Frontline Ltd. (the “Company” or “Frontline”), today reported unaudited results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018:
Highlights
- Net income attributable to the Company of $2.2 million, or $0.01 per share, for the third quarter of 2018.
- Net loss attributable to the Company adjusted for certain non-cash items of $8.4 million, or $0.05 per share, for the third quarter of 2018.
- Spot TCE of $22,000 for VLCCs less than 15 years of age in the third quarter.
- Spot TCE of $35,000 booked for 74% of vessel days for VLCCs less than 15 years of age in the fourth quarter.
- In November 2018, ordered exhaust gas cleaning systems (“EGCS”) for a further 12 vessels from Feen Marine Scrubbers Inc. (“FMSI”), increasing commitment to installing EGCS on 20 vessels.
- In November 2018, extended the terms of its senior unsecured loan facility of up to $275.0 million facility with an affiliate of Hemen Holding Ltd. by 12 months to November 2020.
Robert Hvide Macleod, Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Management AS commented:
“Tanker markets are beginning to rebalance following 18 months of extremely challenging conditions and we are optimistic that the market has now exited the cycle trough. Oil inventory draws, fleet growth and production cuts have been against us, but these important factors are now turning in our favor. The most important factor, oil demand, remains strong.
Frontline has actively positioned its fleet to participate in the market upturn. We have a large fleet of modern and fuel-efficient vessels, with an average age of 4.1 years and our cash breakeven levels are among the most competitive in the industry. We expects that our positioning for IMO 2020, with our equity investment in FMSI and the planned installation of scrubbers on a number of our vessels, will result in a significant increase in cash generation should our market view unfold.”
The average daily time charter equivalents (“TCE”) earned by Frontline in the quarter ended September 30, 2018, the prior quarters and in the year ended December 31, 2017 are shown below, along with spot estimates for the fourth quarter of 2018 and the estimated average daily cash break-even (“BE”) rates for the remainder of 2018:
| Average daily time charter equivalents (“TCEs”) | ||||||||
| ($ per day) | Spot | Spot estimates | % covered | Estimated average daily cash BE rates | ||||
| YTD 2018 | Q3 2018 | Q2 2018 | Q1 2018 | 2017 | Q4 2018 | 2018 | ||
| VLCC | 15,400 | 19,900 | 11,700 | 14,900 | 22,400 | 34,000 | 77% | 22,400 |
| SMAX | 14,300 | 13,500 | 14,100 | 15,400 | 17,300 | 24,000 | 65% | 18,600 |
| LR2 | 13,600 | 14,300 | 11,700 | 14,800 | 14,400 | 17,000 | 59% | 16,400 |
The estimated average daily cash break-even rates are the daily TCE rates the vessels must earn in order to cover operating expenses including dry docks, repayments of loans, interest on loans, bareboat/tc hire and general and administrative expenses.
Questions should be directed to:
Robert Hvide Macleod: Chief Executive Officer, Frontline Management AS
+47 23 11 40 84
Inger M. Klemp: Chief Financial Officer, Frontline Management AS
+47 23 11 40 76
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this report may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements, which include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
Frontline Ltd. and its subsidiaries, or the Company, desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. This report and any other written or oral statements made by us or on our behalf may include forward-looking statements, which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance, and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results. When used in this documents, the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect” and similar expressions, terms or phrases may identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this report are based upon various assumptions, including without limitation, management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
In addition to these important factors and matters discussed elsewhere herein, important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies, fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, changes in the supply and demand for vessels comparable to ours, changes in world wide oil production and consumption and storage, changes in the Company’s operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for the Company’s vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, our ability to obtain financing and comply with the restrictions and other covenants in our financing arrangements, availability of skilled workers and the related labor costs, compliance with governmental, tax, environmental and safety regulation, any non-compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) or other applicable regulations relating to bribery, general economic conditions and conditions in the oil industry, effects of new products and new technology in our industry, the failure of counter parties to fully perform their contracts with us, our dependence on key personnel, adequacy of insurance coverage, our ability to obtain indemnities from customers, changes in laws, treaties or regulations, the volatility of the price of our ordinary shares; our incorporation under the laws of Bermuda and the different rights to relief that may be available compared to other countries, including the United States, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, political events or acts by terrorists, and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission or Commission.
We caution readers of this report not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. These forward looking statements are not guarantees of our future performance, and actual results and future developments may vary materially from those projected in the forward looking statements.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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