Evensen hungry for more

Teekay LNG’s appetite for new tonnage has not been satisfied by its joint swoop for Maersk LNG, Peter Evensen says.

The New York-listed owner will still have plenty of cash to splash after finally wrapping up the deal it executed alongside Marubeni Corporation next week, he explains.

Peter Evensen.

Evensen, writing the Teekay LNG’s fourth quarter report, said: “Given the strong fundamentals that are driving up spot LNG shipping rates and the compelling outlook for the supply and demand of LNG, we expect to remain active in our assessment of near-term acquisition opportunities while continuing to bid on new long-term gas projects.

"After completion of the acquisition of the Maersk LNG fleet, we expect the partnership will have approximately $400m of available liquidity and thus, remain well-positioned to take advantage of future growth opportunities."

Teekay LNG, which believes the Maersk move will add $40m to its distributable cash flow this year, says the price for the deal has dropped from $1.4bn to $1.3bn following the sale of stakes in two ships in the Maersk LNG fleet.

Debt financing for 80% of the purchase price is in the bag, with Teekay also using cash from a recent equity issue settle its part of the tab.

Teekay LNG saw its distributable cash flow climb to $44.1m in the fourth quarter, as fleet expansion pushed it past the $39.3m seen a year ago.

Adjusted for one-off items which litter the balance sheets of most Teekay companies, it booked a profit of $29.8m in the fourth quarter. This was up from $26.2m 12 months ago.

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