KNOT Offshore Partners Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
May 26, 2023

There are 6 speakers on the call.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by for the North Yorkshire Partners First Quarter 2023 Earnings Results Conference Call. My name is Candice, and I will be your moderator for today's call. All lines have been placed on mute during the presentation portion of the call for an opportunity to question and answer at the end. I would now like to hand the conference call over to our host, Gary Chapman, CEO and CFO to begin.

Speaker 1

Thank you, and welcome to our Q1 2023 earnings call. The earnings release and this presentation are available on our website at knotoffshorepartners.com. Slide 2 gives guidance on the inclusion of forward looking statements in Today's presentation that are made in good faith and reflect management's current view involve known and unknown risks and are based upon assumptions and estimates that are inherently subject with significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied forward looking statements, And the partnership does not have or undertake a duty to update any such forward looking statements made as of the date of this presentation. And for further information, please consult our annual and quarterly SEC filings.

Speaker 1

Today's presentation also includes certain non U. S. GAAP measures, and our earnings release includes a reconciliation of these to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. On Slides 345 are highlights from the Q1 of 2023 and subsequent. We announced our 40th consecutive quarterly cash distribution since our IPO in respect to the Q1 of 2023, which was paid in May 2023 under our 1099 structure.

Speaker 1

Our fleet in the Q1 operated with 100% utilization for scheduled operations and 96.6% utilization taking into account the scheduled dry docking of the Carmen commencement. We secured credit approval on similar terms for the $320,000,000 senior secured credit facility and the $55,000,000 revolving credit facility, which mature in September 2023, and which debt to finance the 6 of the partnership's vessels. We're anticipating to close this in June 2023 subject only to execution of documentation and other It's worth noting that the $172,500,000 senior secured loan facilities maturing in September 2020 In January 2024, secured by the Dansistna and Dansavia respectively, will be fully repaid on maturity. So there is no need for a refinance plan at this stage. And we have no immediate plans to incur additional borrowings secured by these two vessels until such time as the partnership has better visibility on their future employment.

Speaker 1

Finally, we're discussing with our lenders concerning the $225,000,000 unsecured revolving credit facilities that mature in August 2023 November 2023. And based on conversations so far, we believe that both facilities will be refinanced on acceptable and similar terms prior to maturity. We would expect to provide further news on these in our Q2 2023 earnings release. And in terms of charter and contract developments, We have now signed and closed new 3 year time charter contracts for both the Fortaleza Knutsen and the Recife Knutsen with Transpetro, Meaning these vessels are now contracted to March August, 2026 respectively. Then following, For the recent vessel developments listed on Slide 4, I don't plan to read through this.

Speaker 1

I'm sure you can all do that for yourself. But what I can say is that the combination of all of these Charter developments has left us almost entirely covered in 2023. And for several vessels, we have now achieved charter coverage well beyond this year. And we'll See that when we look at the chart diagram shortly. And finally on this slide, Carmen Knutsen successfully completed her 10 year drydock, taking a total of 74 days spread across the end of the Q4 of 2022 and into February 2023.

Speaker 1

On Slide 5, the partnership had $52,400,000 in available liquidity at the end of the Q1, dollars 688,000,000 of remaining contracted Forward revenue, excluding charterers options, but including new charter for the Recife Knutsen, which was signed on April 11, 2023. And our fleet had an average age of 8.9 years with each vessel having an estimated useful life of 23 years. We saw great utilization for scheduled operations in the Q1 at 100%, and the trends in Shuttle Tanker long term fundamentals assisted us in securing the credit approvals we needed for the refinancing. And the encouraging trends that we have previously highlighted in Brazil, Where 14 of our 18 vessels operate are continuing to exert positive pressure on the shuttle tanker charter market. We expect that the limited global fleet order book of only 5 vessels Between now and 2026, combined with significant new offshore oil production volumes coming online will drive charters and rates, both in Brazil and in the North Sea.

Speaker 1

But we do recognize that the North Sea market, where currently 4 of our 18 vessels operate, may still take longer to rebalance, meaning it may yet take several more quarters to filter into the partnership's results. Nonetheless, as stated, we continue to believe that the overall supportive fundamentals of vessel supply set against the faster pace of new offshore oil production implied by continuing FPSO ordering for shuttle tanker service fields will leave the partnership well placed over the coming years. Slide 6, 7 and 8 are our summary of financial results. And as usual, I will just mention a few points. Combined with voyage revenues, our total revenues were strong in the Q1 and this was further boosted by over $900,000 in loss of higher insurance claims related to issues that occurred in prior quarters.

