancy from our guidance is primarily due to negative IFRS 15 and FFA adjustments of 16.4 and 12 million dollars respectively corresponding to approximately 7,500 dollars per available day. The Q2 profit after minority interest was 120 million dollars equivalent to an EPS of 79 cents. Our trading business, BW Product Services, generated a strong realized trading gain of $127 million during the quarter, while reporting a loss after tax of $31 million, primarily reflecting a large negative change of $145 million in the unrealized mark-to-market valuation of open positions. For Q3, we are guiding on about $88,000 per day, fixed for 92% of our available days. This is against our current all-in cash break-even of $24,900 per day. The figure includes the fixed time-sharded coverage in the third quarter of 41% of our available days at $44,300 per day. But please see the appendix in this presentation for the full breakdown of time-sharded days and levels. The board of directors has declared a dividend of 95 cents per share, representing 100% of our shipping impact, exceeding the guidance set by the dividend policy. Further, it's still a busy dry docking period for us, and we report 99 dry dock days during the second quarter, with a total of 58 dry dock days expected in the third quarter. As for subsequent events, The commercial team has been busy with second-hand sales and fixing attractive time-sharp agreements. Since our first quarterly update back in June, we have sold the 2007 built BW Elm and BW Birch. They are both sold at a similar price level and as announced the sale of the BW Birch will generate net proceeds of about 64 million dollars. This is equivalent to a new building price of about 248 million dollars. The BWN was delivered to the new owners in July and the BW Birch is expected to be delivered by mid-November latest. We also announced the sale of the 2015 built BW Levant, scheduled for delivery to the new owners by mid-November. We continue building a robust time charter portfolio and we have fixed out one of our 2016 built LPG dual fuel retrofit vessels for a five-year time charter in the mid-high 40,000s per day with delivery end 2026. And we're also working on various other time charter opportunities, which we will announce later, providing successful conclusions of the negotiations. Now let's take a further look at the markets. The first half of 2026 was one of the most volatile periods on record for the VLGC markets. Following the outbreak of the US-Iran war, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused significant disruption to regional LPG pricing and global VLGC trade patterns. With the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed and Middle Eastern exports constrained, the US Gulf has continued to serve as a key source for LPG supply to Asia, as US export infrastructure continues to operate at high utilization to compensate for lower Middle Eastern export volumes. Towards the end of June, the LPG price differential, the arbitrage, between the US and the Far East narrowed considerably as expectations for a sustained reopening of the Strait of Hormuz grew. More recently, however, spot VLGC rates have strengthened alongside a widening US-Far East LPG arbitrage as tensions in the Middle East re-escalated. Declining water levels have further led to increased congestion and transit restrictions in the Panama Canal, prompting more VLGCs to reroute via the Cape of Good Hope. This consumes considerable shipping capacity and the resulting longer voyages have reduced effective vessel supply in the US Gulf and supported freight rates. In addition, several second-hand sales to Middle Eastern players serve new AG trades, including ship-to-ship transfers of cargoes in the Indian Ocean, which in turn reduces the shipping capacity for loading in the US and Canada. As briefly mentioned on the previous slide, US LPG exports growth has continued to surprise on the upside, with exports increasing by approximately 16% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, supported by higher LPG production and continued expansion of export terminal capacity. During the same period, Middle Eastern LPG exports declined by 46%, as exports remained heavily constrained by the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz. However, as mentioned on the previous slide, a number of vessels have remained idle in the Arabian Sea, awaiting the reopening of the strait, further tightening effective vessel supply in the US Gulf. And at the moment, we count in excess of 30 vessels employed or idling inside the Arabian Gulf or in the Indian Ocean. While the Panama Canal was already experiencing increasing congestion despite operating at full capacity, persistently low water levels due to drought have more recently forced the canal to operate at reduced capacity. This is further restricting daily transits and tightening available canal capacity. With increased competition for slots, This provides additional support to VLGC shipping as more vessels are forced to seek alternative routes. In recent days, we have seen more than $5 million being paid in auction fees to secure northbound transit slots. And remember that this is in addition to the canal fee of about $500,000 for a VLGC in Ballast. The constrained Panama Canal capacity and high transit costs increase the push for more VLGCs sailing the longer haul around South Africa to and from the US and Asia. This is a very similar situation like we experienced in 2023 and the longer sailing distances will in turn require additional shipping capacity. Over the past four months, stronger US LPG exports activity to India and China has added further momentum to long-haul LPG trade flows. And we believe it's likely to assume that countries in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia will increasingly source its LPG from the US for strategic reasons, maintaining the trade pattern around the Cape of Good Hope also in the future. India saw the most pronounced growth, with US LPG exports to India increasing by 212% in the first half of 2026, compared with the same period last year. US exports to China also recovered, reaching monthly levels not seen since the onset of the US-China trade war. And as a result, the US LPG exports to China increased by 2% year-on-year in the first half of 2026. If you look at the LPG exports forecasts, and starting with the North American exports, new capacity is expected to support continued structural growth in the VLGC trade. North American exports are forecasted to increase by 18% in 2026 versus 2025, supported by strong oil and gas activity, expanding export infrastructure, and the need to replace constrained Middle Eastern volumes. Turning to the Middle East, exports are expected to fall approximately 20 million tons short of pre-war forecasts for 2026. The shortfall reflects both lost volumes and growth that was previously expected this year, but has now been pushed out in time rather than permanently lost. Assuming the Strait of Hormuz reopens, Middle Eastern export volumes are expected to recover gradually. There are obviously lots of uncertainties, but a full recovery is likely to take approximately 12 to 36 months, depending on local conditions and the extent of infrastructure damage. Additional US LPG export capacity is expected to come online in the coming years, including recently announced expansions by AltaGas in 2027 in Canada and energy transfer in 2028 in the US Gulf. While flexible terminals have supported LPG growth so far this year, they are expected to increasingly pivot towards Ethernet exports, making the continued expansion of dedicated LPG capacity increasingly important. Taking a look at the current fleet and order book, New building contracting activity has been significant in recent months and the total order book is now counting 157 VLDCs with delivery stretching all the way to the end of 2030. The fleet has grown in the last three months and now stands at 437 VLDCs on the water. And while we're now entering a period with higher pace of new building deliveries, it's important to highlight the aging VGC fleet, with 127 vessels expected to be 20 years or older by year-end 2030, compared to 68 vessels by year-end 2026. So to summarize the market outlook, geopolitics and weather are causing considerable market inefficiencies, which in turn are generating additional ton miles for wheeled disease, driving the freight market to unprecedented levels. With Middle Eastern LPG exports severely constrained by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, US cargoes have increasingly replaced lost Middle Eastern volumes into Asia. and the resulting shift towards longer haul US Far East voyages has generated additional ton miles and supported the wide US Far East arbitrage. The timing of reopening of the Strait of Hormuz remains uncertain. Following a reopening, we expect the recovery of Middle Eastern LPG export volumes to be gradual as production and export infrastructure will require time to be repaired. The Panama Canal remains a wildcard, and declining water levels are tightening transit restrictions, while several shipping segments are competing for a limited number of slots. We expect this to divert more wheel disease via the Cape of Good Hope, further reducing the implicit vessel supply. And that concludes our market segment. Over to you, Samantha.

