MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following is a discussion of the financial condition and results of operations of Dynagas LNG Partners LP for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. Unless otherwise specified herein, references to the “Partnership,” “we,” “our,” and “us” or similar terms include Dynagas LNG Partners LP and its wholly-owned subsidiaries; references to Dynagas LNG Partners LP include Dynagas LNG Partners LP and not its subsidiaries; and references to our “Sponsor” include Dynagas Holding Ltd. and its subsidiaries. Our Sponsor is beneficially owned by the chairman of our Board of Directors, Mr. Georgios Prokopiou, and members of his family. References to our “General Partner” are to Dynagas GP LLC, an entity owned and controlled by our Sponsor, and references to our “Manager” are to Dynagas Ltd., which is wholly owned by Mr. Georgios Prokopiou. All references in this report to “SEFE,” “Equinor,” “Yamal,” and “NextDecade” refer to SEFE Marketing and Trading Singapore Pte Ltd (formerly known as Gazprom Marketing & Trading Singapore Pte Ltd), Equinor ASA (formerly known as Statoil ASA), Yamal Trade Pte. Ltd. and NextDecade Corporation (Nasdaq:NEXT), respectively, and certain of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates, which are our current or prospective charterers.
You should read the following discussion and analysis together with the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report. Amounts relating to percentage variations in period-on-period comparisons shown in this section are derived from such unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our future plans, estimates, beliefs, and expected performance. The forward-looking statements are dependent upon events, risks, and uncertainties that may be outside our control, which could cause actual events or conditions to differ materially from those currently anticipated, expressed, or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please see our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on April 21, 2023, and our other filings with the SEC, which contain additional information relating to our management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operation and a more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties referenced in the preceding sentence.
Business Overview and Development of the Partnership
Since our initial public offering (“IPO”) in November 2013, we have been a growth-oriented limited partnership focused on owning and operating liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) carriers and have grown our fleet (our “Fleet”) from three vessels at the time of our IPO to our current fleet of six vessels with our last vessel acquisition in 2015. As a result of the significant challenges facing the midstream energy master limited partnership industry, our cost of equity capital has remained elevated for a prolonged period, making the funding of new acquisitions challenging. All of the vessels in our Fleet are currently contracted on time charters with international energy companies, including SEFE, Equinor, and Yamal, which we expect to provide us with the benefits of fixed-fee contracts, predictable cash flows, and high utilization rates.
We are currently focusing our capital allocation on debt repayment and prioritizing balance sheet strength, in order to reposition the Partnership for potential future growth if our cost of capital allows us to access debt and equity capital on acceptable terms. As a result, if we are able to raise new debt or equity capital on terms acceptable to the Partnership in the future, we intend to leverage the reputation, expertise, and relationships with our charterers, our Sponsor, and our Manager in growing our core business and potentially pursuing further business and growth opportunities in transportation of energy or other energy-related projects, including, without limitation, floating storage regassification units, LNG infrastructure projects, maintaining cost-efficient operations, and providing reliable seaborne transportation services to our current and prospective charterers. In addition, as opportunities arise, we may acquire additional vessels from our Sponsor or from third parties and/or engage in investment opportunities incidental to the LNG or energy industry. In connection with such plans for growth, we may enter into additional financing arrangements, refinance existing arrangements or arrangements that our Sponsor, its affiliates, or such third-party sellers may have in place for vessels and businesses that we may acquire, and, subject to favorable market conditions, we may raise capital in the public or private markets, including through incurring additional debt, debt or equity offerings of our securities, or other transactions. However, we cannot assure you that we will grow or maintain the size of our Fleet, pay the per unit distributions in the amounts that we have paid in the past or at all, or be able to execute our plans for growth.
As of the date of this report, we have outstanding 36,802,247 common units, 35,526 general partner units, 3,000,000 9.00% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Units, or the “Series A Preferred Units,” and 2,200,000 8.75% Series B Fixed to Floating Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units, or the “Series B Preferred Units.” Our Sponsor currently beneficially owns approximately 42.4% of the equity interests in the Partnership (excluding the Series A Preferred Units and the Series B Preferred Units) and 100% of our General Partner, which owns a 0.1% General Partner interest in the Partnership and 100% of our incentive distribution rights. Our Sponsor does not own any Series A Preferred Units or Series B Preferred Units.