Conferencia de resultados del 2T de 2026 de KNOP: adquisición de Heda y crecimiento de la cartera de contratos de fletamento

Puntos clave

• Los ingresos del segundo trimestre de 2026 fueron de 96,8 millones de dólares, con un resultado operativo de 15,6 millones de dólares, un beneficio neto de 3,4 millones de dólares y un EBITDA ajustado de 57,6 millones de dólares.
• La liquidez disponible alcanzó los 143,3 millones de dólares al 30 de junio, compuesta por 95,3 millones de dólares en efectivo y equivalentes de efectivo y 48,0 millones de dólares en capacidad no dispuesta.
• La utilización general de la flota fue del 92,4% tras la entrada en dique seco del Fortaleza, mientras que la utilización ajustada por mantenimiento programado en dique seco fue del 96,8%.
• KNOP adquirió el Heda Knudsen el 1 de septiembre por 113 millones de dólares. Tras asumir una línea de crédito de 89,4 millones de dólares y añadir 0,8 millones de dólares en comisiones de financiación capitalizadas, el coste neto en efectivo fue de 24,4 millones de dólares.
• La cartera de contratos de fletamento firme se situó en 881,2 millones de dólares al cierre del trimestre, con una duración media de 2,5 años. Las opciones de fletamento sumaban un promedio adicional de cuatro años.
• La distribución trimestral en efectivo aumentó a 0,075 dólares por participación ordinaria, frente a los 0,05 dólares del trimestre anterior. La dirección prevé que el crecimiento de la flota y un mercado de fletamentos más sólido respalden varios incrementos graduales de la distribución en los próximos trimestres y años.

Datos financieros clave

Rendimiento operativo y del negocio

KNOP estuvo plenamente fletada para el resto de 2026. La cobertura de fletamento firme fue del 92% para 2027, elevándose al 96% si se incluyen las opciones del fletador. Para 2028, la cobertura firme fue del 65%, o del 93% incluyendo opciones. La dirección señaló que las tarifas actuales de fletamento hacen probable el ejercicio de estas opciones.

La sociedad aseguró cobertura plurianual adicional para varios buques. El Hilder Knudsen obtuvo un fletamento de tres años con Eni a partir de junio de 2027, más tres opciones de un año. El Recife Knutsen logró un fletamento de dos años con Transpetro a partir del tercer trimestre de 2026. El Ingrid Knudsen recibió un fletamento de tres años con Eni a partir de octubre de 2026, también con tres opciones de un año.

La adquisición del Heda Knudsen en septiembre amplió la flota y redujo su antigüedad media en casi medio año. Entregado en octubre de 2024, el buque está fletado a Petrobras hasta noviembre de 2034, con cinco años adicionales de opción. KNOP contaba con 19 buques con una antigüedad media de 10,7 años al cierre del trimestre, antes de la adquisición.

La dirección describió los mercados de petroleros lanzadera en Brasil y el mar del Norte como cada vez más ajustados, impulsados por el crecimiento de la producción, el despliegue de unidades FPSO y la continua inversión en instalaciones mar adentro. La compañía también indicó que la cartera de pedidos de petroleros lanzadera sigue siendo no especulativa e insuficiente para satisfacer la demanda prevista.

KNOP refinanció la deuda garantizada por cinco buques mediante un nuevo préstamo a plazo con garantía real de primer orden de 225 millones de dólares a cinco años, con un precio fijado en el SOFR más 165 puntos básicos. La sociedad continúa amortizando deuda a un ritmo de aproximadamente 95 millones de dólares anuales.

Perspectivas de la dirección

La dirección prevé que las opciones del fletador se ejerzan en función de las tarifas actuales del mercado. Si se ejercen dichas opciones, KNOP atisba un potencial alcista a medida que partes de la flota estén disponibles en años posteriores, siempre que se mantenga la inercia positiva del mercado.

La compañía afirmó que las adquisiciones drop-down con valor acreditado y un mercado de fletamentos en mejora deberían respaldar varios aumentos graduales en su distribución sostenible durante los próximos trimestres y años. El calendario de las futuras adquisiciones dependerá de la entrega de los buques, las ofertas del patrocinador KNOT y la aprobación del Comité de Conflictos independiente de KNOP.

Riesgos y factores a vigilar

La cobertura futura de KNOP disminuye a partir de 2027 sobre la base de contratos firmes, lo que hace que la visibilidad de los flujos de efectivo futuros dependa en parte del ejercicio de las opciones del fletador y de la solidez sostenida del mercado.

La flota consta de activos que se deprecian y envejecen. La dirección señaló que las continuas adquisiciones drop-down están destinadas a reponer y rejuvenecer la flota a medida que ciertos buques vayan quedando obsoletos en los próximos años.

La refinanciación de la deuda sigue siendo un aspecto en constante evaluación. La dirección indicó que estaba muy avanzada en la refinanciación de una línea de crédito de 65 millones de dólares que vence a finales de octubre, si bien señaló que no se pueden ofrecer garantías respecto al acceso futuro a la financiación.