Thank you, Christian. Hello, everyone. Thank you all for dialing in today. Let's zoom in on our financial performance for the quarter. Our shipping business delivered TCE income of 71,600 US dollar per calendar day or 74,000 per available day. This reported result includes negative IFRS 15 and FFA adjustment of 16.4 million US dollar and 12 million US dollar respectively. The underlying SPORT performance was strong. With SPORT, TCE offered $85,200 per available day, including waiting time and FFA, and $87,600 per day excluding waiting time and FFA. This demonstrates the earning power of our platform in a volatile market. Fleet utilization was 96%, reflecting strong operational execution. The healthy performance was underpinned by a strong spot market and a disciplined commercial execution. As Kristian highlighted earlier, market inefficiency disrupted trade flows and a longer voyage created meaningful upside in the quarter. Among the uncertainties, it's also important that we maintain prudent downside protection through our time charter portfolio and active FAA risk management. In Q2, 53% of our available day were delivered by time charter, out of which 43% was fixed rate time charters. Looking ahead for Q3 26, we have fixed 92% of the available free days at an average rate of about $88,000 per day. This also includes index-linked time charter contracts, so the final rate may still move with the spot market. Looking at second half 26, we have secured 45% of our portfolio through fixed rate time charter and FFA hedges at 44,100 and 48,000 per day respectively. This gives us meaningful contractor earning visibility while preserving exposure to the currently strong spot market. The remaining fixed rate time charted out portfolio is expected to generate approximately 249 million of revenue in second half 26.

