BW LPG Ups Stake in Aurora

Singapore’s gas carrier owner BW LPG has acquired an additional 10.12% stake in Oslo-listed Aurora LPG, pushing its total ownership in the company to 29.83%.

Namely, the company BW LPG purchased over 3 million shares in Aurora on September 2016, and now owns a total of 8.85 million shares.

The acquisition comes on the back of the company’s loss of USD 55.6 million seen in the second quarter of 2016, which represents a decrease of 168 percent from a profit of USD 80.7 million seen in the same period in 2015, mainly attributed to depressed LPG spot rates and impairment charges on certain vessels in the amount of USD 55.5 million, as well as BW LPG’s investment of USD 20.9 million in Aurora LPG.

BW LPG’s operating revenue for the quarter dropped to USD 121.8 million from USD 189.6 million recorded in the same quarter a year earlier, while time charter equivalent (TCE) income decreased to USD 99.4 million from USD 154.7 million for the periods.

The latest share purchase follows the company’s earlier acquisition of a 4.53 percent stake in Aurora LPG in May 2016.

Aurora LPG owns three 82,000 cbm VLGCs and six new 84,000 cbm vessels, built and delivered by Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2016.