StealthGas (NASDAQ: GASS) reported Q4 EPS of ($0.04), $0.04 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.00. Revenue for the quarter came in at $38.53 million versus the consensus estimate of $37.04 million.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Results:

• Revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2018 amounted to $38.5 million, an increase of $0.1 million, or 0.3%, compared to revenues of $38.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017, in spite of decreased voyage days of 159 days and weaker than anticipated spot rates, due to the rise in rates of the majority of our period charters.
• Voyage expenses and vessels’ operating expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2018 were $5.0 million and $14.6 million respectively, compared to $3.9 million and $15.0 million respectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2017. The $1.1 million increase in voyage expenses was attributed to a quarter on quarter increase of spot days of 52.5% and the increased voyage costs related to the ballasting of three small LPG vessels that took place in the fourth quarter of 2018. The 2.7% decrease in vessels’ operating expenses compared to the same period of 2017, is mainly due to the net reduction in the average number of our owned vessels by 2.8 but also due to a decline in our maintenance costs partially offset by the increased operational cost of our three new 22,000 cbm semi-refrigerated LPG vessels that had not yet been delivered in the same period of last year.
• Charter hire expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 were $1.7 million and $0.9 million, respectively. The $0.8 million increase in charter hire expenses is due to the addition of two chartered in vessels, the first delivered in March 2018 while the second delivered in December 2018. This cost increase was partially offset by the redelivery of a chartered in vessel which took place in November 2018.
• Drydocking costs for the three months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 were $0.6 million and $1.0 million, respectively. The costs for the fourth quarter of 2018 corresponded to the drydocking of one LPG vessel, while in the same period of 2017 the Company completed the drydocking of two LPG vessels.
• Depreciation for the three months ended December 31, 2018 was $10.1 million, a $0.4 million increase from $9.7 million for the same period of last year mostly due to the addition of the three new 22,000 cbm semi-refrigerated LPG vessels partially offset by sale and delivery of five vessels, and the classification of two additional vessels as held for sale in the third quarter of 2018.
• The Company recorded an impairment loss of $3.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2018 for four of its vessels which have been classified as held for sale.
• Interest and finance costs for the three months ended December 31, 2018 were $6.0 million compared to $4.5 million in the same period of 2017. This increase of $1.5 million is attributed both to the increase in our bank debt, and also to an increase of LIBOR rates.
• As a result of the above, for the three months ended December 31, 2018, the Company reported a net loss of $5.3 million, compared to a net income of $0.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017. The weighted average number of shares for the three months ended December 31, 2018 was 39.9 million compared to 39.8 million for the same period of 2017. Loss per share, basic and diluted, for the three months ended December 31, 2018 amounted to $0.13 compared to earnings per share of $0.02 for the same period of last year.
• Adjusted net loss was $1.8 million or $0.04 loss per share for the three months ended December 31, 2018 compared to adjusted net income of $0.8 million or $0.02 earnings per share for the same period of last year.
• EBITDA for the three months ended December 31, 2018 amounted to $10.6 million. Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Loss, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Loss are set forth below.
• An average of 48.1 vessels were owned by the Company during the three months ended December 31, 2018, compared to 50.9 vessels for the same period of 2017.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on StealthGas (GASS) click here.