Capital Product Partners L.P., an international owner of ocean-going vessels, Friday released its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021.
Overview of Second Quarter 2021 Results
Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 was $35.4 million, compared with net income of $8.7 million for the second quarter of 2020. Net income for the second quarter of 2021 includes a gain on sale of $25.4 million from the sale of the M/V ‘CMA CGM Magdalena’ in May 2021. After taking into account the interest attributable to the general partner, net income per common unit for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 was $1.89 (or $0.53, if the gain from the sale of M/V ‘CMA CGM Magdalena’ is excluded), compared to net income per common unit of $0.46 for the second quarter of 2020.
Total revenue was $39.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, compared to $36.6 million during the second quarter of 2020. The increase in revenue was primarily attributable to the increase in the size of our fleet following the acquisition of three 5,100 TEU containers in February 2021 and the decrease in the net amortization of time charters acquired together with certain of our vessels. The increase was partly set off by the decrease in the average daily charter rate earned by the vessels in our fleet and the sale of the M/V ‘CMA CGM Magdalena’ in May 2021.
Total expenses for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 were $25.6 million, compared to $22.7 million in the second quarter of 2020. Voyage expenses for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 increased to $2.2 million, compared to $1.3 million in the second quarter of 2020, as one of the vessels in our fleet was employed under voyage charters compared to none during the respective period in 2020. Total vessel operating expenses during the second quarter of 2021 amounted to $11.7 million, compared to $9.0 million during the second quarter of 2020. The increase in vessel operating expenses was mainly due to the increase in the size of our fleet following the acquisition of the three 5,100 TEU container vessels in February 2021, partly offset by the sale of the M/V ‘CMA CGM Magdalena’ in May 2021. Total expenses for the second quarter of 2021 also included vessel depreciation and amortization of $10.1 million, compared to $10.5 million in the second quarter of 2020. The decrease in depreciation and amortization during the second quarter of 2021 was mainly attributable to the classification of the vessels M/V ‘CMA CGM Magdalena’ and M/V ‘Adonis’ as vessels held for sale upon entering into a memorandum of agreement for their sale partly offset by the increase by the acquisition of the three 5,100 TEU container vessels in February 2021. General and administrative expenses for the second quarter of 2021 amounted to $1.7 million as compared to $1.8 million in the second quarter of 2020.
Total other expense, net for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 was $4.2 million compared to $5.3 million for the second quarter of 2020. Total other expense, net includes interest expense and finance costs of $4.2 million for the second quarter of 2021, as compared to $5.2 million for the second quarter of 2020. The decrease in interest expense and finance costs was attributable to the decrease in the LIBOR weighted average interest rate compared to the second quarter of 2020.
Capitalization of the Partnership
As of June 30, 2021, total cash amounted to $112.2 million. Total cash includes restricted cash of $8.0 million which represents the minimum liquidity requirement under our financing arrangements.
As of June 30, 2021, total partners’ capital amounted to $461.7 million, an increase of $39.6 million compared to $422.1 million as of December 31, 2020. The increase reflects net income for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and the amortization associated with the equity incentive plan, partly offset by distributions declared and paid during the period in the total amount of $3.8 million and the repurchase of Partnership’s common units for an aggregate amount of $3.9 million.
As of June 30, 2021, the Partnership’s total debt was $347.6 million, reflecting a decrease of $32.1 million compared to $379.7 million as of December 31, 2020. The decrease is attributable to the sale of the M/V ‘CMA CGM Magdalena’ in May 2021 and the respective debt repayment under the respective financing arrangement in the total amount of $49.6 million and to scheduled principal payments of $18.5 million during the period, partly offset by the sale and lease back transaction for an amount of $30.0 million in aggregate and the sellers’ credit agreement with Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. in the amount of $6.0 million in connection with the acquisition of three 5,100 TEU container vessels in February 2021.
Operating Surplus
Operating surplus for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 amounted to $23.5 million, compared to $24.5 million for the previous quarter ended March 31, 2021 and $25.5 million for the second quarter of 2020. We allocated $8.3 million to the capital reserve for the second quarter of 2021, a decrease of $1.8 million compared to the previous quarter due to the decreased debt amortization resulting from the sale of the M/V ‘CMA CGM Magdalena’ in May 2021. Operating surplus for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, after the quarterly allocation to the capital reserve was $15.2 million.
