Q2 2026 Stainless Tankers ASA Earnings Call
Speaker #1: All right. Good morning, everyone. We are here to present the second quarter 2026 earnings for Stainless Tankers ASA. I am Nicholas Deogallis, the CEO of the company, and I'm joined here by Irene Michaels, who is the CFO of the company.
Nicolas Tirogalas: All right. Good morning, everyone. We are here to present the Q2 2026 earnings for Stainless Tankers ASA. I am Nicolas Tirogalas, the CEO of the company, and I'm joined here with Irene Michael, who is the CFO of the company. Take a few slides in the presentation of these results. The agenda has the highlights, the chemical tanker markets, an outlook, a financial review, and of course, as usual, at the end of all of that, we're going to have the Q&A session. In terms of highlights, we are very happy to report some excellent results. The Q2 net revenue was $11.3 million, which represents a 40% quarter-over-quarter increase versus the $8 million that we had in the Q1.
Nicolas Tirogalas: All right. Good morning, everyone. We are here to present the Q2 2026 Earnings for Stainless Tankers ASA. I am Nicolas Tirogalas, the CEO of the company, and I'm joined here with Irene Michael, who is the CFO of the company. Take a few slides in the presentation of these results. The agenda has the highlights, the chemical tanker markets, an outlook, a financial review, and of course, as usual, at the end of all of that, we're going to have the Q and A session. In terms of highlights, we are very happy to report some excellent results. The Q2 net revenue was $11.3 million, which represents a 40% quarter-over-quarter increase versus the $8 million that we had in the Q1.
Speaker #1: Thank you for your slides and the presentation of these results. The agenda has the highlights, the chemical tanker markets, an outlook, a financial review, and of course, as usual, at the end of all of that, we're going to have the Q&A session.
Speaker #1: So in terms of highlights, we are very happy to report some excellent results. The second quarter net revenue was $11.3 million, which represents a 40% quarter-over-quarter increase versus the $8 million that we had in the first quarter.
Speaker #1: And the EBITDA of the company for this quarter was $6.6 million, which also represents a 90% increase over the last quarter’s $3.4 million.
Nicolas Tirogalas: The EBITDA of the company for this quarter was $6.6 million, which also represents a 90% increase over the last quarter of $3.4 million. This was driven primarily by the very strong pool rates that we had and improved fleet utilization. When we're talking about pool rates, the TCE averaged $21,000 per day the Q2, is obviously much more than the $16,400 in Q1. We are at the moment looking at the July about $17.5, which is more a reflection of what the summer months are looking like. Following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March, the tanker tonnage repositioned in the Atlantic basin to take advantage of the US producing and exporting cargo to primarily Asia to fill the void that was created from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Nicolas Tirogalas: The EBITDA of the company for this quarter was $6.6 million, which also represents a 90% increase over the last quarter of $3.4 million. This was driven primarily by the very strong pool rates that we had and improved fleet utilization. When we're talking about pool rates, the TCE averaged $21,000 per day the Q2, is obviously much more than the $16,400 in Q1. We are at the moment looking at the July about $17.5, which is more a reflection of what the summer months are looking like. Following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March, the tanker tonnage repositioned in the Atlantic basin to take advantage of the US producing and exporting cargo to primarily Asia to fill the void that was created from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaker #1: This was driven primarily by the very strong pool rates that we had and improved fleet utilization. When we're talking about pool rates, the TCE averaged $21,000 per day in the second quarter, which is obviously much more than the $16,400 in Q1.
Speaker #1: We are, at the moment, looking at the July number—about 17.5—which is more a reflection of what the summer months are looking like.
Speaker #1: But following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March, the tanker tonnage repositioned in the Atlantic basin to take advantage of the US producing and exporting cargo, primarily to Asia, to fill the void that was created from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaker #1: And this initial spike that we saw—rates did come off a little bit and settled after that, but they did settle at higher levels compared to the beginning of the year.
Nicolas Tirogalas: This initial spike that we saw, rates did come off a little bit and settled after that, but they did settle at higher levels compared to the beginning of the year. NAV performance was also excellent in this quarter. We were up 13.7%, taking us to a current NAV per share of $5.22, which based on the current exchange rate, means about 49.8 NOK per share. Depending at what time of the day you're looking at the stock price, we are up this morning a little bit, people reading the news and also obviously seeing the discount which has narrowed the discount to NAV to 10% and 11%, depending what time of the day you're looking at those numbers. We are extremely pleased with the performance. Obviously, it's something that we expected.
Nicolas Tirogalas: This initial spike that we saw, rates did come off a little bit and settled after that, but they did settle at higher levels compared to the beginning of the year. NAV performance was also excellent in this quarter. We were up 13.7%, taking us to a current NAV per share of $5.22, which based on the current exchange rate, means about 49.8 NOK per share. Depending at what time of the day you're looking at the stock price, we are up this morning a little bit, people reading the news and also obviously seeing the discount which has narrowed the discount to NAV to 10% and 11%, depending what time of the day you're looking at those numbers. We are extremely pleased with the performance. Obviously, it's something that we expected.
