First Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Results Summary
Net income amounted to $51.7 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $24.8 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2022.
Adjusted net income amounted to $48.9 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to adjusted net income of $22.4 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2022. Adjusted net income for the three months ended June 30, 2023 is calculated by adjusting net income for the same period to exclude an unrealized gain on derivative instruments of $2.9 million. Please refer to the reconciliation of net income to adjusted net income, which appears later in this press release.
The $26.5 million increase in adjusted net income for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2022, is primarily attributable to (1) increases of $34.8 million in revenues and $1.3 million in interest income; (2) a $1.9 million favorable change in realized gain/(loss) on derivatives; and (3) decreases of $0.5 million in voyage expenses and $0.2 million in general and administrative expenses; partially offset by increases of $5.1 million in charter hire expenses, $2.7 million in vessel operating expenses, $2.4 million in interest and finance costs, and $0.9 million in depreciation and amortization; and a reduction of $0.9 million in other gains, net.
The TCE rate per operating day for our fleet was $51,156 for the three months ended June 30, 2023, a 29.2% increase from $39,608 for the same period in the prior year, driven by higher spot rates and reduced 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) increased from 95.9% during the three months ended June 30, 2022 to 98.0% during the three months ended June 30, 2023.
Vessel operating expenses per day increased to $10,383 for the three months ended June 30, 2023 compared to $9,378 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 $111.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023, an increase of $34.8 million, or 45.2%, from $76.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022 primarily due to an increase in average TCE rates, fleet utilization, and fleet size. Average TCE rates increased by $11,548 per operating day from $39,608 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 to $51,156 for the three months ended June 30, 2023, primarily due to higher spot rates and lower 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 $95.729 during the three months ended June 30, 2023 compared to an average of $76.175 for the three months ended June 30, 2022. The average price of very low sulfur fuel oil (expressed as U.S. dollars per metric ton) from Singapore and Fujairah decreased from $955 during the three months ended June 30, 2022, to $584 during the three months ended June 30, 2023. Our fleet utilization increased from 95.9% during the three months ended June 30, 2022 to 98.0% during the three months ended June 30, 2023. Our available days increased from 2,002 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 to 2,219 for the three months ended June 30, 2023 due to three additional vessels in our fleet.
Charter Hire Expenses
Charter hire expenses for the vessels chartered in from third parties were $10.5 million and $5.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase of $5.1 million, or 95.2%, was mainly caused by an increase in the number of chartered-in days from 182 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 to 364 for the three months ended June 30, 2023, partially offset by a slight decrease in the average cost per day.