Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited

Thank you for standing by, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Tacos Energy Navigation Conference call on the second quarter 2024 financial results. We have with us Mr. Takis Arapoglou, Chairman of the Board, Mr. Nicolas Tacos, Founder and CEO, Mr. George Saragolou, President and Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mr. Paul Durham, Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Harris Cosmatos, Co-Chief Financial Officer of the company. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session, at which time, if you wish to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced. I must advise that this conference is being recorded today, and now I pass the floor to Mr. Nicholas Fornosas, President of CapitalLink and Investor Relations Advisor to Sacros Energy Navigation Limited. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you very much and good day to all of our participants. I am Nicholas Bournosis, President of Capitalink and Investor Relations Advisor to Tsakos Energy Navigation to TEN Limited. This morning, the company publicly released its financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2024. In case we do not have a copy of today's earnings release, please call us at the plus one 212-661-7566 or email us at 10 at capitolink.com and we will have a copy for you emailed right away. Please note that parallel to today's conference call, there is also a live audio and slide webcast which can be accessed on the company's website on the front page at www.capitolink.com. The conference call will follow the presentation slides, so please we urge you to access the presentation slides on the company's website. Please note that the slides of the webcast presentation will be available and archived on the website of the company after the conference call. Also, please note that the slides of the webcast presentation are user-controlled, and that means that by clicking on the proper button, you can move to the next slide. or to the previous slide on your own. At this time, I would like to read the Safe Harbor Statement. This conference call and slide presentation of the webcast contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which may affect tens business prospects and results of operations. And at this moment, I would like to pass the floor to Mr. Taki Sarapoglou, the chairman of Tsakos Energy Navigation. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Nicolas. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today at our call for our Q2 first half 2024 results. The financial results activity and strategic initiatives presented today represent a master class in running a best-in-class shipping company. This contains, among others, continued solid profitability and operational excellence, both systemic and opportunistic fleet renewal with state-of-the-art vessels, timely and bold dry docking program, a balanced spot stroke time chart strategy allowing TEN to capture the increased demand for longer-term fixings resulting in continuous increase in the minimum contracted future income. And lastly, the profitable unwinding of leasing contracts and the continued excellent relationships with our banking partners. All of the above allows TEN to continue servicing the needs of its blue-chip clients in the best possible way, while maintaining a healthy cash position to fund accretive future growth. Equally, it allows TEN to be able to continue its uninterrupted dividend payments since inception, increasing its dividend payments this year by 50% compared to 2023. On behalf of the Board of Directors of TEN, congratulations once again to Nikos Tsakos and his team, and we all look forward to their continued success in what looks to be a continued solid tanking market. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman.

First of all, from all of us here in Athens, Greece, our thoughts and heartfelt wishes to all our American friends on this solemn anniversary today of 9-11. With this, thank you for your kind words, Chairman. It has been another very dynamic and fruitful year for TEN and the industry. We are taking as much advantage of the positive circumstances to continue growing our fleet, to modernize our fleet. It has been a very large operational infrastructure in order to take delivery of our dual fuel vessels. We have the largest concentration of dual fuel vessels in our peer group, and right now all of them are in the water operating as they should, reducing emissions and aiming for our 2030 emission significant reduction goals. For those of you that are old enough to remember, TEN started back in 1993 after the OPA90 with the name to have a dual, double fleet way before the regulation started. deadline, and this was something that was achieved back then with a gigantic new building program that has right now exceeded 100 ships over the last 30 years and an investment in excess of US$8 billion, every vessel being a much more environmentally friendly and innovative product from the last session. We have been able to do this and make profits at the time, keep a significant cash and also reward our shareholders with an uninterrupted dividend. We are proud today to be able to announce a 50% increase on an already significant dividend and I think this will be one of the highest yields or in common dividend, then I hope the market will appreciate this. As the chairman said, the reason we're doing this is, first of all, because we have a quotient of at least US$2 billion of contracted business at the minimum. As you know, our company does most of its business on the profit-sharing arrangement with the major oil companies, and this is the minimum we expect from them. It could be another third on top of that in case we have profit sharing, which we expect to have profit sharing going forward in the days to come as we are. Our subtle banker business with all the major oil companies is progressing and increasing, and I have a feeling it will further increase as we go forward. I think a very important part happened last week on the island of Chios. We have the first ever private naval academy to produce men and women as captains, engineers, naval architects. with huge know-how for our fleet. I think this puts us in a significant comparative advantage to all our peer group because we're going a step further actually not only hiring and training our seafarers after they finish their education but be with them since inception. And I think we want to congratulate the Chaco Shipping Group for taking such a bold step and producing the future of shipping, because we can be here spending billions and billions of dollars in state-of-the-art ships, but as long as we do not have the right people to man those vessels, our vessels are useless. So we see this as a milestone going forward. And with that, I will ask our president, Mr. Saroglu, to give us a quick... And to the point, presentation of where we have been and where we are going so far in 2024.