Speaker #1: NAV performance was also excellent in this quarter. We were up 13.7%, taking us to a current NAV per share of $5.22, which, based on the current exchange rate, means about 49.8 NOK per share.
Speaker #1: And depending on what time of the day you're looking at the stock price, we are up this morning a little bit. People are reading the news and also obviously seeing the discount, which has narrowed the discount to NAV to 10–11%, depending on what time of the day you're looking at those numbers.
Speaker #1: But we are extremely pleased with the performance, obviously. It's something that we expected—very strong quarter. And we remain, as we will discuss, optimistic—very much so—for the near to medium term.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Very strong quarter. We remain, as we will discuss, optimistic, very much so for the near medium term for the chemical market. We also declared Q2 dividend of $0.135 per share, which will be payable around 1 September. That, again, depending at what time of day you're looking at, somewhere between 12% and 13% of our current stock price. Here, we of course, had to use a base of last night's closing, which was 42.4 NOK per share. Stock moved up, that yield is inverse to about 12%. That being said, on the basis of the NAV, which is fixed as of 30 June at NOK 49.8, we're a little over 10% of dividend yield.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Very strong quarter. We remain, as we will discuss, optimistic, very much so for the near medium term for the chemical market. We also declared Q2 dividend of $0.135 per share, which will be payable around 1 September. That, again, depending at what time of day you're looking at, somewhere between 12% and 13% of our current stock price. Here, we of course, had to use a base of last night's closing, which was 42.4 NOK per share. Stock moved up, that yield is inverse to about 12%. That being said, on the basis of the NAV, which is fixed as of 30 June at NOK 49.8, we're a little over 10% of dividend yield.
Speaker #1: For the chemical market, we also declared the second quarter dividend of 13.5 cents per share, which will be payable around the first of September.
Speaker #1: That again, depending on what time of day you're looking, is somewhere between 12% and 13% of our current stock price. Here, we of course had to use a base of last night's closing, which was $42.40 per share.
Speaker #1: The stock moved up, so then that yield is inverse to about 12%. That being said, on the basis of the NAV, which is fixed as of June 30th at $49.8, we're a little over 10% dividend yield.
Speaker #1: And since the IPO, and following this distribution, we will have distributed over $3.2, $3.25 to be more precise, per share. Which is about 65% of the initial capital raised, of course, back in 2023.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Since the IPO and following this distribution, we will have distributed over $3.25 to be more precise, dollars per share, which is about 65% of the initial capital raised, of course, back in 2023. In terms of the supply growth and slippage, we do expect a 4.6% fleet growth until the end of 2028. It is very important to note that the scheduled deliveries in 2026, 2027, we are going to come back to that, seem to be relatively high, but there is ongoing shipyard delays which we are referred to as slippage ongoing, which is a rather convincing leading indicator that the actual deliveries are probably likely to be pushed out, which means that we would see a probably more moderate fleet growth on the supply side. This is really based on information, actual information that we have with shipyards as well as projects.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Since the IPO and following this distribution, we will have distributed over $3.25 to be more precise, dollars per share, which is about 65% of the initial capital raised, of course, back in 2023. In terms of the supply growth and slippage, we do expect a 4.6% fleet growth until the end of 2028. It is very important to note that the scheduled deliveries in 2026, 2027, we are going to come back to that, seem to be relatively high, but there is ongoing shipyard delays which we are referred to as slippage ongoing, which is a rather convincing leading indicator that the actual deliveries are probably likely to be pushed out, which means that we would see a probably more moderate fleet growth on the supply side. This is really based on information, actual information that we have with shipyards as well as projects.
Speaker #1: In terms of the supply growth and slippage, we do expect a 4.6% fleet growth until the end of 2028. However, it is very important to note that the scheduled deliveries in 2026 and 2027—we're going to come back to that—seem to be relatively high.
Speaker #1: But there are ongoing shipyard delays, which we refer to as slippage. Ongoing, which is a rather convincing leading indicator that the actual deliveries are probably likely to be pushed out.
Speaker #1: Which means that we would probably see more moderate fleet growth on the supply side. And this is really based on actual information that we have with shipyards—just rather the projects we're looking at, vessels—and the shipyards themselves are telling us that there are more delays there because the equipment cannot be provided in time.
Nicolas Tirogalas: We are looking at vessels, the shipyards themselves are telling us that there are more delays there because the equipment cannot be provided in time. In terms of the short and medium-term outlook, I referred to it a little bit just earlier, we remain quite optimistic. Of course, at some point there is going to be a gradual resolution of the disruption at the strait, obviously depending on what date you are looking at and when you prepare materials, we have prepared these materials in last week for the board, and between last week and this week, we have seen, of course, some changes in geopolitics. This has been, of course, the flavor of the month and of the last few months, I would say, and no surprises there. Important strategic update.
Nicolas Tirogalas: We are looking at vessels, the shipyards themselves are telling us that there are more delays there because the equipment cannot be provided in time. In terms of the short and medium-term outlook, I referred to it a little bit just earlier, we remain quite optimistic. Of course, at some point there is going to be a gradual resolution of the disruption at the strait, obviously depending on what date you are looking at and when you prepare materials, we have prepared these materials in last week for the board, and between last week and this week, we have seen, of course, some changes in geopolitics. This has been, of course, the flavor of the month and of the last few months, I would say, and no surprises there. Important strategic update.
