StealthGas Inc. (GASS) is a provider of international seaborne transportation services to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) producers and users. StealthGas’s vessels carry various petroleum and petrochemical gas products in liquefied form, including propane, butane, butadiene, isopropane, propylene and vinyl chloride monomer, which are all byproducts of the production of oil and natural gas. To facilitate their handling and reduce volume, the products are transported in liquefied form.
StealthGas owns 39 vessels, 38 in current operation with one expected to be delivered in February 2008. Three of its existing vessels will be sold this month, thus bringing the average age of its fleet to 11 years compared to the industry average of 18 years.
In November the company announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the nine months ending September 2007. Net revenues totaled $63.9M, a 21.0% increase over the $52.8M reported in September 2006. Net income was reported at $16.3M, a 19% increase compared to $13.7M reported in 2006 of the same period. Adjusted EBITDA was $33.6M, an increase of $7.1M from the $26.5M reported in the previous year.
The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.1875 per common share payable to shareholders of record on November 23, 2007. This is the eighth consecutive quarterly dividend since the company went public in October 2006. Since then, StealthGas has declared quarterly dividends aggregating $1.50 per common share.
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