Speaker 1

Operating expenses were broadly in line with both our expectations and the Q4 of 2022 And voyage expenses, being the other side of voyage revenues, also remained consistent. As we had mentioned before, with a wide and geographically spread crew and supplier base to draw upon. We believe we have some protection against the inflationary pressures that are occurring in many places. However, this is something that we, like all companies, are keeping under close review. Higher LIBOR and higher utilization of our revolving credit facilities We have all increased interest expenses in recent quarters and this Q1 of 2023 is no different.

Speaker 1

However, this has not had any impact On Slide 7, you can see our cash and cash equivalents balance at the end of the quarter of $52,400,000 And the current portion of long term debt is naturally elevated as this relates to the ongoing refinancing that we have already spoken about. On slide 8, you can see the overall adjusted EBITDA for the Q1 was again solid and consistent. Slide 9 shows how a significant portion of our total debt is hedged through to the end of 2024 and into 2025, Meaning that the majority of our debt during that period is not affected by changes in interest rates as we have swapped a portion of our variable interest rate debt for fixed interest payments, therefore providing greater certainty of interest expense and cash flow. At March 31, 2023, the Partnership's net exposure to floating interest rate debt was approximately 3 $53,000,000 or around 34% of our total interest bearing debt. In other words, 66% was fixed by interest rate swaps were effectively fixed via our 2 sale and leaseback financings.

Speaker 1

You'll see that we anticipate that more than 50% of our debt will remain fixed or effectively fixed for the next few years. And we're always monitoring the situation to look for new opportunities that could allow us to benefit. Then on to slide 10. As we have seen many of the contractual updates already and they are also set out in the earnings release, I won't repeat them here. But as of March 31, 2023, Excluding charters options, but including the new charter for the Recife Knutsen signed on April 11, 2023, we had $688,000,000 of forward contracted revenue.

Speaker 1

And of our firm charters, these had 2.2 years remaining on average and charters had options to extend these charters by a further 2.2 years on average. On Slide 11, you will see that we have now contract coverage for almost the entirety of 2020 And several vessels are now under contract for much longer periods as you could see on Slide 10. As a result, most of our focus has moved on to the vessels that are yet to be fixed in 2024. And this is where our efforts are being directed. We believe it helps that only 5 new shuttle tankers are expected to come into the market between now and 2026.

Speaker 1

Therefore, the total supply of shuttle tankers is likely to become tight. And with new build shuttle tanker prices remaining elevated, This all helps the competitiveness of our existing fleet. Just before we move on, please do be reminded that this slide does not talk The vessel utilization refers to future charter contract coverage. Then on Slide 12, we list the potential dropdown is currently owned by our sponsor KNOT. As stated, the acquisition by the partnership of any such vessel in the future would be subject to approval of the partnership's Independent Conflicts Committee as well as the Board of Directors of each of KNOT and KNOT, and there can be no assurance that any potential acquisitions will actually occur.

Speaker 1

As we have said, our top priorities are securing additional contract coverage, forward visibility of our existing fleet and rebuilding our liquidity position. Slide 13. We have kept this slide in our presentation from previous quarters, given we have a lot of new investors. And as we continue to believe, this remains a very valuable source of independent information that speaks to the future growth of shuttle tanker demand in Brazil. The number of new FPSOs to be deployed in Brazil through to 2027 equates to approximately 50% of the world's total FPSOs.

Speaker 1

And with a low carbon score and low marginal cost of oil production, we remain very positive with respect to the mid to long term outlook here. We have also retained a further slide in the appendix to this presentation that gives some more detail. So in summary for this quarter on Slide 14, We had excellent utilization of 100 percent for scheduled operations. We paid a quarterly distribution for the 40th consecutive quarter, albeit at a reduced level. We have secured credit approval for $375,000,000 of refinancing due later this year, and we concluded 2 new 3 year time charters for 2 of our vessels.

