Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Results Summary
Net income amounted to $20.3 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $14.1 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2021.
Adjusted net income amounted to $17.2 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2022, compared to adjusted net income of $9.9 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2021. Adjusted net income for the three months ended September 30, 2022 is calculated by adjusting net income for the same period to exclude an unrealized gain on derivative instruments of $3.1 million. Please refer to the reconciliation of net income to adjusted net income, which appears later in this press release.
The $7.3 million increase in adjusted net income for the three months ended September 30, 2022, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2021, is primarily attributable to an increase of $12.9 million in revenues, decreases of $1.2 million in general and administrative expenses, $0.9 million in depreciation and amortization and $0.8 million in vessel operating expenses, and a $1.5 million favorable change in realized gain on derivatives, partially offset by increases of $6.4 million in interest and finance costs, $3.0 million in charter hire expenses, and a $1.0 million unfavorable change in other gain/(loss), net,.
The TCE rate for our fleet was $40,632 for the three months ended September 30, 2022, a 31.1% increase from a TCE rate of $30,996 for the same period in the prior year, driven by higher spot rates despite higher bunker prices. Please see footnote 7 to the table in “Financial Information” below for information related to how we calculate TCE. Total fleet utilization (including the utilization of our vessels deployed in the Helios Pool) decreased from 95.7% during the three months ended September 30, 2021 to 90.7% during the three months ended September 30, 2022.
Vessel operating expenses per day increased to $9,541 for the three months ended September 30, 2022 compared to $9,210 in the same period in the prior year. Please see “Vessel Operating Expenses” below for more information.
Revenues
Revenues, which represent net pool revenues—related party, time charters and other revenues, net, were $76.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $12.9 million, or 20.4%, from $63.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 primarily due to an increase in average TCE rates, partially offset by a decrease in fleet utilization. Average TCE rates increased by $9,636 from $30,996 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 to $40,632 for the three months ended September 30, 2022, primarily due to higher spot rates despite higher bunker prices. The Baltic Exchange Liquid Petroleum Gas Index, an index published daily by the Baltic Exchange for the spot market rate for the benchmark Ras Tanura-Chiba route (expressed as U.S. dollars per metric ton), averaged $66.710 during the three months ended September 30, 2022 compared to an average of $42.154 for the three months ended September 30, 2021. The average price of very low sulfur fuel oil (expressed as U.S. dollars per metric ton) from Singapore and Fujairah increased from $540 during the three months ended September 30, 2021, to $840 during the three months ended September 30, 2022. Our fleet utilization decreased from 95.7% during the three months ended September 30, 2021 to 90.7% during the three months ended September 30, 2022.
Charter Hire Expenses
Charter hire expenses for the vessels chartered in from third parties were $5.4 million and $2.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The increase of $3.0 million, or 122.9%, was mainly caused by an increase in the number of chartered-in days from 92 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 to 184 for the three months ended September 30, 2022.