KNOT Offshore Partners reports $87.1 million in revenue and strong utilization, enhancing liquidity while pursuing strategic fleet expansion and unit buybacks.

OPERATOR - (00:01:42)

Good morning and thank you all for attending the KNOT Offshore Partners second quarter 2025 earnings call. My name is Brica and I will be your moderator for today. All lines will be muted during the presentation portion of the call with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end. I would now like to pass this conference over to your host, our CEO Derek Lowe. Thank you. You may proceed. Derek.

Derek Lowe - Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer - (00:02:12)

Thank you, Breca 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 Partnerships earnings call for the second quarter of 2025. Our website is notoffshorepartners.com and you can find the earnings release there along with this presentation. On slide 2 you will 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 such results. Forward looking 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 US GAAP measures and our earnings release includes a reconciliation of these to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. On slide 3 we have the Q2 financial and operational headlines. Revenues were $87.1 million, operating income 22.2 million and net income 6.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA was 51.6 million and as of June 30, 2025 we had $104 million in available liquidity made up of $66.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, plus 38.5 million in undrawn capacity on our credit facilities. That available liquidity was $4 million higher than at March 31. We operated with full utilization, taking into account the start of two dry dockings which amounts to 96.8% utilisation overall. Following the end of Q2, we declared a cash distribution of 2.6 US cents per common unit which was paid in August. On to Slide 4 for developments during Q2. Through a combination of new chartering, charterers exercising options and good manoeuvring by our chartering team, we made good progress in extending our charter coverage and maximizing the value of charters. We already have the Brazil Knutson is scheduled to go on charter to Equinor next month. With that in mind, we've been able to extend the redelivery timing from Petro Rio to minimise any downtime between charters. Repsol Sinopec exercised their option to extend the Raquel Knutsen through June 2028 and Windsor Knutsen commenced operations with ExxonMobil on June 4th following completion of scheduled dry docking on slide 5. We have developments subsequent to quarter end, some of which you will likely have seen in our early July update. On September 16, 2025 we refinanced Tobeka Knudsen with a sale and Nicebach that netted $32 million in cash. We also purchased the Daiken Knudsen from our sponsor with a $95 million combination of cash and debt. The cash component of that was approximately $25 million, so that was $7 million less than the net proceeds released from the Tover Knutson refinancing. The Dakin Knutsen is on time charter with PetroChina in Brazil through until July 2027 with not guaranteeing the day rate until 2032 on the same basis as if PetroChina had exercised its options through to that time. We were also pleased to have reached a point in the recovery for KNOT and the wider shuttle tanker market where we deemed it prudent to increase our discretionary allocation of capital to accrue unit buybacks on the premise that the units traded a significant discount to what we believe to be any reasonable valuation for the partnership and its prospects. We have been active under our $10 million authorisation repurchasing 226,000 common units at an aggregate cost of $1.64 million, which is an average price of $7.24 per common unit. On slide 6 we provide an overview of the Daiken Knutsen purchase. I've covered most of the highlights here already, but the strategic and commercial implications of such a dropdown transaction includes an increased pipeline of long term contracts, fleet growth, reduced average fleet age and continued development to our fleet in the most in demand shuttle tanker asset class. This is a high quality vessel and contract for us to welcome into the partnership and when taken in conjunction with the sale and leaseback of the tobakanudsen, we're very pleased to have been able to achieve growth without any draw on the cash in hand, but instead to have obtained additional liquidity from the debt portfolio. Turning to slide seven for a high level summary of developments. The shaft anchor market is tightening in both Brazil and at long last to a degree in the North Sea as well. In either case driven by FPSO start ups and ramp ups. Certain of these projects were a long time coming and it's been encouraging to see them up and running, driving Shuttle tanker demand growth We've extended our backlog as of June 30, 2025 to $895 million of fixed contracts averaging 2.6 years and rather more if all options are exercised. At June 30, our fleet of 18 vessels had an average age of 10.1 years. With the addition of our 19th vessel just a couple of days