Speaker 1

In terms of going forward, we continue our absolute focus on safe operations, both on board and onshore and to taking care of our crew whilst maintaining our high standards and utilization statistics. We're working to close out the refinancings as set out, planning for the remaining dry docks this year, 3 of which are for vessels that are European based, so mobilization costs will be lower than for the recent Brazil based vessels. And of course, we're working towards securing charter coverage for all of our fleet in 2024 and beyond. Finally, a market is not written on the slide. I do want to point out our press releases of April 5 April 10, which give details of the changes and upcoming changes to our Board of Directors and also to my own position within the partnership.

Speaker 1

The same details are also contained within the earnings release issued after closing yesterday. Then finally, Slide 15, We again want to promote our newly refreshed website where you can find more information on the shuttle tanker market, our fleet and of course investor related information, including the frequently asked questions section. Hopefully, people will find this a useful resource. Thank you very much for listening and following this, I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Operator

Thank you, Gary. So our first question comes from the line of Liam Burke of B. Riley. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Speaker 2

Thank you. Hi, Gary. How are you?

Speaker 1

Hello, Liam. I'm very well. Thanks. How are you?

Speaker 2

I'm fine. Thank you. You successfully rechartered The 16 I'm sorry, the Fortaleza and their receipt with Transparo, you have 2 more vessels that are up for recharter. Do you anticipate the recharter timeline to be similar as the first two vessels? Or do you anticipate any problems on the recharter?

Speaker 1

Yes. You're talking about the Cessna and Sabia, I guess.

Speaker 2

Right. Yes.

Speaker 1

Yes. I mean, it's difficult for us to predict. Obviously, to come to a contractual agreement requires both parties To work towards that and we're not in control of TransPetro and Petrobras' time frame there. Obviously, the first vessel runs through to September, so we've got some time. I guess, history may suggest that they Perhaps leave it down to the wire a little bit.

Speaker 1

So that is also possible. But we are trying to talk to them As we always do to move it on and do it as early as we can, but it's a distinct possibility that those conversations may go Right down to the wire. In terms of where we finish up with them, at this stage, I can't say anything really. We don't have anything to report. But given perhaps the history that we saw on the Fortilaser and the Recife, at this stage, We believe we still got plenty of time.

Speaker 2

Okay. Fair enough. I mean, yes, they did push the other ones down to the wire. And then you talked about the $172,500,000 that's up for that's due on Sysnus Sabia, where is the source of the debt pay down there? I know you have $54 plus 1,000,000 in cash, but Where would the rest of the capital come from to repay that loan?

Speaker 1

Yes. The balloons on those are only $8,000,000 So They're pretty small and we factored those into our cash flow forecast. So Yes. Those are kind of naturally maturing, if you like, rather than being a significant balloon, If that answers your question.

Speaker 2

Yes, it does. Thank you, Gary.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Poe Fratt of Alliance Global Partners. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Speaker 3

Good morning or good afternoon, Gary.

Speaker 1

Hi, Matt.

Speaker 4

I was

Speaker 3

wondering if you could help us understand that you've chosen to move on And there's a search underway. Do would we anticipate the dual roles of The CEO and CFO staying remaining sort of under the current structure or can you talk about whether there's going to be a separate CFO and CEO.

Speaker 1

To the best of my knowledge, Poe, I think I believe The Board are looking for a like for like replacement. That's my understanding. I'll be totally honest. I've not been kept in fully in the loop In terms of the recruitment process, I think that's natural. But yes, I'm not aware of Any move to sort of restructure my role as things stand.

Speaker 1

But as I said, I'm not fully in the loop with all of the discussions, but I do know that the Board has already started a process. So And that there's progress being made in that respect already. So, it's probably as much as I Actually, no, I'm not able to tell you, but I'm sorry.

Speaker 3

No, that's all right. I'll miss working with you. When you look at the Q1 revenue number, it's 100% utilization with the exception of the, I guess the 55 days of downtime on the survey. Can you just talk about sort of the Direction of revenue for the Q2, the potential impact of the shift from the bareboat charters Time charters and then also if you could give us any color on the cost level of What we should anticipate for the costs? I've been looking at trying to forecast costs using not only the OpEx, but also the voyage expenses too is sort of your all in costs.

Speaker 3

Should those change much going forward?

Speaker 1

Yes. Well, I think, 2nd quarter and beyond, we don't now have Today, as we speak, we don't have any vessels doing voyages anymore. They're all on charters now. So I think going forward, unless things change, the voyage revenues and voyage expenses line will probably disappear We'll go down to 0 in terms of Q2 and beyond. And when you look at Slide 11, which shows you the forward contract coverage.