Sale of the M/V ‘CMA CGM Magdalena’
On May 17, 2021, the Partnership concluded the sale of the M/V ‘CMA CGM Magdalena’ (115,639 dwt / 9,288 TEU, Eco-Flex, Wide Beam Containership built 2016, Daewoo-Mangalia Heavy Industries S.Α.) and the vessel was delivered to its new owners, generating gross proceeds from the sale of approximately $49.4 million after repaying outstanding debt. The Partnership recorded an accounting gain on the sale of the vessel in the amount of $25.4 million. Although the vessel was recognized in the Partnership’s books at an acquisition cost of $88.5 million, the cash consideration paid for the acquisition of the vessel in 2016 was $81.5 million, where the difference represented the value allocated at the time to the specific vessel for resetting the partnership’s Incentive Distribution Rights adjusted by the value of the above market acquired charter.
COVID-19
We continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the Partnership’s financial condition and operations and on the container industry in general. The various travel restrictions, health protocols and changing quarantine regimes in the countries in which we operate have so far translated into, among other things, increased costs and off hire related to crewing, crew rotation and crew related expenses, higher forwarding expenses and longer lead times to delivery, as well as increased dry-docking duration and costs. While it is not always possible to distinguish incremental costs or off-hire associated with the impact of COVID-19 on our operations, we estimate that for the second quarter of 2021, incremental operating and/or voyage costs associated with COVID-19 were approximately $0.2 million.
The actual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the longer run, as well as the extent of any measures we take in response to the challenges presented by it, as described in our previous releases, will depend on how the pandemic will continue to develop, the distribution of vaccines, the duration and extent of the restrictive measures that are associated with the pandemic and their further impact on global economy and trade. Currently, the container charter market is benefiting from the impact of COVID-19 on the global trade logistics chain (see also Market Commentary Update below).
Management Commentary
Mr. Jerry Kalogiratos, Chief Executive Officer of our General Partner, commented:
“We are pleased to see the continued strong financial performance of the Partnership during the second quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year. The improved performance reflects in part the favorable underlying container chartering market dynamics, but importantly also the increased fleet size of the Partnership.
“As previously announced, we have taken advantage of the extraordinary container market to sell two of our container vessels at prices substantially higher than the cash prices paid for these vessels five to six years ago. This gives us an opportunity to pursue our objectives at a grander scale: first, to continue to grow our fleet with modern vessels that provide cash flow visibility, second to continue to return capital to our unitholders and last but not least to set the basis for a fleet renewal program that will help reduce the Partnership’s environmental footprint, as ESG considerations and especially vessel trading emissions come to the forefront in our industry.”
Unit Repurchase Program
On January 25, 2021, the Partnership’s Board of Directors approved a unit repurchase program, providing the Partnership with authorization to repurchase up to $30.0 million of units of the Partnership’s common unit, effective for a period of two years. As of June 30, 2021, the Partnership repurchased 331,214 common units since the launching of the unit repurchase plan on February 19, 2021, at an average cost of $11.65 per unit.
Quarterly Common Unit Cash Distribution
On July 21, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Partnership (the “Board”) declared a cash distribution of $0.10 per common unit for the second quarter of 2021 payable on August 10, 2021 to common unit holders of record on August 3, 2021.
Market Commentary Update
The second quarter of 2021 saw further increases in container charter rates with continuous positive momentum building up beyond the second quarter of 2021. The supply of available vessels continues to be very restricted at this point – especially for panamax size and larger vessels – thus creating upward pressure on rates, while longer charter durations are being offered by charterers in order to incentivize owners to fix. Container volume growth remains high, especially on the transpacific trade, where volumes were up by approximately 45% during the first five months of the year compared to the same period a year ago. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to induce increased demand for containerized goods and the associated inventory replenishment, while logistics chain bottlenecks continue to persist around the globe further restricting the supply of vessels.
As a result, analysts expect container vessel demand to grow by 6.6% in 2021. At the same time, the strength of the container chartering market resulted in the container vessel orderbook approximately doubling within less than 12 months, standing at around 20% of current fleet TEU capacity by mid-July 2021. As of quarter end, slippage including cancellations of newbuilding container vessels stood at 22.0% in TEU compared to 40% at the end of the second quarter of 2020. Supply growth for 2021 is estimated at 4.5% and it is expected to decrease to 2.6% in 2022 before a heavier delivery schedule in 2023.
Source: Capital Product Partners L.P.