ATHENS, June 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dynagas LNG Partners LP (NYSE: "DLNG") (the "Partnership"), an owner and operator of liquefied natural gas ("LNG") carriers, today announced its results for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Quarter Highlights: Net Income and Earnings per common unit (basic and diluted) of $11.8 million and $0.23, respectively; Adjusted Net Income(1) of $12.4 million and Adjusted Earnings per common unit(1) (basic and diluted) of $0.25; Adjusted EBITDA(1)   $29.0 million; 100% fleet utilization(2); and Declared and paid a cash distribution of $0.5625 per unit on its Series A Preferred Units (NYSE: "DLNG PR A") for the period from November 12, 2023 to February 11, 2024 and $0.71764025 per unit on the Series B Preferred Units (NYSE: "DLNG PR B") for the period from November 22, 2023 to February 21, 2024. Subsequent Events: Declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.5625 on the Partnership's Series A Preferred Units for the period from February 12, 2024 to May 11, 2024, which was paid on May 13, 2024 to all preferred Series B unit holders of record as of May 6, 2024; Declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.69853375 on the Partnership's Series B Preferred Units for the period from February 22, 2024 to May 21, 2024, which was paid on May 22, 2024 to all preferred Series B unit holders of record as of May 15, 2024; and On June 19, 2024, the Partnership entered into definitive documentation with subsidiaries of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. ("CDBL") for a $345.0 million lease financing agreement of four out of its six LNG carriers. On June 27, 2024, the new lease facility, together with available cash, were used to fully prepay the $675 million Credit Facility, which was scheduled to mature in September 2024. (1) Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Earnings per common unit and Adjusted EBITDA are not recognized measures under U.S. GAAP. Please refer to Appendix B of this press release for the definitions and reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and other related information.(2) Please refer to Appendix B for additional information on how we calculate fleet utilization. CEO Commentary: We are pleased to report the results for the three months ended March 31, 2024. For the first quarter of 2024, we reported Net Income of $11.8 million, earnings per common unit of $0.23, Adjusted Net Income of $12.4 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $29.0 million. All six LNG carriers in our fleet are operating under their respective long-term charters with international gas companies with an average remaining contract term of 6.6 years. Barring any unforeseen events, the Partnership will have no contractual vessel availability until 2028. Our estimated contract backlog currently stands at approximately $1.07 billion equating to approximately $178 million per vessel as of June 27, 2024. We are pleased to announce a new lease financing agreement with China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co. Ltd for four of our LNG carriers. This financing, totaling $345.0 million, along with our available cash reserves, has enabled us to fully prepay our existing outstanding debt in the amount of $408 million before its maturity in September 2024. After a protracted period of strategic deleveraging, we now enjoy significantly lower debt levels and a flexible financing package with two of our LNG carriers debt free. This positions us well in the next phase of the Partnership's development. Russian Sanctions Developments Due to the ongoing Russian conflicts with Ukraine, the United States ("U.S."), European Union ("E.U."), Canada and other Western countries and organizations have announced and enacted numerous sanctions against Russia to impose severe economic pressure on the Russian economy and government.  As of today's date: Current U.S. sanctions regimes do not materially affect the business, operations or financial condition of the Partnership and, to the Partnership's knowledge, its counterparties are currently performing their obligations under their respective time charters in compliance with applicable U.S. and E.U. rules and regulations. On June 24, 2024, the E.U. issued its 14th sanctions package which, for the first time, targets the LNG sector of the Russian economy. E.U. laws now prohibit reloading services in the territory of the E.U. for the purposes of transshipment operations where such services are used to transship Russian LNG, except in the case of such transshipments to E.U. member states. That prohibition covers both ship-to-ship transfers and ship-to-shore transfers and re-loading operations. Ancillary services related to such transshipments are also banned. Also, information requirements apply to legal persons performing unloading operations. Certain limited exemptions apply. The Partnership is currently in the process of assessing the impact this new set of sanctions will have on its operations. Sanctions legislation has been changing and the Partnership continues to monitor such changes as applicable to the Partnership and its counterparties. The full impact of the commercial and economic consequences of the Russian conflict with Ukraine is uncertain at this time.  