Speaker 1

Q2, Q3 and actually the vast majority of Q4 It's pretty much fixed now. So in terms of Where we're looking, a lot of the numbers are fixed now for the rest of the year. So to the extent that Q1 is not quite representative because we had some of the void revenues and void expenses in there. I am Expecting given that contract position that the rest of the year should be Hopefully, subject to operational things and everything going as planned, should be fairly predictable.

Speaker 3

Okay. But there will be a little bit of a change because the previously bareboat

Speaker 1

Yes.

Speaker 3

I

Speaker 1

think in terms

Speaker 3

of transferable change a little bit.

Speaker 1

Yes. So you're going to have higher Revenue and higher vessel operating expenses both as a result of us receiving a time charter rate And incurring OpEx costs, whereas obviously previously we had a bareboat rate, which was lower, but no operating expenses. The operating income line effect should be marginally positive. But yes, it's That changed from bareboat to time charter probably isn't going to make a huge difference Quarter by quarter. Over time, yes, it's positive.

Speaker 1

But I think Q2 isn't going to be dramatically different from Q1 At the operating income level from that issue.

Speaker 3

Great. Yes, because I've asked you in the past about the net impact of the bare road charter shifting to time charter. So that's the impact shouldn't be It should be fairly minimal. In other words, the cash flow should stay reasonably close to the previous level.

Speaker 1

Yes. I mean, obviously, the income that we get from the customer is CapEx plus OpEx. And obviously, our cost base is linked to that, but is independent. So there is the opportunity for us to run our Company efficiently and profit from that. And that's what we hope to do, obviously.

Speaker 1

But I think in this case, we've got just 2 vessels moving from bareboat to time charter. So you're not going See across the whole company's results, you're not going to see a sudden big jump in operating income just because those two vessels have gone from That goes to time charters.

Speaker 3

Okay. And then congrats on the preliminary refinancing. Can you just talk about the impact of the refinancing on your liquidity? It looks like the balance On the previous term loan that you're refinancing with I'm calculating close to 177,000,000

Speaker 1

Yes. So the €375,000,000 was the original notional number. Obviously, since that, We've paid it down. But the simple answer to your question is that this refinancing is almost like for like. It's a continuation of the finance that it's replacing in terms of the profile, the tenor And even the margin.

Speaker 1

So we said in the earnings release and I've said in the presentation today that it's on similar terms. So you can think of it like just a continuation of the finance that is already in place.

Speaker 3

So just to be clear, so the term loan from here on out will be roughly 100 and Call it $175,000,000 And then will you have a credit revolver of $55,000,000 going forward?

Speaker 1

No. We've put the 2 together into one facility. Essentially, the 55 was largely treated as a historically, this goes back a few years now, but It was I can't recall the exact reasons off the top of my head why it was separated out. But we put them 2 back together, and so it's going to be one facility going forward.

Speaker 3

And that one facility, Gary, would be in the Would it be the $175,000,000 plus the $55,000,000 or would it just be $175,000,000 I'm just trying to figure out sort of how your

Speaker 1

Yes. If you look at the 20 F, Which is the most recent that we've put out. In terms of detail, it's the Page F31. That sets out the breakdown of the debt. And at December 2022, The $320,000,000 was paid down to $192,000,000 and the $55,000,000 was sitting at $55,000,000 And obviously, since then, we will have done another rollover or 2 in terms of quarters.

Speaker 1

So it will be a little bit less than that.

Speaker 3

Yes. I was thinking 1 100 and 51, 55, sorry.

Speaker 1

Yes. So If you want to take a look at the detail, it's on F31 in the 20F, which shows you all of the various facilities that we've got.

Speaker 3

Okay. And then are you at the point where you can talk about the tenure, meaning how far out is 6th been extended? And then also the amortization and balloon payments that are associated with the new term loan?

Speaker 1

Yes. So the tenure is going to stay Well, the profile should I say is going to stay at the 19 years, which I believe is what it was To start with, and this is another 5 year arrangement. So it will there'll be another balloon payment in 5 years.

Speaker 3

So it's still going to be the same amortization going forward just for another 5 years? So I know your balloon payment would be just rolled out. Okay. Correct. And then Any change on the pricing of the term loan?

