Diamond S Shipping Inc. reports 2Q 2020 results

Diamond S Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSSI) (“Diamond S”, or the “Company”), one of the largest publicly listed owners and operators of crude oil and product tankers, announced results for the second quarter of 2020.

Craig H. Stevenson Jr., President and CEO of Diamond S, commented: “We are pleased with our performance in the second quarter, which is reflected in our strong financial results. Our primary focus is on positioning Diamond S to deliver outstanding cash flows in normalized market conditions. For this reason, we continue to lower our leverage, thereby improving our already competitive breakeven levels. We allocated excess capital in the quarter to paying down our debt by reducing exposure on our revolving credit facilities. These amounts may be redrawn in the future to provide liquidity or capital for opportunistic strategic moves. We remain positive in our long-term market outlook and we strongly believe the current market price of our shares does not reflect the underlying value of our vessels.”

Second Quarter 2020 Results

Net income attributable to Diamond S for the second quarter of 2020 was $45.7 million, or $1.15 basic and $1.14 diluted earnings per share, compared to a net loss of $8.5 million, or $0.21 basic and diluted loss per share, for the second quarter of 2019. The increase is primarily related to improved tanker market conditions in both the crude and product tanker segments.

The Company groups its business primarily by commodity transported and segments its fleet into a 16-vessel crude oil transportation fleet (the “Crude Fleet”) and a 50-vessel refined petroleum product transportation fleet (the “Product Fleet”). The Crude Fleet consists of 15 Suezmax vessels and one Aframax vessel. The Product Fleet consists of 44 medium range (“MR2”) vessels and 6 Handysize (“MR1”) vessels.

Net revenues for the Company, which represents voyage revenues less voyage expenses, were $134.2 million for the second quarter of 2020 compared to $83.4 million for the second quarter of 2019. Net revenues from the Crude Fleet were $55.2 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to $24.4 million for the second quarter of 2019. Net revenues from the Product Fleet were $79.0 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to $59.0 million for the second quarter of 2019. The increase in net revenues in both the Crude Fleet and Product Fleet was principally driven by stronger market conditions. Despite the demand destruction caused by the global pandemic, tanker markets were firm because of the sharp contango structure of the crude oil price curve, where the future price of oil was expected to be substantially greater than current prices. This led to a strong demand for the floating storage of oil and petroleum products on tankers, which effectively decreased the supply of ships for transport cargos and increased freight rates.

Vessel expenses were $41.7 million for the second quarter of 2020 compared to $42.4 million for the second quarter of 2019. Vessel expenses, which include crew costs, insurance, repairs and maintenance, lubricants and spare parts, technical management fees and other miscellaneous expenses, decreased by $0.7 million primarily due to the sale of the two MR2 vessels in the third quarter of 2019.

Depreciation and amortization expense was $28.8 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to $29.2 million for the second quarter of 2019. The decrease in depreciation and amortization expense was primarily due to the sale of two MR2 vessels in the third quarter of 2019.

General and administrative expenses were $7.5 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to $7.3 million for the second quarter of 2019.

Interest expense was $9.7 million in the second quarter of 2020 compared to $13.4 million for the second quarter of 2019. Interest expense decreased in the second quarter of 2020 due to a lower average debt balance as a result of mandatory debt repayments and a decrease in the effective interest rate.

Other income, which consists primarily of interest income, was less than $0.1 million in the second quarter of 2020, compared to $0.3 million for the second quarter of 2019.

Liquidity

As of June 30, 2020, the Company had $124.1 million in cash and restricted cash. Restricted cash and minimum cash required by debt covenants was $55.7 million. In the second quarter of 2020, the Company repaid $40.0 million drawn from its revolving credit facilities, increasing available liquidity to $128.4 million net of minimum cash requirements as of June 30, 2020.

About Diamond S Shipping Inc.

Diamond S Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSSI) owns and operates 66 vessels on the water, including 15 Suezmax vessels, one Aframax and 50 medium-range (MR) product tankers. Diamond S is one of the largest energy shipping companies providing seaborne transportation of crude oil, refined petroleum and other petroleum products. The Company is headquartered in Greenwich, CT.