The Partnership cannot provide any assurance that any further development in sanctions, or escalation of the Ukraine situation more generally, will not have a significant impact on its business, financial condition or results of operations. Please see the section of this press release entitled "Forward Looking Statements."Financial Results Overview:   Three Months Ended (U.S. dollars in thousands, except per unit data)   March 31, 2024 (unaudited)     March 31, 2023 (unaudited) Voyage revenues $ 38,055   $ 37,263 Net Income $ 11,750   $ 9,600 Adjusted Net Income (1) $ 12,354   $ 6,519 Operating income $ 19,337   $ 19,344 Adjusted EBITDA(1) $ 29,003   $ 23,564 Earnings per common unit $ 0.23   $ 0.18 Adjusted Earnings per common unit (1) $ 0.25   $ 0.10             (1) Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Earnings per common unit are not recognized measures under U.S. GAAP. Please refer to Appendix B of this press release for the definitions and reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 Financial Results Net Income for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $11.8 million as compared to $9.6 million for the corresponding period of 2023, which represents an increase of $2.2 million, or 22.9%. The increase in net income for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to the corresponding period of 2023, was mainly attributable to the increase in the gain on our interest rate swap transaction and to the decrease interest and finance costs. Adjusted Net Income (a non-GAAP financial measure) for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $12.4 million as compared to $6.5 million for the corresponding period of 2023, which represents a net increase of $5.9 million or 90.8%. This increase was mainly attributable to the increase in the cash voyage revenues of the Arctic Aurora as explained below. Voyage revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2024 were $38.1 million as compared to $37.3 million for the corresponding period of 2023, which represents a net increase of $0.8 million or 2.1%. This increase was mainly attributable to the increase in voyage revenues of the Arctic Aurora following its new time charter party agreement with Equinor ASA, which commenced in September 2023. The Partnership reported average daily hire gross of commissions(1) of approximately $72,770 per day per vessel in the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, compared to approximately $62,130 per day per vessel for the corresponding period of 2023. During both three-month periods ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023, the Partnership's vessels operated at 100% utilization. Vessel operating expenses were $7.7 million, which corresponds to a daily rate per vessel of $14,103 in the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, as compared to $7.3 million, or a daily rate per vessel of $13,511 in the corresponding period of 2023. This increase was mainly attributable to the increased planned technical maintenance on the Partnership's vessels in the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to the corresponding period in 2023. Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $29.0 million, as compared to $23.6 million for the corresponding period of 2023. The increase of $5.4 million, or 22.9%, was mainly attributable to the abovementioned increase in revenues of the Arctic Aurora which was partly compensated by the increase in the operating expenses. Interest and finance costs, net were $8.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to $9.2 million in the corresponding period of 2023, which represents a decrease of $0.5 million, or 5.4% due to the reduction in interest-bearing debt in the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to the corresponding period in 2023, which was partly offset by the increase in the weighted average interest rate as compared to the corresponding period of 2023. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Partnership reported basic and diluted Earnings per common unit and Adjusted Earnings per common unit, (a non- GAAP financial measure), of $0.23 and $0.25 respectively, after taking into account the distributions relating to the Series A Preferred Units and the Series B Preferred Units on the Partnership's Net Income/Adjusted Net Income. Earnings per common unit and Adjusted Earnings per common unit, basic and diluted, are calculated on the basis of a weighted average number of 36,802,247 common units outstanding during the period and in the case of Adjusted Earnings per common unit after reflecting the impact of certain adjustments presented in Appendix B of this press release. Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Earnings per common unit are not recognized measures under U.S. GAAP. Please refer to Appendix B of this press release for the definitions and reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Amounts relating to variations in period on period comparisons shown in this section are derived from the unaudited condensed financial statement contained herein. (1) Average daily hire gross of commissions is a non-GAAP financial measure and represents voyage revenue excluding the non-cash time charter deferred revenue amortization, divided by the Available Days in the Partnership's fleet as described in Appendix B. Liquidity/ Financing/ Cash Flow Coverage During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Partnership generated net cash from operating activities of $11.6 million as compared to $13.7 million in the corresponding period of 2023, which represents a decrease of $2.1 million, or 15.3% mainly