Speaker #1: In terms of the short- and medium-term outlook, I referred to it a little bit just earlier, but we remain quite optimistic, of course, that at some point there’s going to be a gradual resolution of the disruption at the strait.
Speaker #1: But obviously, depending on what date you're looking at and when you're preparing materials—we had prepared these materials last week for the Board.
Speaker #1: And between last week and this week, we have seen, of course, some changes in geopolitics. But this has, of course, been the flavor of the month.
Speaker #1: And over the last few—and no surprises there. Important strategic update: In order to maximize these shareholder returns, which is of course the priority, at the same time we want to continue to benefit from these elevated earnings.
Nicolas Tirogalas: In order to maximize these shareholder returns, of course, which is the priority, at the same time, we want to continue to benefit from these elevated earnings. The board has agreed to realize the company's fleet in an orderly manner within the next 18 months, which of course is within the five-year investment horizon that we had indicated and prior to each vessel's next major CapEx event. While we will be doing that, nothing will change vis-a-vis the company's operating platform. Anytime through that realization process, we will have enough support and an efficient management of the remaining fleet. That being said, of course, if something material changes or happens between now and then, we will of course let you know.
Nicolas Tirogalas: In order to maximize these shareholder returns, of course, which is the priority, at the same time, we want to continue to benefit from these elevated earnings. The board has agreed to realize the company's fleet in an orderly manner within the next 18 months, which of course is within the five-year investment horizon that we had indicated and prior to each vessel's next major CapEx event. While we will be doing that, nothing will change vis-a-vis the company's operating platform. Anytime through that realization process, we will have enough support and an efficient management of the remaining fleet. That being said, of course, if something material changes or happens between now and then, we will of course let you know.
Speaker #1: The board has agreed to realize the company's fleet in an orderly manner within the next 18 months, which, of course, is within the five-year investment horizon.
Speaker #1: That we had indicated, and prior to each vessel's next major capex event. While we will be doing that, nothing will change vis-à-vis the company's operating platform.
Speaker #1: So, any time through that realization process, we will have enough support and efficient management of the remaining fleet. That being said, of course, if something material changes or happens between now and then, we will, of course, let you know.
Speaker #1: But obviously, we have performed this folding cell analysis, which seems to suggest that holding the ships at this point in time is much more rewarding than selling them.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Obviously, we have performed this hold and sell analysis, which seems to suggest that holding the ships at this point in time is much more rewarding than selling them. As such, we will do so in an ordinary fashion as we just described. On the next slide, we see the NAV performance since inception. Obviously, as I said, the market value NAV at this point in time is about $5.22 per share, post a cumulative dividend of $3.1 per share or $41.9 million. This NAV total return since inception has been about 74.3%, with STST having returned 62% of the capital as dividends. On the right side, you see the IPO proceeds represented about $4.73 per share. The net operating profit realized over this period of time has been a little over $2, $2.07 per share.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Obviously, we have performed this hold and sell analysis, which seems to suggest that holding the ships at this point in time is much more rewarding than selling them. As such, we will do so in an ordinary fashion as we just described. On the next slide, we see the NAV performance since inception. Obviously, as I said, the market value NAV at this point in time is about $5.22 per share, post a cumulative dividend of $3.1 per share or $41.9 million. This NAV total return since inception has been about 74.3%, with STST having returned 62% of the capital as dividends. On the right side, you see the IPO proceeds represented about $4.73 per share. The net operating profit realized over this period of time has been a little over $2, $2.07 per share.
Speaker #1: And as such, we will do so in an orderly fashion, as we just described. On the next slide, we see the NAV performance since inception.
Speaker #1: Obviously, as I said, the market value NAV at this point in time is about $5.22 per share, post a cumulative dividend of $3.10 per share.
Speaker #1: Or $41.9 million. This NAV total return since inception has been about 74.3%, with SDSB having returned 62% of the capital as dividends. On the right side, you see the IPO proceeds represented about $4.73 per share.
Speaker #1: The net operating profit realized over this period of time has been a little over $2.00, specifically $2.07 per share. The capital appreciation, or change in vessel value, has been about $1.34 per share.
Nicolas Tirogalas: The capital appreciation, the change in the vessel value, has been of about $1.34 per share. We have paid out dividends, as I just said, of $3.1, which gives us the market-based NAV at 30 June 2026. We see a steady market in July. We have reason for optimism, as we said. The left side graph shows you what has happened in the market in terms of where the exports are coming from in the current market, which is primarily, of course, on the Atlantic basin and in the US side of things. With the Arabian Gulf, of course, having decreased significantly since the conflict represented about 320,000 tons, roughly, at the moment. At the end of Q2, American export demand appeared to have plateaued, whereas Asia continues to provide stable support.