thereafter, the average age reduced to 9.7 years. We're continuing to repay debt at $95 million or more per year, which we think is prudent with a depreciating asset base. Debt paydown also produces flexibility and optionality to take on leverage elsewhere to enable an accretive allocation of capital. As with the recent sale, leaseback and drop down, which was accompanied by the initiation of the $10 million buyback program, we appreciate that ours is a business where the timelines and contract durations are long and thus the financial impact of chartering typically arrives quite some time later, materially behind an upturn in sentiment or spot market activity. That being said, it's clear that after a lengthy period defined by the COVID era cutbacks at energy majors, we're increasingly building positive momentum and taking actions on multiple fronts for the benefit of unitholders now and well into the Future. Over slides 9 to 12, we provide the financials for Q2, for which the headlines are revenues of $87.1 million, operating income 22.2 million, net income 6.8 million, adjusted EBITDA 51.6 million and availability at quarter end of 104 million, made up of 66.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, plus 38.5 million in undrawn capacity on our credit facilities. That's $4 million higher available liquidity than at the end of Q1. On slide 13 is our debt maturity profile, which has been updated to reflect the Toberkluts and sale leaseback, the NTT revolver refinancing and the July 2 stacking acquisition. Notably, the average margin on our debt was 2.23% over sofa. And while nothing can be taken for granted, the positive momentum for both KNIP and the wider sector mean that we feel quite confident about these maturities in the years ahead, particularly after seamlessly addressing similar maturities in recent years amid materially less rosy market conditions. Moreover, we may have select opportunities to raise liquidity as we did with the Tobik Knutson, though any such action will be contingent on conditions at the time. Moving on to slide 15 and our charter portfolio, I've covered most of the updates here, but I believe it's a useful resource for investors looking to track the primary movements where change can occur in a highly stable portfolio of cash flows, that is when charters turn over and when there are dry docks that will cause off fire and occurrence of capex costs. Based on current charter rates, we believe charterers options are likely to be taken up given the strength of the charter market. As such, upcoming points of particular relevance are the Fortaleza and Recife, which operate in Brazil and are coming open in early and mid 2026 respectively. On slide 16 you can see our strong coverage through the coming quarters, some charterers options that market conditions suggest have a good likelihood of being exercised and a small amount of open time. In all we have 89% of vessel time in 2026 covered by fixed contracts. On slide 17 you can see the drop down inventory held at the sponsor. As we have said, we believe that growth on attractive terms that benefit the partnership is a central bank of our strategy. Alongside sustainable payments to unitholders, we operate a fleet of depreciating assets where replenishment with younger vessels over time and on the right terms is an imperative of the business, not to mention the basis for returns to unit holders. On slides 18 to 20 we include again some commentary from Petrobras who continue their strong offshore production growth, particularly in the shuttle tanker service fields and doing so rapidly ahead of schedule and through the deployment of assets with a decades long use profile. From the shuttle tanker owner's perspective there is lots alike about what Petrobras is saying and importantly in what they're putting into action. Crucially, it's this trackable and measurable activity, including numerous additional FPSOs that have already been funded but are expecting to come online in years ahead that gives us comfort that the shuttle tanker demand should readily absorb the current order book. Further, we believe that the current order book still trends towards medium term shortage of shuttle tankers when set against the forthcoming production. To Summarise on slide 21 we had strong utilisation and financial results for the quarter while securing additional charter cover and paying a quarterly distribution. We subsequently purchased a vessel with seven years of charter cover. We refinanced a vessel to release liquidity in excess of the cash we paid for the acquisition. We refinanced the first of our two $25 million revolvers and we initiated our $10 million unit buyback program. And looking at our near term priorities on Slide 22, we focused as ever on safe operation and maintaining high schedule of operational utilisation. We aim to continue growth in earnings, visibility and liquidity through vessel chartering out into the medium term. And we aim to deploy incremental capital opportunistically towards a combination of accretive growth and returns of capital to unitholders. With that, I'll hand the call back to Breca for any questions. Thank you.