as a result of working capital changes. As of March 31, 2024, the Partnership reported total cash of $76.2 million. The Partnership's outstanding indebtedness as of March 31, 2024 under the $675 million credit facility amounted to $408.6 million, gross of unamortized deferred loan fees, which was repayable within one year. On June 19, 2024, the Partnership entered into a sale and leaseback agreement with China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. ("CDBL") for four of its vessels, the Ob River, the Clean Energy, the Amur River, and the Arctic Aurora in an amount up to $345.0 million (the "Lease Financing") for the purpose of refinancing, together with other sources of liquidity, its $675 Million Credit Facility. On June 27, 2024, the Lease Financing closed and the Partnership utilized the proceeds, together with available cash, to fully prepay its $675 Million Credit Facility. According to the agreed terms of the Lease Financing, the Partnership sold and simultaneously chartered back on a bareboat basis the OB River, the Clean Energy and the Amur River ("the Three Vessels") for a five-year period and the Arctic Aurora for a ten- year period, starting on June 27, 2024. The financing amount is 65% and 85% of the Market Price on delivery of the Three Vessels and the Arctic Aurora, respectively, and is scheduled to be repaid in twenty and forty consecutive quarterly installments respectively. The financing's applicable interest rate is three-month Term SOFR plus a margin. At the end of the bareboat charter period, the Partnership will have the obligation to repurchase the vessels for 20% and 15% of the financing amount of the Three Vessels and the Arctic Aurora, respectively. The Partnership will be required to maintain a minimum market value of at least 120% of the outstanding principal balance throughout the charter period. Vessel Employment As of June 27, 2024, the Partnership had estimated contracted time charter coverage(1) for 100%, 100% and 99% of its fleet estimated Available Days (as defined in Appendix B) for 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively. As of the same date, the Partnership's estimated contracted revenue backlog (2) (3) was $1.07 billion, with an average remaining contract term of 6.6 years.         (1) Time charter coverage for the Partnership's fleet is calculated by dividing the fleet contracted days on the basis of the earliest estimated delivery and redelivery dates prescribed in the Partnership's current time charter contracts, net of scheduled class survey repairs by the number of expected Available Days during that period. (2) The Partnership calculates its estimated contracted revenue backlog by multiplying the contractual daily hire rate by the expected number of days committed under the contracts (assuming earliest delivery and redelivery and excluding options to extend), assuming full utilization. The actual amount of revenues earned and the actual periods during which revenues are earned may differ from the amounts and periods disclosed due to, for example, dry-docking and/or special survey downtime, maintenance projects, off-hire downtime and other factors that result in lower revenues than the Partnership's average contract backlog per day. (3) The amount of $0.12 billion of the revenue backlog estimate relates to the estimated portion of the hire contained in certain time charter contracts with Yamal Trade Pte. Ltd. which represents the operating expenses of the respective vessels and is subject to yearly adjustments on the basis of the actual operating costs incurred within each year. The actual amount of revenues earned in respect of such variable hire rate may therefore differ from the amounts included in the revenue backlog estimate due to the yearly variations in the respective vessels' operating costs. Conference Call and Webcast: As announced, the Partnership's management team will host a conference call on Friday, June 28, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Partnership's financial results. Conference Call details: Participants should dial into the call 10 minutes before the scheduled time using the following numbers: 877-405-1226 (US Dial-In), or +1 201-689-7823 (US International Dial-In). To access the conference call, please quote "Dynagas" to the operator and/or conference ID 13746983. For additional participant International Toll- Free access numbers, click here. Alternatively, participants can register for the call using the "call me" option for a faster connection to join the conference call. You can enter your phone number and let the system call you right away. Click here for the "call me" option. Audio Webcast - Slides Presentation: There will be a live and then archived webcast of the conference call and accompanying slides, available on the Partnership's website. To listen to the archived audio file, visit our website http://www.dynagaspartners.com and click on Webcast under our Investor Relations page. Participants to the live webcast should register on the website approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the webcast. The slide presentation on the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 financial results will be available in PDF format 10 minutes prior to the conference call and webcast, accessible on the Partnership's website www.dynagaspartners.com on the webcast page. Participants to the webcast can download the PDF presentation. About Dynagas LNG Partners LP Dynagas