Thank you, Nikos. Good morning to all of you joining our earnings call today. 2024 continues to be a good year for tankers and TEN for the same reasons that played out for the last two and a half years. We have an aging fleet and low order book. We have changes in trade flows, ongoing crude and oil product movements as a result of Western sanctions on Russian seaborne oil. that had a multiplying effect on tanker ton-mile growth, and we have continued geopolitical tensions, like more recently the avoidance of crossing the Red Sea as a result of footage attacks on Mersenne vessels. Let's go to the slides of our presentation. The first slide is we see the growth of the company since inception. Despite the five major crises that we faced since 1993, each time we came out stronger thanks to our operating model. Cumulatively, in the period since 1993, the company posted an average growth of 21 percent in terms of total fleet deadweight tones. The next slide, we have built, as you see, a very diversified fleet catering to the needs of our clients, spanning from crude carriers to product tankers, LNGs, and shuttle tankers. Today, we have a pro forma fleet of 74 vessels. 62 operating in the water and 12 new buildings under construction. The red and blue colored vessels in the slide denote vessels trading in the spot, the red, and period market with profit sharing, the blue, while black colored vessels denote vessels that are fixed on time charters. 28 out of the 62 vessels in the water, or 45% of the fleet, has market exposure, spot and profit sharing, which is good in today's environment. while 52% of the 62 vessels in the water, or 84% of the fleet, are in secured employment, time charters, and time charters with profit sharing, which means that the propellers are spinning 24-7. In slide 5, we see the company's fleet growth and capital market access since inception. The blue boxes denote... common shares offering while the red offerings in preferred shares. The first three preferred shares totaling $188 million of par value have been already redeemed together with a privately placed preferred instrument of $35 million, creating savings for the company in excess of $18 million per year on coupon payments. Next slide presents the company's current and long-term clients. As you can see, we have a blue-chip customer base consisting of all major global energy companies, refineries, commodity traders, with Equinor currently topping the list as our largest charterer with 13 vessels, all on long-term time charter. Slide 7 presents the all-in break-even costs for the various vessel types we operate in our company. Our operating model is very simple. We try to have our time charter vessels generate revenue to cover the company's cash expenses and let revenue from spot trading vessels to make a contribution to the profitability of the company. Fleet utilization for the six months of the year was 92%, still a high number despite having eight vessels undergoing scheduled repairs and four vessels earmarked for sale embarking in repositioning voyages. And thanks to the profit-sharing element, in the fleet for every $1 per day increase in spot rates. This has a positive 12 cents impact in annual earnings per share based on the number of vessels that currently has exposure on spot rates. Managing debt is an integral part of the company's strategy and capital allocation. Since the end of 2016, the corporate fleet grew by more than 40% in terms of debt weight-on, while at the same time, total bank debt came down by almost 7%. One must consider also that in addition to the reduction in the total bank debt, the company also redeemed $211 million in three series of preferred shares, plus a private-placed preferred instrument. And so, today, the net debt-to-capital ratio is currently at 42.4%, which is considered to be Fleet modernity is a key element of our operating model. This slide shows fleet renewal and green ship growth since January 1st, 2023 as we transition then for its next growth phase. We contracted and acquired 21 vessels in total with an average age of one year and 2.3 million dead weight on. Nine vessels are already in the water earning money for the company while 12 vessels are in new building that were purpose-built to serve the transportation requirements of the company's long-term clients. We have more than doubled the cargo capacity of the fleet with new, more environmentally friendly, greener, eco-built tankers. These slides highlight the company's financial performance since 2004. As the fleet grew, so did the company's key financial indicators. We always maintain strong cash reserves to manage the ups and downs of the shipping cycle. We had manageable debt levels and traded mostly profitable through the 20 plus years with the last two years generating consecutive record profit years. The first six months of 2024 have given TEN the opportunity to further upgrade the quality and earnings power of the fleet. We expect the new additions to contribute positively in the overall financial performance of TEN going forward. In addition to Paying down debt, dividend continuity is important for common shareholders and management. TEN has always paid the dividend irrespective of the market cycle. Our dividend policy is semi-annual. Last year, we paid a total dividend of $1 per share. This year, we announced a total dividend of $1.50, a 50% increase in the distribution. We have already paid 60% on July 18th. We announced today the payment of 90 cents with payment to be determined in our upcoming BOD strategy meeting in October. Inclusive of this upcoming dividend, TEN has distributed over 827 million of common and preferred share dividends with 573 million to common shareholders since the company's 2002 New York Stock Exchange listing. Global oil demand continues to grow. Despite financial and geopolitical headwinds, the International Energy Agency expects global oil demand to grow by approximately 1 million barrels per day this year. It's going to be another record year after last year, with most of the growth coming again from Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. On the supply side, most of the growth is coming from non-OPEC-plus countries, Brazil, the United States of America, Guyana, and Canada. The majority of the additional supply is the Atlantic Basin, while demand growth continues to be concentrated in the Pacific, boosting long-haul tanker demand. As global oil demand continues to grow, let's look at the forecast for the supply of tankers. The order book was of August stands at 706 tankers, a little over 13%. over the next three years. This figure still represents a low number of buildings. At the same time, a big part of the fleet, over 2,360 vessels, or 44%, is over 15 years. And 865 tankers, or 16% of the current tanker fleet, are currently over 20 years. So this order book that we have is quite manageable. The last slide shows the scrapping activity since 2018. We believe scrapping activity will pick up as the global fleet gets older and older tankers are getting out of favor for long-term business by major charters. And with that, I will ask Paul and Harris to walk you through the financial highlights of the first half and second quarter 2024. Paul?

