DHT Holdings, Inc. fourth quarter 2016 results

HAMILTON, BERMUDA, January 30, 2017 – DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT) (“DHT” or the “Company”) today announced:

FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

USD mill. (except per share) Q4 2016 Q3 2016 Q2 2016 Q1 2016 Q4 2015 2016 2015
Adjusted Net Revenue1 67.0 50.3 83.2 90.2 80.0 290.7 296.3
Adjusted EBITDA 46.7 29.5 63.7 69.5 59.6 209.4 214.8
Net Income/(Loss) 17.8 (75.7)2 35.6 31.52 32.42 9.32 105.42
EPS – basic 0.19 (0.81) 0.38 0.34 0.35 0.10 1.13
EPS – diluted3 0.18 (0.81) 0.34 0.30 0.31 0.10 1.04
Interest Bearing Debt 701.5 684.9 613.1 654.4 662.5 701.5 662.5
Cash 109.34 71.5 65.0 77.5 166.84 109.34 166.84
Dividend5 0.08 0.02 0.23 0.25 0.21 0.58 0.69
Fleet (dwt)6 6,725,916 6,392,011 6,392,011 6,556,637 6,556,637 6,087,916 6,556,637
Spot Exposure7 57.3% 59.9% 56.6% 57.2% 49.9% 57.8% 50.5%
Unscheduled off hire7 5.5% 0.84% 0.29% 0.27% 0.17% 1.8% 0.20%
Scheduled off hire7 0.9% 5.06% 1.70% 0.00% 1.50% 1.7% 0.50%


HIGHLIGHTS OF THE QUARTER:

  • EBITDA for the quarter of $46.7 million. Net income for the quarter of $17.8 million ($0.19 per basic share).
  • The Company’s VLCCs achieved time charter equivalent earnings of $37,100 per day in the fourth quarter of 2016 of which the Company’s VLCCs on time-charter earned $41,400 per day and the Company’s VLCCs operating in the spot market achieved $34,300 per day.
  • In accordance with DHT’s capital allocation policy whereby the Company intends to return at least 60% of its ordinary net income to security holders, the Company repurchased $23.0 million face value of its convertible senior notes in the open market during the quarter at an average price of 90.4%.  Additionally, the Company will pay a cash dividend of $0.08 per common share for the quarter payable on February 22, 2017 for shareholders of record as of February 14, 2017.
  • During the quarter the Company extended the time charter for the DHT Europe to an oil major for a period of 12 months from January 2017 at a rate of $31,250 per day.
  • On January 16, 2017 the Company took delivery of the last of its six VLCC newbuildings from Hyundai Heavy Industries.  The vessel is named DHT Tiger and is trading in the spot market.  A total of $48.7 million of debt was drawn in connection with the delivery of the vessel.
  • As previously reported the Company has sold the DHT Chris, a 2001 built VLCC for $23.7 million.  The vessel was delivered to the buyers in January 2017 and is expected to retire from the trading fleet. The sale is in support of the company’s fleet renewal program. $12.0 million of the net proceeds has been applied to repay debt and has been recorded as current portion of long term debt as of December 31, 2016.
  • In January 2017 DHT entered in an agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries for the construction of two VLCCs of 319,000 dwt scheduled for delivery in July and September 2018. The newbuilding contracts will be financed with cash at hand and bank debt; hence the Company does not intend to issue any stock in relation to this expansion. 

  • It is DHT’s policy to inspect all newbuildings, including underwater areas, during their respective warranty periods.  During such routine inspection of the first newbuilding delivered, a fracture surrounding the inspection window of the rudder was identified.  Following a root cause analysis conducted by the builder HHI and classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), DHT implemented a permanent repair plan for a rudder design improvement on all six newbuildings.  DHT completed the work on all of these ships in the fourth quarter 2016 and incurred a total of 105 off-hire days.  The repair cost has been covered by HHI under its warranty obligation.

  • The Company has consumed $26.8 million of its securities repurchase program implemented in February 2016 and has elected to restore the capacity to $50.0 million and extended its validity through March 2018. 