LNG Partners LP. (NYSE:DLNG) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers employed on multi-year charters. The Partnership's current fleet consists of six LNG carriers, with an aggregate carrying capacity of approximately 914,000 cubic meters. Visit the Partnership's website at www.dynagaspartners.com. The Partnership's website and its contents are not incorporated into and do not form a part of this release. Contact Information:Dynagas LNG Partners LP Attention: Michael Gregos Tel. +30 210 8917960 Email:   Investor Relations / Financial Media: Nicolas Bornozis Markella KaraCapital Link, Inc. 230 Park Avenue, Suite 1540New York, NY 10169 Tel. (212) 661-7566 E-mail: Forward-Looking Statements Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The Partnership desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "project," "will," "may," "should," "expect," "expected," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward- looking statements are not intended to give any assurance as to future results and should not be relied upon. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions and estimates, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, examination by the Partnership's management of historical operating trends, data contained in its records and other data available from third parties. Although the Partnership believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond the Partnership's control, the Partnership cannot assure you that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in the Partnership's view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed, expressed or implied, in the forward- looking statements include, but are not limited to, the strength of world economies and currency fluctuations, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates, ownership days, and vessel values, changes in supply of and demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping capacity, changes in the Partnership's operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for the Partnership's vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental laws, rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, economic, regulatory, political and governmental conditions that affect the shipping and the LNG industry, potential liability from pending or future litigation, and potential costs due to environmental damage and vessel collisions, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, political events, or international hostilities, including the recent escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict and potential spillover effects throughout the Middle East, vessel breakdowns, instances of off-hires, the length and severity of epidemics and pandemics, such as COVID-19 and its variants, the impact of public health threats and outbreaks of other highly communicable diseases, the impact of the discontinuance of the London Interbank Offered Rate, or, LIBOR and its replacement with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR on any of our debt referencing LIBOR in the interest rate, the amount of cash available for distribution, and other factors. Due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the United States, United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, and other Western countries and organizations have announced and enacted numerous sanctions against Russia to impose severe economic pressure on the Russian economy and government. The full impact of the commercial and economic consequences of the Russian conflict with Ukraine are uncertain at this time. Although currently there has been no material impact on the Partnership, potential consequences of the sanctions that could impact the Partnership's business in the future include but are not limited to: (1) limiting and/or banning the use of the SWIFT financial and payment system that would negatively affect payments under the Partnership's existing vessel charters; (2) the Partnership's counterparties being potentially limited by sanctions from performing under its agreements; and (3) a general deterioration of the Russian economy. In addition, the Partnership may have greater difficulties raising capital in the future, which could potentially reduce the level of future investment into its expansion and operations. The Partnership cannot provide any assurance that any further development in sanctions, or escalation of the Ukraine situation more generally, will not have a significant impact on its business, financial condition, or results of operations. Please see the Partnership's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and the Partnership disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication. APPENDIX A DYNAGAS LNG PARTNERS LPCondensed Consolidated Statements of Income (In thousands of U.S. dollars except units and per unit data)   Three Months Ended    March 31,     2024(unaudited)     2023(unaudited) REVENUES           Voyage revenues $ 38,055     $ 37,263   EXPENSES           Voyage expenses (including related party)   (857 )     (714 ) Vessel operating expenses   (7,700 )     (7,296 ) General and administrative expenses (including related party)   (526 )     (469 ) Management fees -related party   (1,641 )     (1,575 ) Depreciation   (7,994 )     (7,865 ) Operating income   19,337       19,344   Interest and finance costs, net   (8,655 )     (9,180 ) Loss on debt extinguishment   —       (154 ) Gain/ (Loss) on derivative instruments