Well, thank you, George. Great stuff as always from you. Over the past months, the company has taken advantage of utilizing in-house resources to restructure much of its organization and to develop the company in new directions in the remaining months of the year. Therefore, this will continue to be a major focus for management. The tanker market fundamentals continue to remain firm and assisted by the various geopolitical events around the globe. We are confident that TEN will continue to be a main beneficiary. And these were just a few issues on confidence in our company.

So let me try to increase our confidence by going over some details on the numbers. So let me take it over from here. Thank you, Paul. So with the fleet averaging about 62 vessels in the water, eight of which going through scheduled dry dockings and three performing repositioning voyages, fleet utilization for the first half of 2024 settled at 92%, a slight drop from the 2023 equivalent period. In this backdrop, 10 in the first half of 2024 generated gross revenues of $416 million and operating income of $179 million, which included $49 million of capital gains. Fleet operating expenses of $98 million increased in line with the larger number and size of vessels in the fleet. Operating expenses per ship per day, however, remained almost identical to the 2023 first half, at 9,367, thanks again to efficient management performed by 10 technical experts on shore and on board the vessels. TCE per sea per day, time charger equivalent that is, for the 2024 first half was at a healthy 33,830, even though impacted by repositioning voyages, dry docking, and spot market softening. Driven by Chinese reduction of oil imports, something, however, that is expected to be temporary. Adjusted EBITDA for the 2024 six months was at $214 million. A net income of $130 million was recorded for the first half of 2024, generating earnings per share of $3.96. Of interest, dividend payments for the company's outstanding preferreds during the 2024 first six months were 4.6 million lower the amount paid during the 2023 first half. Results for the second quarter of 2024 were equally attractive. A fleet of 62 vessels generated gross revenues of $214 million, an operating income of $103 million, which includes $32.5 million of capital gains. Fleet operating expenses for the second quarter of 2024, impacted by three dry dockings and repositioning voyages, in a fleet larger than the one in the second quarter of 2023, were at $49.7 million, only $3 million higher than the second quarter of 2023 levels. Operating expenses per C per day were, however, $150 lower than the 2023 second quarter, at $9,347, with TCE per C per day closing the quarter 3.7 times higher than Opeth's level, at $34,235. Adjusted EBITDA finished the quarter at $113 million due to seasonal softening in spot rates and vessel repositioning. The resulting net income of $76.4 million produced $2.36 in EPS. Again, preferred coupon payments during the second quarter of 2024 were approximately $2 million lower than the 2023 second quarter amount. As of June 30th, 2024, bank debt increased to 1.8 billion, corresponding to a higher fleet size as five vessels acquired earlier in the year from Norwegian concerns began entering the fleet, and two dual-fuel Afromax new buildings were delivered during the first quarter of the year. At the same time, net debt to capital was at a very comfortable 42.4%. And with this, I turn it back to Nikos for the closing remarks. Thank you.

Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Harry, for putting the right numbers behind the effort of all our men and women on board our ships and our onshore personnel and the team here. It's been an exciting first six months, and I think we're looking for a very interesting period for the remaining of the year. I think this is a milestone. 2024 has been a milestone period of growth for the company. As George said, we tend to grow always in difficult times, but I think this is an intriguing time where we depend on our clients, the major oil companies, and their vast appetite for first-class operators. to continue growing and servicing their needs. And with this, I would like to open the floor for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. At this time, we'll be conducting a question and answer session. If you'd like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star 2 if you'd like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we poll for questions. Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of Poe Fratt with Alliance Global Partners. Please proceed with your question.

Good day. Could you help me understand whether the 90-cent dividend will be paid this year or will it be paid next year?

Well, the dividend will be paid this year. Last year, we always announced the date after our strategy meeting, which is the end of October.

Okay, great. And, you know, increase in the dividend is great. Your stock price has been a little volatile. It's fallen back from its, you know, high in the low 30s. Where do stock buybacks fit in your capital allocation strategy?

Well, our stock buyback is not in the forefront of our financial strategy. And the reason is, as you know, we still have quite an illiquid stock and we are not... We are not having a very strong concentration of 40% from the insiders. We rather reward shareholders for staying, rather paying them to leave. So this has been a strategy. I mean, we used to do some buyback back in the day because we've been around so long, we've done everything. But I think from experience... We'd rather pay our shareholders to stay than send them home with a check. So this is for the time being. And the company has also growth prospects. We're taking part in significant new contracts with very good returns and accretive returns. So I think dividends, growth... is number one, and that's where we are.

Okay, understood. And that sort of segues into my next question, which is, you ordered five LR1s. What is the rough total amount that you'll spend on those? Is $350 million total appropriate? And then secondly, Have you paid a down payment or deposit on those five LR1s? And if not, when do you anticipate paying a down payment?

We have made the first down payment. Yeah, you're approximately right. Harry, why don't you go through the numbers? Okay.

Okay. So, let me see here. So, the five LR1s, we expect that, obviously, we're going to raise some plain vanilla bank debt on them. So far, we have paid approximately $5.6 million of equity on the one vessel. And as the the order progresses, then equal amounts are expected to be paid for the other four.

Okay.

So the price, your approach, we do not want our, we do not give exact price because we don't want most of our competition to come and do the same, but I think our, the 350 is an approximate correct number.

Okay. I can follow up offline on that. But as far as the investment in the quarter, you had a net investment of about $105 million. I calculate during the quarter that you sold about $158 million of assets with the Neo Energy, the Euro Nike, and then the Zumo Princess. Is that accurate? And then How much did you spend on acquisitions in the quarter, and then did you make any new bill payments?

Well, I think as Harry said, since the first quarter, of course, we have increased our payments because that refers to June 30th. Since then, on top of the payments that Harry said, we have increased. made the down payments for the other four, the remaining four LR1 vessels, in addition to the 5 million that we paid for the first down payment.

Most of this detail will be recorded in the 6K, which we expect to publish at the end of the month. But if you want it sooner, then obviously we're open to discuss it offline.

Sounds good. Thank you.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder, it's star one to join the question queue. We'll pause a moment to allow for other questions. Mr. Sakros, I'm not seeing any other questions at this time. I'll turn the floor back to you for any closing comments.

Thank you very much. Well, I think, as I said, it has been a very productive period, a period of growth. But I think what goes also is the continuous appetite and chartering of our ships. to the major oil companies. Our shuttle tankers are out for long periods of time, 5 to 7 to 10 years, to major oil companies. And the same goes for the majority of our Suez Maxis and vessels that are coming. Our investment in the LR-1s is the segment of the market with the lowest order book. And we believe that there is still a future and appetite for vessels like this. And that's why we're renewing our fleet there. And we're very proud for the operational so far excellence of our dual fuel vessels. And on top of that, as I said, the milestone for the company has been our technical management's inauguration of an enhanced non-profit facility naval private academy to produce and educate our people for the next future in technology and innovation for our vessels looking forward for reporting next significant strong quarter also going forward and wishing everybody all the best on this difficult day for our American friends thank you very much

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.