OPERATOR - (00:12:43)

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. And if you would like to ask a question during this time, please press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you change your mind and would like to remove your question, you can do so by pressing star followed by the number two. And as a reminder, that is star followed by one. To register for any questions, we'll pause here briefly whilst questions are registered. The first question we have on the phone lines comes from the line of Liam Burke with B. Riley Financial, Inc.. Please go ahead when you're ready.

Liam Burke - Equity Analyst - (00:13:26)

Thank you. Derek how are you today?

Derek Lowe - Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer - (00:13:30)

Good, thanks. Liam how are you?

Liam Burke - Equity Analyst - (00:13:32)

I'm just fine, thank you. On the Daiken Knudsen. Knudsen, I know you've got customary closing events prior to taking delivery, but could you give us a sense as to when you'd expect to take delivery on that vessel?

Derek Lowe - Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer - (00:13:48)

On the Daiken Knudsen, we took delivery on the day we announced it. So the 2nd of July.

Liam Burke - Equity Analyst - (00:13:54)

Oh, okay. Because it said the customary closings. Okay, great. Second question I had was on the dropdowns, there are four additional vessels. You made the closing of the Daiken Knudsen in a very shareholder friendly manner. Do you anticipate be able to continue to do that?

Derek Lowe - Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer - (00:14:14)

I mean, we think. We think it's unitholder friendly whenever we do these transactions on accretive terms. Were you alluding to the funding for the equity component in the transaction?

Liam Burke - Equity Analyst - (00:14:27)

Well, that and the fact there's four currently available in addition to the. You know, then you have the new builds. What I was getting at is, I mean, you were able to add one more vessel quite easily in a very friendly, shareholder friendly manner, I guess, more or less. Do you have a sense of timing based on your financing flexibility and your desire to grow the fleet?

Derek Lowe - Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer - (00:14:55)

Sure. Well, we don't have a particular sense of timing. We respond to vessels that are offered to us when that happens and on the basis of the terms that are offered and can be negotiated. But we don't have a particular timing in mind. Part of that is obviously our financial capacity to fund any cash component that's required in a transaction. You can also see our debt schedule, what is coming up at different times and the opportunities they can present for potential releveraging or release of some sort. So the Tobeka saying a leaseback would be a good example of how release can happen. Great.

Liam Burke - Equity Analyst - (00:15:35)

Thank you, Derek.

Derek Lowe - Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer - (00:15:37)

Thanks, Liam.

OPERATOR - (00:15:40)

Thank you. Just as a quick reminder, if you would like to ask any further questions, you can do so by pressing star followed by one on your telephone keypads.

UNKNOWN - (00:15:48)

Now.

OPERATOR - (00:16:00)

Just as a reminder that is star followed by one to ask any questions. And one final reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press Star followed by one on your telephone keypads. Now we have a question from Clement Mullins with Value Investors on the line. Please go ahead.

Clement Mullins - (00:16:51)

Hi, thank you for taking my questions. I want to ask about the older Winsohn Knudsen, the Fortaleza and the Recife. Could you talk a bit about how contracting discussions with potential customers compare relative to your more modern tonnage? And is there maybe any appetite to dispose of these vessels over the coming years?

Derek Lowe - Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer - (00:17:18)

Well, our business model relates to operating vessels rather than trading them. And I do appreciate we have engaged in vessel swaps in the past, but that was actually so that we could gear up our ownership, if anything, rather than dispose when we have active contracting discussions with our clients all the time about our vessels. I don't think I can expand on how those are going with in any individual case for commercial reasons, but we certainly are actively discussing those vessels with our clients.

Clement Mullins - (00:17:54)

Makes sense. And you've been clear that your near term priority is to continue expanding the fleet. But could you talk a bit how you plan to mix that with potential distribution increases in the medium term?

Derek Lowe - Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer - (00:18:12)

Sure. Fleet growth through acquisition is partly relating to growth and the most important element of growth there is in the charter schedule. It is only through that that we can generate income in the medium to longer term. It also helps with rejuvenating the fleet, which is which contributes to that as well. Returns to unitholders and deployment of capital to drop downs. We think both of those at the same time are good deployments of capital. And we don't see them as necessarily competing with each other. I mean, they both use capital. But if you look at the orders of magnitude that are involved, the buyback program, for example, is planned to use rather less than even a single vessel. If you look at just a year's worth of the buyback program so we think they're both necessary in the interests of unitholders in the medium to longer term. Just to give you an example on fleet rejuvenation, which we think is particularly important with 18 vessels as of the end of June and then obviously 19 shortly after that, the vessel age, average age in early July was down to, I think, 9.7 years. Well, that is the age that we had earlier in the year. And just simply the passage of time with a, with the fleet, the size that we have means that acquisitions are required to keep the fleet rejuvenated and to keep that average age down.

Clement Mullins - (00:19:56)

That's helpful. That's everything from me. Thank you for taking my questions.

Derek Lowe - Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer - (00:19:59)

Thank you. Thanks.

OPERATOR - (00:20:03)

Thank you. Just one final reminder. If you would like to ask any further questions, you can do so now by pressing star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. I can confirm that does conclude the question and answer session today. And I would like to hand it back to Derek for some final closing comments.

Derek Lowe - Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer - (00:20:32)

Well, thank you again for joining us. Earnings call for KNOT Offshore Partners second quarter in 2025. And I look forward to speaking with you again following the third quarter results.

OPERATOR - (00:20:46)

Thank you all for joining the Knott Offshore Partners second quarter 2025 earnings call. I can confirm today's call has now concluded. Thank you all for your participation. And you may now disconnect. Please enjoy the rest of your.