Nicolas Tirogalas: The capital appreciation, the change in the vessel value, has been of about $1.34 per share. We have paid out dividends, as I just said, of $3.1, which gives us the market-based NAV at 30 June 2026. We see a steady market in July. We have reason for optimism, as we said. The left side graph shows you what has happened in the market in terms of where the exports are coming from in the current market, which is primarily, of course, on the Atlantic basin and in the US side of things. With the Arabian Gulf, of course, having decreased significantly since the conflict represented about 320,000 tons, roughly, at the moment. At the end of Q2, American export demand appeared to have plateaued, whereas Asia continues to provide stable support.
Speaker #1: And we have paid out dividends, as I just said, at 3.1, which gives us the market-based NAV as of June 30, 2026. We see a steady market in July, and we have reason for optimism, as we said.
Speaker #1: The left-side graph shows you what has happened in the market in terms of where the exports are coming from in the current market.
Speaker #1: Which is primarily, of course, on the Atlantic Basin and on the U.S. side of things, with the Arabian Gulf, of course, having significantly—since the conflict—represented about 320,000 pounds.
Speaker #1: Roughly at the moment, at the end of the second quarter, American export demand appeared to have plateaued, whereas Asia continues to provide stable support.
Speaker #1: But that being said, there are other events that obviously create further inefficiencies, and this is what we have seen very much just recently with what is happening in the Red Sea.
Nicolas Tirogalas: That being said, there is other events that obviously create further inefficiencies. This is what we have seen very much just recently with what is happening in the Red Sea. Charterers directing ships in order to avoid the Red Sea to actually go back up through the Suez Canal in order to go back to Asia, which results in voyages of about 75 days, which are effectively increasing ton-mile demand by making a lot of ships unavailable due to longer durations. This has been the theme this entire H1 2026. As things stand, we do not see that to be changing much over the next few months. As we said, the pool TCs were strong at $21,000 per day.
Nicolas Tirogalas: That being said, there is other events that obviously create further inefficiencies. This is what we have seen very much just recently with what is happening in the Red Sea. Charterers directing ships in order to avoid the Red Sea to actually go back up through the Suez Canal in order to go back to Asia, which results in voyages of about 75 days, which are effectively increasing ton-mile demand by making a lot of ships unavailable due to longer durations. This has been the theme this entire H1 2026. As things stand, we do not see that to be changing much over the next few months. As we said, the pool TCs were strong at $21,000 per day.
Speaker #1: And charterers are directing ships in order to avoid the Red Sea, to actually go back up through the Suez Canal in order to return to Asia. This results in voyages of about 75 days, which are effectively increasing ton-mile demand.
Speaker #1: By making a lot of ships unavailable due to longer durations, and this has been the theme throughout the entire first half of 2026. As things stand, we do not see that changing much.
Speaker #1: Over the next few months. So as we said, the full PCs were strong at 21,000 dollars per day. Seasonally, at the moment, they seem to appear closer to the 17, 18 thousand dollar range which was our expectation anyways for the next quarter coming up.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Seasonally, at the moment, they seem to appear closer to the $17,000, $18,000 range, which was our expectation anyways for the next quarter coming up. Of course, we are rather optimistic for what's coming even within the end of Q3, probably into Q4. On the next slide, this is an important element here. Total oil inventories have significantly dropped. That is on the right side. Two themes on this page. On the left side is the percentage of fleet that is under sanctions, and that continues to be at about high levels, 17%, with the average of those ships being 20 years old. That being said, what is currently happening is that the product tanker market continues to be very strong and earnings continue to be very healthy, which obviously limits any kind of swing tonnage into the chemical tanker market.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Seasonally, at the moment, they seem to appear closer to the $17,000, $18,000 range, which was our expectation anyways for the next quarter coming up. Of course, we are rather optimistic for what's coming even within the end of Q3, probably into Q4. On the next slide, this is an important element here. Total oil inventories have significantly dropped. That is on the right side. Two themes on this page. On the left side is the percentage of fleet that is under sanctions, and that continues to be at about high levels, 17%, with the average of those ships being 20 years old. That being said, what is currently happening is that the product tanker market continues to be very strong and earnings continue to be very healthy, which obviously limits any kind of swing tonnage into the chemical tanker market.
Speaker #1: And then, of course, we are rather optimistic for what's coming, even within the end of the third quarter—probably looking to the fourth quarter. On the next slide, this is an important element here.
Speaker #1: Total oil inventories have significantly dropped—that is shown on the right side. So, there are two themes on this page. On the left side is the percentage of the fleet that is under sanctions.
Speaker #1: And that continues to be at about high levels, 17%. With the average of those ships being 20 years old. That being said, what is currently happening is that the product tanker market continues to be very strong.
Speaker #1: And earnings continue to be very healthy, which obviously limits any kind of swing tonnage into the chemical tanker market. On the other end, what has happened with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz from March?
Nicolas Tirogalas: On the other end, what has happened with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for March, the global oil supplies have relied on inventory drawdowns. You can see that with the blue dotted line, which represents approximately 200 million barrels of drawdown, primarily in the US exports, which has balanced the oil market and reduced volatility. What you will see, and you typically see it, and you will probably see it, is that these inventories will need replacement period of supply, and that is likely to provide more support for tanker rates and as a result, of course, the chemical rates. On this next page with the fleet growth, we've been seeing these numbers, and these numbers have been always looking rather high. They are on a relative basis and historical basis.