Speaker 1

No. We've moved from LIBOR to a SOFA based Interest calculation, given LIBOR is obviously being replaced, but the

Speaker 3

net impact

Speaker 1

is Practically 0 actually in the margin and interest rate that we're expecting. Sorry, in the margin, obviously, not the total in triplets because that's it's variable based on Yes. We're expecting a like for like continuation. We've been able to secure Good terms here.

Speaker 3

Okay. And then just on the $2,250,000,000 Credit facilities are you've sort of used those as working lines. Can you help us understand will the terms change there or Too soon to talk about the actual details of that Rick financing?

Speaker 1

It's too soon for me to be sure, but what we've asked for is, again, a rollover of the same. So that's our request to the lenders. The feedback that we've received so far is positive, but We still got some work to do to get them to get that credit approved, etcetera. But we obviously wanted to focus on this big one first And get that sorted out. And we'll now turn to looking at these 225s.

Speaker 3

Great. That's all I have. Thank you, Gary, and good luck in your next venture.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Bob. Thank you. Have a good day.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Jim O'Shaughnessy of Aviation Advisor Services. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Good afternoon. First of all, I want to express my appreciation to you for Your service to the company and it's really been a pleasure working with you and you've always been exceptionally responsive to My questions and everyone else's. Got a few questions relating to the financing. First of all, or the Financing issues. If you look at the income statement, you see a pretty substantial increase In interest expense, particularly year on year, but you also said that, I believe it was 2 thirds of the debt is fixed by means of swaps.

Speaker 5

What accounts for this interest big increase in the interest expense? And Are we likely to see further increases in the next couple of quarters?

Speaker 1

Hi, Jim. Yes, I think The interest expense is probably accounted for by 2 things. First of all, we purchased a vessel. So there's 1 extra vessel, 18 vessels now. If you look back previously, that It wasn't there, so that accounts for a chunk of interest expense.

Speaker 1

And plus, onethree approximately 34% at March It is not hedged. It is not linked to swaps. So it's variable. And obviously, LIBOR has gone from Crazy low to quite high recently. So when you're looking at as of today, dollars 350,000,000 that is exposed to that LIBOR increase, Yes, of course, you're going to see a significant increase in quarterly and annual interest expenses.

Speaker 1

Where that goes from here, I think there's the jury is still out on whether The Fed will increase rates anymore. We've obviously got a fair amount of debt That is fixed. And as we're paying that down, you see on the diagram that the proportion that's swapped compared to total debt actually increases for the next few years. So we're going to be slightly better off in that respect. But yes, I think to the extent that The U.

Speaker 1

S. Interest rates don't go higher, then yes, we've probably topped out in terms of interest expense. Perhaps the 3rd element is as well, obviously, we've increasingly drawn on our revolving credit facilities and that obviously has also added to Our overall interest expense. So again, that's one of the reasons why our key focus is on our visible liquidity going forward to allow us To perhaps use those revolvers less and reduce that borrowing in that respect as well. So I think it's a combination of things and Possibly.

Speaker 1

Possibly, it's topped out. But, yes, it depends on what the U. S. Fed does going forward.

Speaker 5

Okay. Next question. You make reference to the 172,500,000 Senior secured loan facilities maturing in September and next January that are secured by the Dan Sysni and the Dan Sabia. You So they're going to be fully repaid on maturity. You don't have $172,000,000 or anywhere near it in cash Sitting on your balance sheet, how are you going to repay them at maturity without doing a refinancing?

Speaker 1

Yes. Well, the $172,000,000 was an original notional debt. Obviously, since we took it out, that has been paid down. So the balance today is around $8,000,000 on each and so we factored that $8,000,000 which is Yes. So we don't need to find 172.

Speaker 5

Okay. And I didn't when I saw in the news release the reference to those 2 ships, I didn't recognize them from the prior years prior quarters releases. Am I just overlooking something? Were they new to the fleet?

Speaker 1

No, no. They've always been there, Jim. I have so pretty much guarantee they've always been there.

Speaker 5

Okay. Which is the new ship that you took on and for which you added that? And when did you take it on?

Speaker 1

Sorry, which?

Speaker 3

You said

Speaker 1

you should.

