Acquisitions to Yield Better Results for Hoegh LNG
Hoegh LNG Partners closed the acquisition of 51% interest in Höegh LNG Colombia Holding, the owner of the entities that own and operate the Höegh Grace on January 3, 2017.
The results of the Höegh Grace contributed to the Partnership's earnings for the full first quarter of 2017, says the company.
Richard Tyrrell, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer stated: "In the first quarter of 2017, the Partnership continued to deliver on its strategy of making accretive acquisitions and delivering distribution growth to unitholders."
Having closed the acquisition of 51% of the Höegh Grace at the beginning of the quarter, the Partnership has expanded and diversified its fleet to five FSRUs and added Colombia to the growing list of markets utilizing floating storage and regasification units to participate in the global LNG trade.
The acquisition enabled the Partnership to declare a 4.2% distribution increase for the first quarter of 2017 compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, representing an annualized cash distribution of $1.72 per unit – an increase of more than 27% since the IPO in mid-2014.
"The first quarter of 2017 was also a busy one for operations with the Höegh Grace recording its first full quarter of employment on a minimum 10 year contract, while the Neptune has been deployed as an FSRU to supplement the existing regasification capacity in Turkey," he added.
The attractive price of LNG, together with the speed and cost-effectiveness with which FSRU projects can be implemented, continues to be a highly compelling value proposition for a wide range of markets around the world.
Following the acquisition of 51% of the Höegh Grace, the Partnership retains a right-of-first-offer on the remaining 49% and looks forward to be able to execute on this opportunity in the future.
"The Partnership also believes it is ideally positioned to benefit from the maturing dropdown pipeline of long-term FSRU contracts under development by Höegh LNG Holdings Ltd. which the Partnership believes, assuming their execution, will support the further growth of the Partnership's asset base and distributable cash flows," Richard concluded.