Nicolas Tirogalas: On the other end, what has happened with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for March, the global oil supplies have relied on inventory drawdowns. You can see that with the blue dotted line, which represents approximately 200 million barrels of drawdown, primarily in the US exports, which has balanced the oil market and reduced volatility. What you will see, and you typically see it, and you will probably see it, is that these inventories will need replacement period of supply, and that is likely to provide more support for tanker rates and as a result, of course, the chemical rates. On this next page with the fleet growth, we've been seeing these numbers, and these numbers have been always looking rather high. They are on a relative basis and historical basis.
Speaker #1: The global oil supplies have relied on inventory drawdowns, and you can see that with the blue dotted line, which represents approximately 200 million barrels of drawdown.
Speaker #1: Primarily in the U.S. exports, which has balanced the oil market and reduced volatility. What you will see—and you typically see it, and you will probably see it—is that these inventories will need replacement.
Speaker #1: Security of supply. And that is likely to provide more support for tanker rates and, as a result, of course, the chemical rates. On this next page, with the fleet growth—and we've been seeing these numbers, and these numbers have always looked rather high.
Speaker #1: And they are, on a relative basis and a historical basis. But that being said, in reality, what is happening is slippage, and we highlight that well on this slide.
Nicolas Tirogalas: That being said, in reality, what is happening is slippage, we highlight that as well on this slide which, as I said a bit earlier, in other discussions with shipyards at the moment, they are telling us themselves that even if you're trying to buy a resale, which is a ship that is about to get delivered, that has been ordered by someone else, that you're trying to benefit from purchasing it now and getting the earnings immediately. Because of some equipment being unavailable, the shipyards are effectively pushing back the deliveries of this year to sometime in early 2027, we don't see that theme changing given the number of deliveries that are expected in the front end.
Nicolas Tirogalas: That being said, in reality, what is happening is slippage, we highlight that as well on this slide which, as I said a bit earlier, in other discussions with shipyards at the moment, they are telling us themselves that even if you're trying to buy a resale, which is a ship that is about to get delivered, that has been ordered by someone else, that you're trying to benefit from purchasing it now and getting the earnings immediately. Because of some equipment being unavailable, the shipyards are effectively pushing back the deliveries of this year to sometime in early 2027, we don't see that theme changing given the number of deliveries that are expected in the front end.
Speaker #1: Which, as I said a bit earlier, in other discussions with shipyards at the moment, they are telling us themselves that even if you're trying to buy a resale, which is a ship that is about to get delivered, and that you're trying to benefit from purchasing it now and getting the earnings immediately —
Speaker #1: Because of some equipment being unavailable, the shipyards are effectively pushing back the deliveries of this year to sometime in early 2027. And we don't see that theme changing given the number of deliveries that are expected in the front end.
Speaker #1: So with that in mind, we are a little bit skeptical of what the actual order flow of deliveries will look like, which obviously represents another element of optimism on our end.
Nicolas Tirogalas: With that in mind, we are very skeptical a little bit of what the actual order flow of deliveries will look like, which obviously represents another element of optimism on our end. I spoke about that 4%, 4.5% growth until 2028, obviously one needs to make their own assumptions on what slippage would represent, which is probably going to take that number below the 4% annual long-term demand growth CAGR for our type of products. Yes, if there is a long-term non-resolution of the Strait of Hormuz conflict, that could represent a more significant demand destruction. That being said, we have now been unfortunately in this conflict for over 5 months, even the market seems to somehow adjust to the current situation. Let's see. It's evolving, we all hope for a resolution at some point in time.
Nicolas Tirogalas: With that in mind, we are very skeptical a little bit of what the actual order flow of deliveries will look like, which obviously represents another element of optimism on our end. I spoke about that 4%, 4.5% growth until 2028, obviously one needs to make their own assumptions on what slippage would represent, which is probably going to take that number below the 4% annual long-term demand growth CAGR for our type of products. Yes, if there is a long-term non-resolution of the Strait of Hormuz conflict, that could represent a more significant demand destruction. That being said, we have now been unfortunately in this conflict for over 5 months, even the market seems to somehow adjust to the current situation. Let's see. It's evolving, we all hope for a resolution at some point in time.
Speaker #1: I spoke about that four, four and a half percent growth until 2028. But obviously one needs to make their own assumptions on what slippage would represent.
Speaker #1: Which is probably going to take that number below the 4% annual long-term demand growth CAGR for our type of products. And yes, if there is a long-term, non-resolution of the Strait of Hormuz conflict, that could represent a more significant demand destruction.
Speaker #1: That being said, we have now unfortunately been in this conflict for over five months, and even the market seems to somehow adjust to the current situation.
Speaker #1: But let's see. It's evolving. We all hope for a resolution at some point in time—any kind of resolution. We are of the firm view that rates are probably going to spike again, and we will be positioned in a way to capitalize on that.