Next slide, please.

Product services generated a strong realized trading gain of 127 million in Q2. This is an important commercial achievement in a turbulent market. The reported net result, however, was affected by non-cash period and market-to-market movements. 190 million US dollar decrease on cargo position was partly offset by 45 million US dollar increase on paper position. After GNA and other expenses, product services reported a net loss after tax of 31 million US dollar for the quarter. with net asset value of $119 million at quarter end. The realized trading result shows the value creation from our integrated cargo, paper, and shipping platform, while the unrealized market-to-market movements reflect the valuation changes at a specific balance sheet date. These movements can be significant in volatile markets and will continue to fluctuate before the positions are realized. We would like to remind listeners that trading gains and losses are realized across different financial periods and cannot be extrapolated from past performance. Our trading model creates value by combining cargo, paper, and shipping positions. That said, it's worth noting that reported net asset value does not include the unrealized physical shipping position of 70 million US dollar based on our internal valuation. In Q2, our average VAR value at risk increased to 17 million US dollar. The step up was mainly driven by increased market volatility and added cargo from our term contracts. Looking ahead, we expect the VAR to remain elevated as the market remain volatile and our term contract book will gradually build from the late 26 into 27. Going on our financial highlights, we reported net profit after tax of 138 million US dollar, Profit attributable to equity holder was $120 million, or 79 cents per share, representing an annualized earnings yield of 18% based on the period and share price. We reported a net leverage ratio of 23.5% in Q2, down from 26.3% end of Q1. The board declared a dividend of 95 cents per share, representing 100% payout of quarterly shipping impact. Again, this is ahead of 75% minimum payout ratio on our dividend policy and reflects the strength of our cash generation, liquidity and confidence in the near term future. We continue to apply a forward-leaning approach to shareholders in the strong markets while maintaining sufficient liquidity and financial flexibility to fund free renewal and future opportunities. For the period end, our balance sheet reported a shareholder's equity of US$2.1 billion. The annualized return on equity and on capital employed were 27 and 19% respectively for Q2. Our Q2 26 OPEX was $8,800 per day. For 26, we expand operating cash break even of around $18,800 per day for the own fleet and $21,700 per day for the total fleet, including time charter vessels. The all-in cash break even is estimated at $24,900 per day after catering for CAPEX needs. As of end Q2, we remain a strong liquidity position of 773 million US dollars, consisting of 302 million in cash and 471 million of ongoing revolving credit facilities. Together with our low net leverage ratio, this gives us flexibility to return capital to shareholders, fund committed fleet renewals, and prepare for the future. In the past two months, we paid the first installment for our new building project and exercised the purchase option of BW Capella, which was financed under a Chinese lease facility at US$61 million. BW Polaris, which was financed under the same facility, will be repurchased in the next weeks. On product services, trade finance utilisation stood at 327 million, or 44% of our available credit line, including both drawn amounts and a letter of credit. This leaves us ample headroom to support future trading needs while maintaining disciplined balance sheet management. Looking ahead, our liquidity remains strong and repayment profile sustainable, with major repayments weighted towards 2030 and beyond. With that, I would like to conclude my updates. Thank you all for listening. And back to you, Aline.

Thank you, Samantha. And thank you, Kristian. We would now like to open the call for questions. So you can type the question into the Q&A channel, or you can click the raise hand button to ask your question verbally. But please note that all participants have been muted automatically, so press on mute before speaking. And since we only have one question right now in the chat, let's start with this one first. I'll read it out for Kristian, I guess. With current VLGC spot rates at exceptionally high levels, why are Q3 fixed rates materially lower and how much open exposure remains in Q4, 26 and 27 to capture the current market strength?

Yes, thank you for that question. And I will refer to the table in the appendix showing our time charter coverage for Q3, Q4, full year 26, as well as 27. And you can see there that we are reporting for the third quarter 41% of our fleet capacity fixed at $44,300 per day. So that leaves us still with a considerable exposure to the spot market, but we have been quite transparent about our strategy, which is to secure time charters for downside protection as we do operate in a very, very volatile market, which is easy to forget in today's markets. But if you look back historically, VLDC rates have fluctuated considerably during the course of the year. Looking into 2027, you will see that the percentage is currently 36% fixed rate at 43,500 a day. And you can expect us to increase that percentage somewhat, provided we can obtain freight rates or time charter levels which we find attractive. I hope that clarifies.

