Avance Gas Holding Ltd

Q4 2024 net profit was $210 million and EPS was $2.74. Q4 adjusted profit from operations was $13 million and adjusted EPS was $0.18. Reported TCE on discharge-to-discharge was about $28,200 per day, plus a $7,000 per day positive load-to-discharge effect, for a reported TCE of about $35,000 per day. Full-year 2024 net profit was $443 million, EPS was $5.78, and adjusted profit excluding transaction-related items was $125 million. The company said total assets were $457 million at year-end versus $1.2 billion last year, cash was $176 million, net free cash flow for the year was $630 million, and $586 million was paid out in dividends. Forward returns announced today include $2.00 per share as a return of capital, a $0.75 per share extraordinary dividend once the refund guarantee is issued, and a distribution of BW LPG shares at a ratio of 1-for-4. Management also said it expects about $34 million from the Exmar MGC sale in April and roughly $55 million to $60 million of remaining cash to be distributed later in 2025 before liquidation.

The CEO framed 2024 as the end of a long asset-monetization story, saying the company sold 16 ships during the year and that the strategy was to buy low and sell high. He emphasized that most of the remaining value is now being returned to shareholders through cash, BW LPG shares, and final winding-up distributions. His tone was upbeat and matter-of-fact, with repeated references to de-risking the business and moving quickly toward liquidation.

The CFO said results were broadly in line with November guidance and highlighted the main drivers of the quarter: $287 million in gain on sale of the BW transaction, no depreciation in Q4 after the fleet was classified as held for sale, and a $91 million finance expense largely from a mark-to-market loss on BW shares. She noted that cash ended the year at $176 million, free cash flow was $630 million for 2024, and 93% of that free cash flow was returned to shareholders via $586 million of dividends. For 2025, she outlined about $7 million of admin and winding-up expenses, a $34 million gain expected from the Exmar MGC sale, roughly $1 million of interest income, and a $35 million fair-value adjustment on BW shares, implying estimated net profit of $63 million for the first half of 2025.

There were no analyst questions on the call. Management nonetheless addressed the main investor concern preemptively: the BW share mark-to-market loss, saying the paper loss had already narrowed as BW shares recovered in Q1 and that the 30% stock component of the BW deal had held up better than the broader sector. They also discussed market conditions, saying the LPG freight market was softer because the Panama Canal was operating normally and the winter market had not tightened as expected, but they still described the outlook for 2025 and 2026 as constructive.