Nicolas Tirogalas: In any kind of resolution, we are of the firm view that rates are probably going to spike again, we will be positioned in a way to capitalize on that. With that in mind, Irene, I'll pass it to you to walk us through the next slide on page eight and second quarter financial performance review.
Nicolas Tirogalas: In any kind of resolution, we are of the firm view that rates are probably going to spike again, we will be positioned in a way to capitalize on that. With that in mind, Irene, I'll pass it to you to walk us through the next slide on page eight and second quarter financial performance review.
Speaker #1: And with that in mind, Irene, I'll pass it to you to walk us through the next slide on page eight and second quarter financial performance.
Speaker #2: Turning to slide eight, and as already highlighted by Nicolas, the second quarter represented a significantly stronger quarter for the company, with improvements across utilization, earnings, profitability, as well as the balance sheet metrics.
Irene Michael: Turning to slide eight, as already highlighted by Nicolas, Q2 represented a significantly stronger quarter for the company, with improvement across utilization, earnings, profitability as well as the balance sheet metrics. On the operational side, looking at fleet utilization, this has increased to 99.8%, up from 93.1% in Q1. This primarily reflects the completion of Barbouni's scheduled dry dock in the previous quarter, resulting in significantly fewer off-hire days during the period. Supported by stronger market conditions, the average net pool day increased by 28% to approximately $29,000 per day, compared to $16,400 per day in the previous quarter. This brings us to a net pool revenue of $11.3 million, which is approximately 40% quarter-on-quarter increase compared to $8 million in Q1. Moving on to the vessel operating expenses.
Irene Michael: Turning to slide eight, as already highlighted by Nicolas, Q2 represented a significantly stronger quarter for the company, with improvement across utilization, earnings, profitability as well as the balance sheet metrics. On the operational side, looking at fleet utilization, this has increased to 99.8%, up from 93.1% in Q1. This primarily reflects the completion of Barbouni's scheduled dry dock in the previous quarter, resulting in significantly fewer off-hire days during the period. Supported by stronger market conditions, the average net pool day increased by 28% to approximately $29,000 per day, compared to $16,400 per day in the previous quarter. This brings us to a net pool revenue of $11.3 million, which is approximately 40% quarter-on-quarter increase compared to $8 million in Q1. Moving on to the vessel operating expenses.
Speaker #2: On the operational side, looking at fleet utilization, this has increased to 99.8%, up from 93.1% in the first quarter. This primarily reflects the completion of Babuun's scheduled dry dock in the previous quarter.
Speaker #2: Resulting in significantly fewer higher days during the period. Supported by stronger market conditions, the average net pool fee increased by 28% to approximately $29,000 per day.
Speaker #2: Compared to 16.4 per day in the previous quarter. This brings us to a net revenue of $11.3 million, which is approximately 40% quarter on quarter.
Speaker #2: Increased compared to $8 million in the first quarter. Moving on to the vessel operating expenses, these are broadly in line with our expectations, and this reflects minor technical and operational incidents across our fleet.
Irene Michael: These are broadly in line with our expectations, this reflects minor technical and operational incidents across our fleet. SGA variance attributable to the non-cash share value adjustment on program in Q3 as announced in the earnings. EBITDA increased to $6.6 million from $3.4 million in Q1, the company reported a net profit of $2.5 million, compared with a small net loss in Q1. From a balance sheet perspective, net market value increased to approximately $101.8 million, while loan value has improved to $4.8 from $3.5 at the end of the previous quarter. This supported growth in NAV to $5.22 per share, which is equivalent to approximately $49.8 million based on the estimated time of the translation. A $0.135 per share dividend has been declared for Q2, expected to be paid on or about 1 September.
Irene Michael: These are broadly in line with our expectations, this reflects minor technical and operational incidents across our fleet. SGA variance attributable to the non-cash share value adjustment on program in Q3 as announced in the earnings. EBITDA increased to $6.6 million from $3.4 million in Q1, the company reported a net profit of $2.5 million, compared with a small net loss in Q1. From a balance sheet perspective, net market value increased to approximately $101.8 million, while loan value has improved to $4.8 from $3.5 at the end of the previous quarter. This supported growth in NAV to $5.22 per share, which is equivalent to approximately $49.8 million based on the estimated time of the translation. A $0.135 per share dividend has been declared for Q2, expected to be paid on or about 1 September.
Speaker #2: SG&A variance attributable to the non-cash fair value adjustment. EBITDA increased to $6.6 million from $3.4 million in the first quarter, and the company reported a profit of $2.5 million.
Speaker #2: Compared with a small metal loss in the first quarter. From a balance sheet perspective, net market value increased to approximately $101.8 million, while loan-to-value improved to 4.8% from 36.5% at the end of the previous quarter.
Speaker #2: This supported growth in net to $5.22 per share, which is equivalent to approximately $49.8 million based on the FX rate at the time of the translation.
Speaker #2: A dividend of 13.5 cents per share has been declared for the second quarter, and is expected to be paid on or about the 1st of September. As mentioned, this represents an annual ICL of approximately 13%.