Speaker 5

I was asking in response to my first question. You said that one of the reasons the interest rate the interest expense increased was because you added a new ship to the fleet and was financed Partly with debt, so there's interest expense related. I'm looking at now at Slide 10, which ship is that for which you began

Speaker 1

The last The last

Speaker 5

Expense in the book.

Speaker 1

Yes. The last ship

Speaker 5

that was purchased

Speaker 1

was the Cinera on the 1st July 2022.

Speaker 5

Okay. Okay. And just one more thing. You've pretty much completed the refinancing of the $320,000,000 facility. Was the previous facility covered by a swap?

Speaker 5

And if so, Will its replacement also have a swap in place? Or is there going to be any impact In that area?

Speaker 1

No. The majority of I think if not all of that Particular facility wasn't matched with any swaps. And to the extent that any of it was, sorry, I don't have that list in front of me. But the swaps would roll over onto the new debt anyway. So it would literally be a like for like.

Speaker 1

So the answer to your question is no impact.

Speaker 5

Okay, great. Thank you very much.

Speaker 1

No problem, Jim. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Robert Ari Silvera and Associates Marine Supply. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Hi. Good afternoon, Gary. Good afternoon. The previous caller was just talking a lot about the Tremendous climb, probably $2,000,000 approximately in interest expense from Q4 2022 to Q1 2023, I would, as I have said many times in the past conference calls, that That is the killer for our business. It's a simple business.

Speaker 4

It's a mobile pipeline. You move oil from one location to another location, take specialized equipment, etcetera, Which has to be maintained properly, which you do a reasonable good job, although it seems like some of these ships are having problems lately, Breakdown problems. My question is, how do you anticipate Correcting the share price, 5 years ago when we were buying the shares, We were paying in the 20s low 20s for the shares and we've held them through all your trials and troubles. But it's coming Clear to me that as the analyst for our company that the business model that we take these drop downs incur more debt And depending on variables like interest rates, we survive or suffer. And now The price of the stock is down 5 years later with depreciated dollars to $5 from 20 where we bought it.

Speaker 4

So we're looking not too good. And I would like to know how you're going to attack Getting the debt down on an accelerated basis, can you do that?

Speaker 1

Well, we're paying down a very significant amount of debt every year already in the region of $80,000,000 $90,000,000 A year. So if you look at the slide that's in the deck, you can see that that's happening. I think that in terms of what we're doing is and where the value is in this business is trying to sign New charters at good rates. And that's what will get us the revenue. That's what will get us the liquidity.

Speaker 1

And ultimately, that is what will get all of our unitholders the value. And so we keep coming back to that Same point. And I think when you look at the way in which we run the business, We paid out a very good distribution for a very long time until such point as the board felt that they couldn't do that anymore For the reasons that we've been over before around the postponements of certain projects that came about as a result of COVID From our customers' point of view, all of those projects are back online now. We're expecting a strong market in the mid and long term. And we've said several times that we're going through a difficult period right now.

Speaker 1

There's a little bit Softness in particularly the North Sea market. But the sponsors and the management team here, we've run this business for the long term. And we think the market was good and it will become good again. But to come back and answer your question, what are we doing? Well, it's all about Signing good charters at good rates.

Speaker 1

And that's exactly what we're working on.

Speaker 4

Can I ask the new charter rates that you are employing at this point versus the ones that have faded away, Are we equal to, better than or worse than?

Speaker 1

I think over the last couple of years, We've seen a dip in the rates that we've been able to achieve, but we think that will come back. And I think we're seeing that activity in Brazil already. But given the niche market that Shoklyak Tankers operate in, it's a very small market. There are only 75, 76 barrels in the world, etcetera. So rates don't fluctuate wildly like they do in many other areas of shipping.

Speaker 1

So yes, our rates have dipped over this period of softness and we've accepted rates that perhaps normally we wouldn't like. But that is coming back. We're seeing that market in Brazil tightening a lot. And we think that will also happen in the North Sea. But As we said, the North Sea is just taking longer.

Speaker 4

Well, we looked at the Forward schedule you have of possible dropdowns. And from our viewpoint, with the age of our vessels being just over 8 years, We don't see that we should be taking any drop downs till at least 2027. And in the meantime, we can, If at all possible, figure out ways to attack the debt and get the debt down so significantly That we're not really working for the bankers, rather we're working for the stockholders, which have Not had a good time in the last 5 years, obviously. So that's our input. We would really like to see you stay away from Drop downs till at least 2027 when fleet renewal and the market has changed so that It will be much more beneficial to run our business because the current business model, let's face it, over the last 5 years has not been successful.