  • On January 27, 2017, DHT received a non-binding, highly conditional proposal from Frontline Ltd. (NYSE/OSE: FRO) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of DHT in a stock-for-stock transaction at a ratio of 0.725 of a Frontline share for each share of DHT. In the proposal letter delivered to DHT’s Board of Directors, Frontline also disclosed that it has acquired more than 15 million shares of DHT, or approximately 16% of DHT’s outstanding common stock. Consistent with its fiduciary duties, DHT’s Board will evaluate the proposal from Frontline and respond accordingly in due course. In light of the developments, DHT’s Board has adopted a one-year shareholder rights plan to give the Board and DHT time to properly consider the proposal.  For further information please refer to the press release issued on January 29, 2017. The press release can be found on www.dhtankers.com.
     
  • DHT has a total fleet of 21 VLCCs, 19 in the water and two under construction, as well as two Aframaxes. Six of the VLCCs and the two Aframaxes are on fixed rate time charters. For more details on the fleet, please refer to our web site: https://www.dhtankers.com/index.php?name=About_DHT%2FFleet.html.

             
Footnotes:
1Net of voyage expenses.
2Q3 2016 includes an impairment charge of $76.6 million. Q1 2016 includes an impairment charge of $8.1 million related to the sale of the DHT Target.  2016 includes total impairment charges of $84.7 million. Q4 2015 and 2015 include a loss of $0.8 million related to the sale of the DHT Trader.
3Diluted shares include the dilutive effect of the convertible senior notes and restricted shares granted to management and members of the board of directors.
4The cash balance as of December 31, 2016 includes $48.7 million relating to the financing for DHT Tiger which was drawn in 2016 in advance of the delivery of the DHT Tiger on January 16, 2017. The cash balance as of December 31, 2015 includes $50.0 million relating to the financing for DHT Leopard which was drawn on December 29, 2015 in advance of the delivery of the DHT Leopard on January 4, 2016.
5Per common share.
6Q4 2016 includes three newbuildings totaling 937,900 dwt; one of which was delivered on January 16, 2017 and two scheduled to be delivered in Q3 2018. Q1 and Q2 2016 include three newbuildings totaling 899,700 dwt to be delivered in Q3-Q4 2016. Q4 2015 and 2015 include five newbuildings totaling 1,499,500 dwt to be delivered in 2016.
7As % of total operating days in period.

The full report can be found on the link below


EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST INFORMATION
The company will host a conference call and webcast which will include a slide presentation at 8:00 a.m. EST/14:00 CET on Tuesday January 31, 2017 to discuss the results for the quarter.  All shareholders and other interested parties are invited to join the conference call, which may be accessed by calling 1 718 354 1357 within the United States, 23162787 within Norway and +44 20 7136 2056 for international callers. The passcode is “DHT” or “2174405”. 

The webcast which will include a slide presentation will be available on the following link:
http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/wpe8xpiu and can also be accessed in the Investor Relations section on DHT’s website at https://www.dhtankers.com.


An audio replay of the conference call will be available through February 7, 2017.  To access the replay, dial 1 347 366 9565 within the United States, 21000498 within Norway or +44 20 3427 0598 for international callers and enter 2174405# as the pass code.

ABOUT DHT HOLDINGS, INC.
DHT is an independent crude oil tanker company. Our fleet trades internationally and consists of crude oil tankers in the VLCC and Aframax segments. We operate through our integrated management companies in Oslo, Norway and Singapore. You shall recognize us by our business approach with an experienced organization with focus on first rate operations and customer service, quality ships built at quality shipyards, prudent capital structure with robust cash break even levels to accommodate staying power through the business cycles, a combination of market exposure and fixed income contracts for our fleet and a transparent corporate structure maintaining a high level of integrity and good governance.  For further information: www.dhtankers.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating to the Company that are based on beliefs of the Company’s management as well as assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions and beliefs about future events, in particular regarding dividends (including our dividend plans, timing and the amount and growth of any dividends), daily charter rates, vessel utilization, the future number of newbuilding deliveries, oil prices and seasonal fluctuations in vessel supply and demand. When used in this document, words such as “believe,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should” and “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.  These statements reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties.  Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements represent the Company’s estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results.  For a detailed discussion of the risk factors that might cause future results to differ, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 21, 2016.

The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.  In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release might not occur, and the Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

CONTACT:
Eirik Ubøe, CFO
Phone: +1 441 299 4912 and +47 412 92 712
E-mail: eu@dhtankers.com

DHT Q4 2016 financial report