Stolt-Nielsen Limited Reports Unaudited Results For the First Quarter of 2020

LONDON, April 16, 2020 – Stolt-Nielsen Limited (Oslo Børs: SNI) today reported unaudited results for the first quarter ended February 29, 2020. The Company reported a first-quarter net loss attributable to shareholders of $20.0 million, with revenue of $498.8 million, compared with a net profit attributable to shareholders of $5.9 million, with revenue of $497.5 million, in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is an event that triggers an impairment review of the Company’s balance sheet.  However, the Company has been unable to quantify possible impairments of long-term assets, due to the difficulties in determining how the COVID-19 pandemic will evolve and the effects it may have, both on the value of the Company’s assets and on the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

At the end of the first quarter the Company had $519 million in available liquidity.

Highlights for the first quarter of 2020, compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, were:

• Stolt Tankers reported an operating profit of $4.7 million, down from $14.6 million, mainly reflecting increased costs related to the transition to low sulphur fuel mandated by IMO 2020, as well as scheduling issues arising from drydocking delays and the Stolt Groenland incident.
• The Stolt Tankers Joint Service Sailed-in Time-Charter Index was 0.50, down from 0.54, reflecting higher bunker costs.
• Stolthaven Terminals reported an operating profit of $18.9 million, up from $11.7 million, as the prior quarter included an impairment of $5.5 million.
• Stolt Tank Containers reported an operating profit of $6.7 million, down from $15.7 million, due to lower demurrage and ancillary revenue, along with higher ocean-freight costs not fully passed through to customers.
• Stolt Sea Farm reported an operating loss of $9.8 million, down from an operating profit of $1.7 million in the fourth quarter, reflecting a $12.0 million impairment of biomass value, due to a steep drop in market demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Corporate and Other reported an operating loss of $2.6 million, compared with a profit of $4.2 million in the fourth quarter, mostly reflecting a profit sharing adjustment recorded in the fourth quarter.

Commenting on the Company’s results and outlook, Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer of Stolt-Nielsen Limited, said: “While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have substantially altered our outlook for 2020, Stolt-Nielsen Limited’s first-quarter results were only slightly impacted. The underlying recovery of chemical tanker markets that started in 2019 continued in the first quarter, with both higher spot rates and contracts renewed at an average increase of 4.74%. However, Stolt Tankers’ first-quarter results were negatively impacted by higher bunker costs resulting from the switchover to low-sulphur fuel, and delays due to scheduling issues arising from delays in drydocking associated with scrubber and waste water treatment installations. At Stolt Tank Containers, higher shipments and improved utilisation drove an increase in transportation revenue. However, this was more than offset by higher move-related costs due to the IMO 2020 low-sulphur fuel charges imposed by carriers and increased repositioning costs from the build-up of tank containers in China as a result of the extended Chinese New Year due to Covid-19. Stolthaven Terminals’ operational results were in line with expectations, as markets remained stable. Stolt Sea Farm, in contrast, was quickly impacted by the pandemic, due to widespread shutdowns of restaurants and hotels in SSF’s main markets in Spain and Italy, resulting in a significant write-off of biomass inventory value.