Speaker 4

Given all the different things, COVID, etcetera, the things that happen in the world, that's all part of running a business. And the business model as we've run it has not been successful from a shareholder standpoint. All the nice $0.52 dividends that we've gotten have been wiped out in the share value. So I hope you will have that same kind of feelings. Although I know you're leaving, I hope you'll leave with the advice to the rest of the Individuals involved in decision making like the Board, etcetera, will be encouraged not to drop down.

Speaker 1

I think that obviously the how much somebody has gained or lost really does depend on When they bought and how long they held for. We've paid out a huge amount of distribution since we listed.

Speaker 4

But our cost was $20 and now it's $5 So all the dividend benefits have been wiped.

Speaker 1

Yes. I'm not Saying that that's not the case, but I do think not everybody has lost, not everybody has gained. But I think that the point that I'm trying to make is that This is a long term business. We've been we've tried to be very transparent about the issues and why they're there and what we're doing about it, importantly, And where we think the business is going. And I we've

Speaker 4

Well, how do you feel personally on the idea of further dropdowns within the next 2 years. Standing where you are now in this position.

Speaker 1

I think it's obviously being difficult because otherwise we would have done more By now, but I think it's a question for the Board to answer. And if the Board thinks that the timing is right, then they will ask the Independent Conflicts Committee to assess it. But it needs to be right. We said before, We I

Speaker 4

know, but I'm asking what is your position on that question right now, your personal position?

Speaker 1

Well, I think the current unit price prevents us from doing it from an equity Perspective, the last two drop downs we've done have been internally financed through sale and leaseback. To say that we won't ever do a drop down, there might be alternative methods to get value into the business, and we're always looking at those. So I think it would be wrong to make any firm judgments on what we should and shouldn't do. And besides, it's a question that the Board We'll look at and do look at every quarter, because they're trying to maximize the value of the business. And I think it would be wrong to rule anything in or rule anything out.

Speaker 1

But I understand what you're saying. And certainly, it's The Board are aware of the position that

Speaker 4

we're in. Okay. Well, thank you very much for your efforts. I'm sure they were Totally sincere over the years that I've talked to you. We've been shareholders actually longer than you've been the head of the business.

Speaker 4

So good luck in your future endeavors.

Speaker 1

Yes. I may still be here for the Q2. I'm not sure yet, but we'll see.

Speaker 4

Okay. Well, God bless you. Bye bye now.

Speaker 1

Okay. Thank you.

Operator

There has been a follow-up question from Poe Gratt of Alliance Global Partners. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Speaker 3

Hey, Gary. Just to confirm, did the balance on the revolver, the 55,000,000 Dollar revolver, according to my records, it was $30,000,000 was drawn on that At year end, did that change at all in the Q1? And should we I guess, an easier way to say it is, how much of the $55,000,000 revolver will be rolled into that term loan on the 6 vessels going forward.

Speaker 1

Yes. No, I mean disclosed in our 20 F, at December 22, 55 was fully drawn. So it will all be rolled.

Speaker 3

Okay, great. Sorry, I had broken out into 2 different ones. Thanks for your time.

Speaker 1

Yes, no problem.

Speaker 3

Gary, just to confirm that Gary, if you wouldn't mind, on the $55,000,000 revolver, there was no But the amortization on the previous term loan was about $7,500,000 So essentially you're saying that the Amortization of $7,500,000 will be the go forward amortization, but the loan will be essentially that much bigger than the I guess, is that the right way to look at it?

Speaker 1

Paul, can I come back to you on that detail? I don't want to tell you the wrong thing. I need to double check which way around that is.

Speaker 3

Okay, great. Thank you.

Speaker 1

Thanks.

Operator

Thank you. As there are no additional questions waiting at this time, I'll hand the conference back over to Gary for closing remarks.

Speaker 1

Well, thank you everybody else for listening and please do have a good day. Thank you.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's KNOT Offshore Partners' 1st Quarter 2023 Earnings Results Conference Call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your

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Earnings Conference Call
KNOT Offshore Partners Q1 2023
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