Aspectos destacados de las preguntas y respuestas con analistas

B. Riley Securities preguntó si la estructura de financiación del Heda Knudsen podría respaldar un ritmo de crecimiento de la flota más rápido. La dirección respondió que el calendario de adquisiciones depende de cuándo se entreguen y ofrezcan los buques del patrocinador, así como de la respuesta del Comité de Conflictos.

La dirección añadió que los buques del patrocinador suelen contar ya con líneas de deuda garantizadas que se pueden transferir a KNOP. Describió la financiación del Heda Knudsen y su coste neto en efectivo de aproximadamente 24 millones de dólares como ampliamente acordes con las transacciones drop-down anteriores.

Transcripción completa de la conferencia de resultados

Transcripción completa de la conferencia de resultados

Comentarios de la dirección

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us and welcome to the KNOT Offshore Partners Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session with an opportunity for equity research analysts to ask questions. [Operator Instructions] I will now hand the conference over. Derek Lowe. Please go ahead, sir.

Derek Lowe

Thank you, Leo, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Derek Lowe and I'm the Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of KNOT Offshore Partners. Welcome to the partnership's earnings call for the second quarter of 2026. Our website is knotoffshorepartners.com and you can find the earnings release there along with this presentation. On slide 2, you'll find guidance on the inclusion of forward-looking statements in today's presentation. These are made in good faith and reflect management's current views, known and unknown risks, and are based on assumptions and estimates that are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements, and the Partnership does not have or undertake a duty to update any such statements made as of the date of this presentation. For further information, please consult our SEC filings, especially in relation to our annual and quarterly results.

Today's presentation also includes certain non-GAAP measures, and our earnings release includes a reconciliation of these to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. We begin on slide 3 with the Q2 financial and operational headlines. Revenues were $96.8 million, operating income $15.6 million, net income $3.4 million, adjusted EBITDA $57.6 million. And as of June 30, 2026, we had $143.3 million in available liquidity made up of $95.3 million in cash and cash equivalents plus $48 million in undrawn capacity. This available liquidity was $2.6 million higher than at March 31, and that rise is largely in line with the reducing trend in recent quarters. We operated with 96.8% utilization, taking into account scheduled dry docking, which amounts to 92.4% utilization overall following the dry docking of Fortaleza. Following the end of the quarter, we declared a cash distribution of ¢7.5 per common unit, which was paid in August under the 1099 structure and which represented an increase from the previous level.

We're pleased to have continued the process of multiple gradual increases to our distribution, anchored in our reliable and diversified long-term cash flow and improved balance sheet. On slide 4, we have the most significant development since the start of the second quarter. On September 1, 2026, we purchased the Heda Knudsen from KNOT for a purchase price of $113 million, less an $89.4 million debt facility, plus $0.8 million of capitalized financing fees, resulting in a net cash cost of $24.4 million. The transaction was negotiated by our board's independent conflicts committee. The vessel was delivered new to KNOT in October 2024, and is on time charter to Petrobras in Brazil through to November 2034 with an additional five years of charter as options. The acquisition provides fleet growth, diversifies and extends our pipeline of long-term contracts, reduces our average fleet age and develops the fleet in the most in-demand shuttle tanker gross asset class. And on slide 5, we have commercial and financing developments.

We list here a number of positive contractual developments since the beginning of the second quarter. In addition to the various charterers options exercised as expected, I would highlight the time charter for Hilder Knudsen was executed with ENI to commence in June 2027 for a fixed period of three years plus three charterer's options each for one additional year. Time charter for Recife Knutsen was executed by Transpetro to commence in Q3 2026 for a fixed period of two years. The agreement was reached with E&I for a time charter on Ingrid Knudsen, commencing October 2026, for three years fixed, plus three options each of one year. This indirect continuation of the existing time charter to E&I replaces their existing options. And we refinanced the loan secured by the Tordis Knutsen, Vigdis Knutsen, Lena Knutsen, Anna Knutsen, and Brazil Knutsen via a new $225 million five-year senior secured term loan facility arranged by DNB, with the interest rate reduced meaningfully to SOFR plus 165 basis points. Turning to slide 6 for a high-level summary of our operating momentum.

In both Brazil and the North Sea, we continue to see tightening markets driven by robust multi-year FPSO pipeline, production growth and continuing investment in exploration and existing project expansion. The increase in shuttle tanker service volumes across both markets has been sustained and sufficient to tighten the supply-demand balance, even as new vessels have been delivered. We have expanded our strong backlog with $881.2 million of fixed contracts at quarter end, which average 2.5 years in duration, and chartered options averaging further four years. At quarter end, our fleet of 19 vessels had an average age of 10.7 years. Acquisition of the Heda Knudsen reduces the average age by nearly half a year. We are continuing to repay debt at around $95 million per year, which we consider prudent with a depreciating asset base. And we are well advanced in the refinancing of the $65 million facility secured by the Lena Knutsen, which is due later in October.