Irene Michael: As mentioned, this represents an annualized yield of approximately 13% based on the share price. Including this dividend, no additional distributions since the IPO amount to approximately $2.24 per share, which is roughly 65% of the capital raised at the listing. Overall, this quarter delivered a strong improvement in earnings and profitability, this was mainly driven by the higher utilization and the stronger pool rates. This concludes our presentation, we are now able to answer any questions.
Irene Michael: As mentioned, this represents an annualized yield of approximately 13% based on the share price. Including this dividend, no additional distributions since the IPO amount to approximately $2.24 per share, which is roughly 65% of the capital raised at the listing. Overall, this quarter delivered a strong improvement in earnings and profitability, this was mainly driven by the higher utilization and the stronger pool rates. This concludes our presentation, we are now able to answer any questions.
Speaker #2: Based on the share price, including this dividend—similar to share distributions—the amount is approximately 2.24 cents per share, which is roughly 65% of the capital raised at the listing.
Speaker #2: Overall, this quarter delivered a strong improvement in earnings and profitability, and this was mainly driven by higher utilization and stronger pool rates.
Speaker #2: This concludes our presentation, and we will now move on to answer any questions.
Speaker #1: Okay. In terms of the questions that I see—thank you, Irene. We talked about the PC rate. In terms of dividends, there's a question here as to whether we expect dividends to continue as part of the realization process.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Okay. In terms of the questions that I see, thank you, Irene. We talked about the TC rates. In terms of dividends, there's a question here that whether we expect dividends to continue as part of the realization process. Yes, the intent is to continue doing so. The level of those dividends, of course, will need to be reviewed given the number of vessels that we will have at that point in time, and the earnings, of course, because the idea is to be dividing out cash and not to keep cash. Of course, that is exactly what we will keep doing. As soon as, of course, any vessel is realized, we will be doing capital returns on that front anyways. As we said, this was a full payout company, this is what this company will continue to do.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Okay. In terms of the questions that I see, thank you, Irene. We talked about the TC rates. In terms of dividends, there's a question here that whether we expect dividends to continue as part of the realization process. Yes, the intent is to continue doing so. The level of those dividends, of course, will need to be reviewed given the number of vessels that we will have at that point in time, and the earnings, of course, because the idea is to be dividing out cash and not to keep cash. Of course, that is exactly what we will keep doing. As soon as, of course, any vessel is realized, we will be doing capital returns on that front anyways. As we said, this was a full payout company, this is what this company will continue to do.
Speaker #1: Yes, the intent is to continue doing so. The level of those dividends, of course, will need to be reviewed, given the number of vessels that you will have at that point in time and the earnings, of course.
Speaker #1: Because the idea is to be paying out cash and not to keep cash. But of course, that is exactly what we will keep doing.
Speaker #1: And as soon as, of course, any vessel is realized, we will be doing capital returns on that front. Anyway, as we said, this was a full payout company.
Speaker #1: And this is what this company will continue to do. Irene, there's a question in here about the quarterly decrease in the payables. I think that...
Nicolas Tirogalas: Irene, there's a question in here about the quarterly decrease in the payables.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Irene, there's a question in here about the quarterly decrease in the payables.
Speaker #2: Yeah, I can cover, Nicolas. This was mainly due to the decrease in the amount owed to the ship managers. At the previous quarter, at the end of December 2025, this was mainly due to the payables related to the dry dock cost.
Irene Michael: Yeah. I can take over, Nicolas. This was mainly due to the decrease of the amount due to the ship managers. At the previous quarter and the end of December 2025, this was mainly due to the payables related to the dry dock costs. As you recall, in Q4 2025, we had two dry docks occurred, which this resulted in the high payables amount due to the ship managers. As a result, during this quarter, most of those payables have been repaid.
Irene Michael: Yeah. I can take over, Nicolas. This was mainly due to the decrease of the amount due to the ship managers. At the previous quarter and the end of December 2025, this was mainly due to the payables related to the dry dock costs. As you recall, in Q4 2025, we had two dry docks occurred, which this resulted in the high payables amount due to the ship managers. As a result, during this quarter, most of those payables have been repaid.
Speaker #2: As you recall, in the last quarter of 2025, we had two dry docks occur. This resulted in the high payables amount to the ship managers.
Speaker #2: As a result, during this quarter, most of those payables have been repaid.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Okay, great. Thank you for that. We have a question in here, whether the rates will move back up to $21,000. If not, what rate do you reasonably forecast over the next 12, 18 months? We are running our numbers. Obviously, we don't know if the rates are going to come out to $21,000. Maybe they will go higher. We are running our numbers on conservatively $18,000, $19,000 for the rest of this year. Next year, 2027, at about an average of $20,000 per day. That's roughly what we are looking at. In terms of the liquidity of the chemical tanker markets, it's relatively healthy, I would say. We have seen some transactions of similar aged ships at firm rates.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Okay, great. Thank you for that. We have a question in here, whether the rates will move back up to $21,000. If not, what rate do you reasonably forecast over the next 12, 18 months? We are running our numbers. Obviously, we don't know if the rates are going to come out to $21,000. Maybe they will go higher. We are running our numbers on conservatively $18,000, $19,000 for the rest of this year. Next year, 2027, at about an average of $20,000 per day. That's roughly what we are looking at. In terms of the liquidity of the chemical tanker markets, it's relatively healthy, I would say. We have seen some transactions of similar aged ships at firm rates.
