Höegh LNG’s profit declines as FSRU send-out rate more than doubles

Höegh LNG reported a third-quarter profit after tax of US$3.3 million, declining slightly compared to the $3.5 million in the previous quarter of 2016.

However, in comparison to the corresponding quarter in 2015 when the company reported a $2.5 million, the profit after tax increased by over 33 percent.

In its report issued on Thursday, Höegh LNG said that the total income for the quarter reached $58 million, a slight increase over $57.1 million from the second quarter 2016 and just below the $58.3 million reported in the third quarter of 2015.

Net cash flows for the quarter were positive at $0.9 million, compared with a negative $41.8 million in the previous period.

FSRU fleet’s sendout rate more than doubled in first nine months

The utilization of Höegh LNG’s FSRU fleet continues to increase, driven by their access to competitively priced LNG, the company said in the quarterly report.

Compared with the same period of last year, the send-out rate over the first nine months has more than doubled.

The FSRU project in Colombia has entered the commissioning phase with the delivery of the commissioning cargo. Höegh Grace has the capacity to cover around 40 percent of Colombia’s natural gas demand and will facilitate the import of energy needed to meet increasing demand for electricity in the country.

In addition, the Penco LNG FSRU project in Chile received all regulatory permits during the third quarter, Höegh LNG said, adding that the contract will be serviced by the FSRU#8 currently under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The company’s two Arctic LNG carriers have operated in accordance with their long-term contracts.

Oversupplied market boosts utilization of import facilities

The oversupplied LNG market and competitive LNG prices have led to the high utilization of new importing facilities, the majority of which are FSRUs.

In addition, many new importers have an energy deficit which exceeds the capacity of one FSRU. Because their first FSRU project has been a success the threshold for committing to a second or third FSRU is low. Consequently, a large number of the projects currently being pursued by Höegh LNG are located in countries that already have at least one FSRU in operation, the report reads.

Around 100 MTPA of additional LNG liquefaction capacity will enter the market between 2017 and 2020. The LNG market should therefore continue to see ample additional supplies as the remaining LNG liquefaction projects commence operations. Coupled with the expectations for continued low LNG prices, this will support continued growth in the FSRU segment.

The LNG carrier spot and short-term market remain weak, but with some signs of improvement, albeit, from a very low base. With both its LNG carriers on long-term contracts, Höegh LNG currently has no exposure to the LNG carrier spot market.

LNG World News Staff