Epic Gas completes refinancing a total of 9 vessels this year

Epic Gas Ltd. has completed the refinancing of a further five LPG carriers in partnership with Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank.

The new $34m facility has a term of five years, and has allowed the company to reduce its margin by 85 bps. Proceeds from the facility were used to repay amounts outstanding of $28.5m under the company’s existing facilities expiring in 2019. The balance of $5.5m will be used for general corporate purposes.

Earlier this year, the Company refinanced four vessels through sale-and-lease-back transactions with Japanese ship owners for 5-10 years, reducing interest and amortisation by $1.4m per annum. That leaves Epic Gas with one ship for potential refinancing prior to the loan expiry in November 2019, which has a balloon amount of just $6.5m. There are no further loan expiries before 2022.

Uta Urbaniak-Sage, Chief Financial Officer of Epic Gas, stated: “These refinancings reflect the ability Epic Gas has to tap into alternative sources of capital and take advantage of its long standing industry and banking relationships. As a result of these transactions, Epic Gas has been able to reduce its annual financial expense, free up capital and optimise its liquidity and capital structure, as its loan to value stands at 51%, a conservative figure for our industry. Looking ahead, we remain optimistic, as the LPG market is showing signs of gradual improvement and our company is well positioned to benefit from them.”

Earlier this year, the company refinanced four vessels through sale- and – leaves back transaction with Japanese ship owners for 5-10 years, reducing These refinancing reflect the ability Epic Gas has to tap into alternative sources of capital and take advantage of its long standing industry and banking relationships. As a result of these transactions, Epic Gas has been able to reduce its annual financial expense, free up capital and optimise its liquidity and capital structure, as its loan to value stands at 51%, a conservative figure for our industry. Looking ahead, we remain optimistic, as the LPG market is showing signs of gradual improvement and our company is well positions to benefit from them.

16th July 2018