KNOP 2026年第二季度业绩电话会：收购Heda与租船在手订单增长

核心要点

• 2026财年第二季度营收为9680万美元，营业利润为1560万美元，净利润为340万美元，调整后EBITDA为5760万美元。
• 截至6月30日，可用流动资金达到1.433亿美元，其中包括9530万美元的现金及现金等价物，以及4800万美元的未提取额度。
• 在Fortaleza轮进坞维修后，船队整体利用率为92.4%；扣除计划内进坞影响后的调整后利用率为96.8%。
• KNOP于9月1日以1.13亿美元收购了Heda Knudsen轮。在承担8940万美元债务额度并加上80万美元资本化融资费用后，净现金成本为2440万美元。
• 截至季度末，固定租船储备订单达8.812亿美元，平均期限为2.5年。租船人选择权平均可再延长四年。
• 每普通单位季度现金分红从上一季度的0.05美元增加至0.075美元。管理层预计船队增长和更强劲的租船市场将在未来几个季度和几年内支持多次逐步提高分红。

关键财务数据

业务与经营业绩

在2026年剩余时间内，KNOP已实现全额出租。2027年的确定租约覆盖率为92%，计入租船人选择权后升至96%。2028年的确定覆盖率为65%，计入选择权后为93%。管理层表示，当前的租船费率使得租船人极有可能行使选择权。

该合伙企业获得了多艘船舶的额外多年期租约。Hilder Knudsen轮获得了与埃尼公司（Eni）签订的为期三年的租约，自2027年6月开始，并附带三个一年期的选择权。Recife Knutsen轮获得了与Transpetro签订的为期两年的租约，自2026年第三季度开始。Ingrid Knudsen轮获得了与埃尼公司签订的为期三年的租约，自2026年10月开始，同样附带三个一年期的选择权。

9月份对Heda Knudsen轮的收购扩大了船队规模，并将船队平均船龄缩短了近半年。该船于2024年10月交付，出租给巴西石油（Petrobras），租期至2034年11月，并附带额外的五年选择权。在收购之前，KNOP在季度末拥有19艘船舶，平均船龄为10.7年。

管理层指出，在产量增长、FPSO部署和持续的海上投资支持下，巴西和北海的穿梭油轮市场呈现趋紧态势。公司还表示，穿梭油轮的新船手持订单仍处于非投机状态，不足以满足预期需求。

KNOP通过一项新的2.25亿美元、五年期高级担保定期贷款，对其由五艘船舶担保的债务进行了再融资，利率为SOFR加165个基点。该合伙企业继续以每年约9500万美元的速度偿还债务。

管理层展望

根据当前的市场费率，管理层预计租船人将行使选择权。如果行使这些选择权，且市场势头得以延续，随着部分船队在未来几年内到期可供租用，KNOP认为存在潜在的上升空间。

公司表示，增值性的母公司资产注入收购以及不断改善的租船市场，应能在未来几个季度和几年内支持其可持续分红的多次逐步增加。未来收购的时机将取决于船舶交付情况、发起人KNOT的报价以及KNOP独立冲突委员会的批准。

风险与关注事项

按确定合同计算，KNOP在2027年之后的远期租约覆盖率有所下降，这使得未来现金流的可能能见度部分取决于租船人选择权的行使及市场能否持续强劲。

船队资产存在折旧和老化问题。管理层表示，随着未来几年部分船舶逐渐老旧，持续的资产注入收购旨在补充和更新船队。

债务再融资仍是一项持续考量的事项。管理层表示，在对将于10月晚些时候到期的6500万美元额度进行再融资方面已取得良好进展，同时指出无法对未来获得融资能力作出保证。

分析师问答亮点

B. Riley Securities询问Heda Knudsen轮的融资结构是否能够支持更快的船队增长节奏。管理层回应称，收购时机取决于发起人船舶何时交付和报价，以及冲突委员会的意见。

管理层补充称，发起人船舶通常已具备可转让给KNOP的担保债务额度。管理层认为Heda Knudsen轮的融资模式和约2400万美元的净现金成本与以往的资产注入交易大致一致。

业绩电话会议完整文字记录

完整财报电话会议逐字稿

管理层陈述

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.

分析师问答

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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