Hoegh LNG Q4 income flat

Höegh LNG of Norway reported USD 45.3 million in total income for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to USD 45.5 million in the same period a year before.

The company’s  operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) was USD 6.8 million (USD 1.5 million in 2013). EBITDA increased compared to fourth quarter 2013 mainly due to PGN FSRU Lampung and Independence now being in operation, Höegh LNG said in a statement on Thursday.

Operating profit after amortization and depreciation was negative USD 45.8 million for the fourth quarter 2014 (negative USD 3.1 million) due to impairment charges for the Port Dolphin project of USD 35.3 million, Compressed Natural Gas technology of USD 1.0 million and the LNG carrier Libra of USD 8.5 million.

Depreciation in the fourth quarter was USD 7.8 million (USD 4.6 million), an increase from the same quarter last year due to delivery of Independence, PGN FSRU Lampung and Höegh Gallant during 2014, the statement said.

“This quarter was marked by several significant milestones, including that the FSRU Independence started generating income and contributed to an improved EBITDA. The net result is, however, adversely impacted by impairment charges, of which the majority relates to intangible assets capitalized pre-IPO in 2008 and 2009,” Sveinung J.S. Støhle, President and CEO of Höegh LNG, said.

“HLNG has now entered the operating phase of its current FSRU expansion program and expects to grow the Company’s EBITDA several times over the next couple of years. This transition of the Company is further marked by our first quarterly dividend payment of USD 0.1 per share.

“And, most importantly, as shown by the decision to order our 7th FSRU, we will continue to leverage our position as the leading provider of FSRU services in order to reach our objective of doubling our fleet within the next 4 year period,” Støhle concluded.

[mappress mapid=”16831″]

Image: Höegh LNG