Thank you, Kristian. We have another question in the chat from Fausto. Could you please explain why G&A increased so significantly this quarter? Was the increase partly attributable to costs related to the realized gains from trading activities?

Thank you for the question. As we have reported that the product services has achieved quite a commercial result, delivering a positive trading result in the volatile market. Indeed, your assumption is correct that the G&A increase is correlated to the compensation in relation to the positive trading result.

Thank you, Samantha. One more from the chat. What do you expect in a scenario where Hormuz reopens but Panama Canal stays constrained? Will this probably require very low VLGC rates in order to make the ARB work while sailing around the COGH?

Yeah, CEO of GH, keep a good hope. Keep a good hope, yeah. I think we saw back when there were signs of the Hormuz reopening earlier this year, how the market dynamics changed. And what happened then was that the U.S. Gulf spot rates came under pressure because, like you said, There is a narrowing arbitrage between the US and the Far East, which is reducing the number of cargoes being shipped out of the US Gulf in the short term. If you look at the volumes of LPG being produced in the States and North America in general, there are not really any other markets than the Asian markets which can absorb the lion's share of these export volumes. Europe and Latin America are not markets which are big enough. So what we have seen previously when you have situations like this is that in the short term you can have, you know, shipping is typically suffering in the front of or at the beginning of such a change in the trading environment. But eventually the American LPG will be priced competitively enough to clear in the international market and first and foremost for sale in Asia. So I think we have seen on numerous occasions that if you look at the medium term market dynamics, the US LPG prices are extremely dynamic. And eventually, we do expect also in the future that the lion's share of the US LPG export volumes will be shipped to Asia simply because they are competitively priced. So I think Kristoffer from Arctic has a similar question saying, how do you see a potential Hormuz reopening scenario playing out for the VLDC market? It's a little bit of the same The initial reaction is that the spot rates in the US Gulf come under pressure, but eventually this will balance out because the volumes from the US will have to continue flowing from the US to Asia because Europe and Latin America are Thank you, Kristian.

Maybe if someone wants to unmute or raise the hand first, we can move to the verbal chat for now and come back later if we have some more written questions. I see Jörgen Lian raising his hand. If you could please unmute yourself.

Yes. Hello, Kristian. Hello, Samantha. Just thinking about the India JV vessels that you're selling, you have quite good insights into that market. Any thoughts of scaling up there or how do things look considering the disruptions that we're having right now in Hormuz? Thank you.

Good question, Jørgen. We obviously have a presence in India, which is important for us. And I think you can expect us to continue having that presence. Could be periods where we have less ships, but in general, I would say that it's a part of our business model, which is very important for us. And as you've seen before, we... Was it last year that we dropped two of our 2015 built vessels to the JV? So that could happen again, but we will get back to the market and announce if that is to happen.

Thank you, Kristian. Do we have any more questions? We can also go back to the chat for a minute. I'll read it out. It's a bit of a long question, so bear with me. From Vasilis, how much new NALPG terminal capacity was added in H126? Was it zero per media posts? Given 9 MTPA additions due in H2-26 and another 7 in FY-27, doesn't the 7-1 MTPA and 7-3 MTPA forecasts for FY-26 and FY-27 respectively on slide 8 of your presentation look rather conservative?

Hi Vasilis, thanks for that question which is always a focus point for us. I think maybe the best way to answer this is that I kindly suggest that you look at our market presentation and earnings presentation last quarter where you will see the terminal expansions which have been placed in this year and then you can Thank you. All right, we can move on. Are there any more questions from the audience?

It doesn't seem to be the case. All right. Then I would like to thank you at this point in time. This concludes BWLPG's Q2 26 earnings presentation. Thanks everyone for joining us today and for your continued interest in BWLPG. We greatly value the time you've spent with us. A replay of the webcast together with the transcript will be made available on our website shortly. And last but not least, on behalf of the entire BW LPG team, thank you once again for participating and we wish you a great rest of your day.