Tsakos Energy Navigation NYSE: TEN executives highlighted a strong finish to 2025 and an early-2026 tanker market surge during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, while emphasizing fleet renewal, contracted revenue visibility and a focus on safety as geopolitical risks rise in the Middle East.
Management points to contracted revenue, liquidity and fleet investments
Chairman Takis Arapoglou said the company’s 19 newbuildings under construction—including two recently ordered VLCCs and an LNG carrier—are “already in the money.” He also said TEN sold a 10-year-old VLCC, generating $82 million of free cash to add to what he described as a roughly $300 million cash cushion the company “traditionally” keeps.
Arapoglou added that locked-in contracted future revenue has moved above the $4 billion mark (excluding profit shares) and said 22 vessels were taking advantage of high rates through spot market exposure and/or profit-sharing arrangements.
Founder and CEO Nikolas Tsakos described 2025 as a “milestone” year that included strategic transactions aimed at future growth, particularly in shuttle tankers and dual-fuel tonnage. He also pointed to improving market conditions tied to the lifting of restrictions affecting Venezuelan crude exports and to disruptions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that he said strengthened spot rates to levels “our generation has never seen before.”
Geopolitics and operational posture: Strait of Hormuz risk monitoring
President and COO George Saroglou addressed escalating tensions in the Middle East and described the Strait of Hormuz as a critical chokepoint for global oil and LNG flows. He said spot rates across tanker classes had spiked “far above” already-strong levels prior to the start of what he referred to as “operation Epic Fury.”
Saroglou said TEN was monitoring developments around the clock and coordinating with maritime security centers, flag states and insurers. When the conflict began, he said TEN had three vessels under time charter approaching the Arabian Gulf; none had entered the area and they were being kept outside the Strait of Hormuz, with charterers considering diversions to other loading areas. He emphasized that the company’s foremost concern was the safety of seafarers, cargo and asset integrity.
Fleet profile and chartering strategy
Saroglou said that since the start of the fourth quarter of 2025, TEN concluded 20 new time-charter fixtures and extensions. He reiterated a contracted revenue backlog of “approximately over $4 billion” in minimum fleet contracted revenue.
He described TEN as having a “very young, diversified” pro forma fleet of 83 vessels. He outlined how the operating fleet is positioned across spot exposure and contracted business, and framed the company’s model as using time-charter revenue to cover cash expenses while spot and profit-sharing vessels drive incremental profitability. He also said ExxonMobil was the company’s largest revenue client, followed by Equinor, Shell, Chevron, TotalEnergies and BP.
On fleet renewal, Saroglou said that since Jan. 1, 2023, TEN sold 18 vessels averaging 17 years of age and replaced them with 34 contracted or acquired vessels averaging 0.5 years, while transitioning toward greener and dual-fuel assets. He said TEN is “one of the largest owners of dual-fuel LNG powered Aframax tankers” with six vessels on the water.
Saroglou also provided a balance sheet snapshot, saying the fair market value of the operating fleet exceeded $4 billion versus $1.9 billion of debt, with net debt to capitalization around 47%.
Financial results: 2025 and fourth-quarter performance
Co-CFO Harrys Kosmatos said tanker markets remained elevated in 2025 despite tariffs-related uncertainty and geopolitical turmoil, and he said oil majors increased long-term cargo requirements. He noted that while the average fleet in the water was 62 vessels (unchanged from 2024), days under secure revenue employment increased 12.6% and spot days declined 33%. Days on profit-sharing contracts alone increased 12.4% year over year.
For full-year 2025, Kosmatos reported:
- Gross revenues of close to $800 million
- Operating income of $252 million, including $12.5 million of capital gains from the sale of four older vessels
- Net income of $161 million, or $4.45 per share
- Adjusted EBITDA of $416 million
- Cash on hand of $298 million at year-end 2025
He also said fleet utilization rose to 96.6% from 92.5% in 2024, and that the fleet’s 2025 time charter equivalent rate was $32,130, similar to 2024. Voyage expenses declined to $122 million from $153 million, while vessel operating expenses increased to $211 million, which he attributed in part to the introduction of larger and more specialized vessels such as Suezmaxes and shuttle tankers. Operating expenses per ship per day averaged $9,990 in 2025.
On financing, Kosmatos said interest expense fell to $98 million from $112 million, despite higher debt due to newbuilding loans, and interest income totaled $10.5 million. Total debt obligations ended 2025 at $1.9 billion, with net debt to cap at 46.7% and loan-to-value at 48%.
For the fourth quarter of 2025, Kosmatos reported:
- Gross revenues of $222 million
- Operating income of $81 million
- Net income of $58 million, or $1.70 per share, a 200% increase from the fourth quarter of 2024
- Adjusted EBITDA of $128 million
He said fourth-quarter utilization increased to 97.7% from 93.3% a year earlier, aided by fewer drydockings (two versus four). The fourth-quarter TCE rate rose to $36,300, 21% higher than the year-ago quarter.
New orders, profit-sharing tailwinds and capital allocation priorities
During Q&A, Tsakos discussed two LNG carrier orders announced that day, saying it was “too early” to secure long-term charter employment, but he characterized the move as a long-term investment in a growing segment and noted ongoing appetite. He also said a vessel operating under a profit-sharing arrangement (in response to a question about “that energy”) was benefiting from current market conditions, with employment ending in roughly eight to nine months.
On recently delivered MR2 newbuilds, Tsakos said they were fixed-rate charters and described them as “very, very accretive,” indicating rates in the “mid to high twenties” (without providing additional details). He also said the company expects competitive financing support tied to its shuttle tanker orders, citing a large syndication arranged on competitive terms.
Kosmatos quantified profit-sharing contribution, saying TEN received an additional $27 million of profit-sharing income in the fourth quarter of 2025 “over and above the fixed rate,” and management suggested profit-sharing could step up further given the early-2026 market strength.
On fleet sales, Tsakos said TEN’s philosophy is to consider selling vessels in the 10- to 15-year age range when pricing is attractive. He said the sold 10-year-old VLCC would be delivered to its new owner around late May or June, while TEN continues trading it into mid-year.
Tsakos also outlined capital allocation priorities, saying the company’s focus includes rewarding shareholders, reducing debt and supporting its newbuilding program, which he said is “almost fully financed.” He added that management was considering potentially repurchasing some preferred shares next year around April.
Management also addressed costs tied to heightened risk in the region. Tsakos said war risk insurance had increased roughly 500% in the last week, from about $0.15 per deadweight ton to roughly $0.75 to $1, but said it is paid by charterers as a pass-through cost. On fuel, he said about 25% of requirements are covered for the next couple of years at competitive rates and noted that, because much of the fleet is on time charter, bunker cost changes largely impact customers.
Looking ahead, the company said its drydocking schedule is relatively light in the first quarter (two Suezmaxes), followed by five vessels in the second quarter, seven in the third quarter and three in the fourth quarter.
In closing remarks, Tsakos said TEN intends to maintain its distribution policy and emphasized the company’s approach of reducing uncertainty through long-term chartering with “blue chip end users,” while prioritizing safety amid what he called a period of global uncertainty.
About Tsakos Energy Navigation NYSE: TEN
Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. NYSE: TEN is an international shipping company specializing in the transportation of crude oil and refined petroleum products. Founded in 1993 by Nikolas P. Tsakos, the company has built a reputation for operating a modern, well-maintained fleet of double-hull tankers. Tsakos Energy Navigation is organized around both ownership and technical management of vessels, offering chartering, commercial operations and crew services under one umbrella.
The company’s fleet consists primarily of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax and Aframax tankers, as well as medium-range (MR) and Handy product carriers.
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