Speaker #1: Okay, great. Thank you for that. And then we have a question here: whether the rates will move back up to $21,000.
Speaker #1: If not, what rate do you reasonably forecast over the next 12 to 18 months? So, we are running our numbers—I mean, obviously we don't know if the rates are going to come out to 21.
Speaker #1: Maybe they will go, maybe they will go higher. We are running our numbers conservatively—$18,000, $19,000 for the rest of this year, and then next year, 2027, at about an average of $20,000 per day.
Speaker #1: So that's roughly what we are looking at. In terms of the liquidity of the chemical tanker markets, it's relatively healthy. I would say we have seen some transactions of similar-age ships at firm rates.
Speaker #1: Obviously, the idea and cautious approach would be to do this ordinarily, as we said, and not blast the market—because, obviously, people will think that we are anxious sellers.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Obviously, the idea and cautious approach would be to do this ordinarily, as we said, and not blast the market, because obviously, people will think that we are anxious sellers, which we are not, and then that affects value. There are transactions out there, and very recently, there was even a block transaction, which gives values very close to the asset values that are assumed by the brokers, and that we have presented as the basis for the market value and NAV of our fleet. I think that answers that question. We'll give people a couple more minutes if there are any other questions. At the moment, I don't see any in the queue. We're very excited with this quarter, as we said, very good numbers.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Obviously, the idea and cautious approach would be to do this ordinarily, as we said, and not blast the market, because obviously, people will think that we are anxious sellers, which we are not, and then that affects value. There are transactions out there, and very recently, there was even a block transaction, which gives values very close to the asset values that are assumed by the brokers, and that we have presented as the basis for the market value and NAV of our fleet. I think that answers that question. We'll give people a couple more minutes if there are any other questions. At the moment, I don't see any in the queue. We're very excited with this quarter, as we said, very good numbers.
Speaker #1: Which we are not. And then that affects value. But there are transactions out there, and recently there was even a block transaction which gives values very close to the asset values that are assumed by the brokers and that we have presented as the basis for the market value NAV of our fleet.
Speaker #1: So, I think that answers that question. We'll give people a couple more minutes in case there are any other questions. At the moment, I don't see any in the queue.
Speaker #1: We're very excited with this quarter. As we said, very good numbers. Hopefully people move on the stock and bridge that gap on NAV. We think the discount there is warranted.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Hopefully, people move on the stock and bridge that gap on the NAV we think. The discount there is unwarranted, and obviously, with a strategic and clear path on what is coming, barring any materiality. There's another question came in. The timelines for disposals to be extended. We don't think so. Unless this vehicle was not going to be realized within this five-year timeline that we had indicated at the beginning, we do not see extending opportunity. We do think that vessels can be traded over 20 years, if the vehicle had another five years. Obviously, it's not the intent to extend the timelines for disposals, and we feel quite confident that there will be a market out there for our ships when the time comes. If there aren't any other questions, it doesn't seem there are. Thank you, everyone, for joining this call.
Nicolas Tirogalas: Hopefully, people move on the stock and bridge that gap on the NAV we think. The discount there is unwarranted, and obviously, with a strategic and clear path on what is coming, barring any materiality. There's another question came in. The timelines for disposals to be extended. We don't think so. Unless this vehicle was not going to be realized within this five-year timeline that we had indicated at the beginning, we do not see extending opportunity. We do think that vessels can be traded over 20 years, if the vehicle had another five years. Obviously, it's not the intent to extend the timelines for disposals, and we feel quite confident that there will be a market out there for our ships when the time comes. If there aren't any other questions, it doesn't seem there are. Thank you, everyone, for joining this call.
Speaker #1: And, obviously, with a strategic and clear path on what is coming, barring any materiality—I mean, we'll see. There's another question that came in: the timeline for deposits to be extended.
Speaker #1: We don't think so. Well, really, unless this vehicle was not going to be realized within this five-year timeline that we had indicated at the beginning.
Speaker #1: We do not see an extending opportunity. We do think that vessels can be traded over 20 years, if the vessel had another five years. But obviously, it's not the intent to extend the timeline for disposals.
Speaker #1: And we feel quite confident that there will be a market out there for our ships, if and when the time comes—not just when the time comes.
Speaker #1: So, if there aren't any other questions—and it doesn't seem there are—thank you, everyone, for joining this call. We look forward to speaking with all of you at the next quarterly meeting.
Nicolas Tirogalas: We look forward to speaking to all of you at the next quarterly meeting in November. Until then, we wish everyone a good rest of the summer, and see you all soon. Thank you very much.
Nicolas Tirogalas: We look forward to speaking to all of you at the next quarterly meeting in November. Until then, we wish everyone a good rest of the summer, and see you all soon. Thank you very much.