Over slides 8 to 11, we provide the financials for Q2, the highlights of which we've covered already. On slide 12 is our debt maturity profile. While no guarantees can be made, we have historically benefited from access to a wide pool of lenders and attractive bank finance. We've been encouraged by our refinancing experience in recent years, including during significantly weaker shuttle tanker markets than the current one. Notably, the average margin on our floating rate debt during the second quarter was 2.21% over SOFR. Moving on to slide 14 and our charter portfolio, I believe this remains a very useful resource for investors looking to track the primary moments where change can occur in a highly stable portfolio of cash flows. Based on current charter rates, we believe charter options are likely to be exercised given the strength of the charter market.

On slide 15, you can see our strong forward coverage where we're fully chartered for the remainder of 2026. And in 2027, we have 92% firm coverage or 96% including charter as options. Likewise for 2028, we have 65% firm coverage, or 93%, including charter's options. If we assume that charter's options are picked up, which is our current expectation, then you can see the slowly widening light gray section at the top of the bars as those offering upside potential for the KNOP fleet if market momentum is sustained. On slide 16, you can see the drop-down inventory held at the sponsor. Drop-downs have been the route to growth in the fleet throughout the life of the partnership and remain the means of replenishing and rejuvenating the fleet. In June 2026, the partnership decided not to pursue the Frieda Knudsen and the Sindra Knudsen and they've been removed from our drop-down inventory.

At the same time, we believe that the combination of accreted drop-downs and an improving charter market should support multiple, gradual distribution increases over the coming quarters and years, in addition to materially extending our long-term cash generation runway, as certain of our vessels begin to age out in the years ahead. On slides 17 to 19, we include market commentary, particularly from Petrobras, which continues to highlight record production, a strong and expanding offshore production outlook and continued FPSO deployment. We encourage you to review this, as well as the copious materials that Petrobras publishes as the largest player in the Brazilian market where we primarily operate. To summarize on slide 20, during the second quarter we had strong utilization and solid financial results. We secured additional charter coverage across key vessels. We maintained a constructive backlog and market outlook. And we paid a quarterly distribution of ¢7.5 per unit, which is an increase from ¢5 in the prior quarter and ¢2.6 per quarter for several years before that. Following the end of the quarter, we purchased the Heda Knudsen, secured additional charter coverage and refinanced the $225 million loan facility.

And on slide 21, we conclude with the key themes for KNOP and the shuttle tanker market. The market remains niche and highly concentrated. Offshore extraction continues to take market share from traditional onshore production. And FPSOs serviced by shuttle tankers remain dominant compared with the construction of new pipelines. Brazil and North Sea offshore build-outs have strong momentum following a quieter stretch, while the shuttle tanker order book remains non-speculative and insufficient to meet anticipated demand levels. Looking ahead to coming quarters and years, we believe that KNOP is well-positioned to pursue attractive long-term growth opportunities alongside multiple gradual increases to our sustainable distribution. With that, I'll hand the call back to Leo for any questions.

Thank you.

Operator

We will now begin the question and answer session. [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Liam Burke with B. Riley Securities.

Preguntas y respuestas

Liam Burke

Please go ahead. Rick, you've been a busy man this quarter.

Derek Lowe

Yes, I have. Thanks, Liam.

Liam Burke

In terms of drop-downs, the financing of the Heda Knudsen was pretty elegant with the assumption of debt and the addition of cash. Does that, when I think about the potential drop-downs and the ability to finance them, Do you anticipate a different cadence of growing the fleet or are you just going to take it as they come along?

Derek Lowe

Well, we respond to the offers that are made to us and obviously, only a limited number of the fleet have been delivered, of the drop-down vessels have been delivered at this stage, and so they can only be offered once they've been delivered. So it's a matter of the timing of the offers and the response that the Conflicts Committee wants to make to them.

Liam Burke

Okay, but would you envision the financing similar to the Heda Knudsen, which as I said before, is a pretty elegant way to fund a drop-down?

Derek Lowe

Yeah, I mean, the standard model for all of them is that they have a secure debt facility in place already as they are offered. The financing itself does not need to be arranged at the time that the drop-down is offered. And it's a standard term of those facilities that the guarantor or the ownership and the guarantor arrangements can be transferred over to KNOP from KNOT. So that's that is straightforward. But I would say the loan on the Heda Knudsen is very standard from the point of view of the drop-downs we've had in the past, so those terms did not come as a great surprise, nor did the approximate cash cost of the transaction, so that $24 million is fairly consistent with the cost that you'll see the sort of net of debt, the cost that you'll see in the previous transactions we've done.

Operator

Great. Thank you, Derek. Great. Thanks, Liam. There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Derek Lowe for closing remarks.

Derek Lowe

Well, thank you again, ladies and gentlemen, for joining us earnings call for KNOT Offshore Partners in the second quarter of 2026. And I look forward to speaking with you again following the third quarter results. This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

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