Navigator Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Navigator posted record Q2 2026 results , with net income rising to $53.0 million, EBITDA reaching $101.6 million and average TCE rates hitting a record $33,946 per day.

Fleet utilization also improved year over year to 90.8%.

Morgan’s Point set a quarterly throughput record of 374,278 tonnes, while Navigator continued to strengthen liquidity through vessel sales and newbuild financing.

The planned sale of eight Unigas vessels is expected to generate approximately $129 million in net cash proceeds.

Management expects Q3 performance to moderate from record Q2 levels as terminal volumes, utilization and TCE rates ease, but it remains positive on long-term demand driven by U.S. natural gas liquids production and a limited handysize vessel order book.

Navigator also plans to raise its fixed quarterly dividend to $0.08 per share.

Navigator NYSE: NVGS reported record second-quarter results for 2026, citing higher shipping demand, elevated time charter equivalent rates and record throughput at its Morgan’s Point ethylene export terminal.

The company said it had no vessels operating in or transiting the Strait of Hormuz and had not experienced material operational effects from the Middle East conflict.

However, management said shipping disruptions have supported demand for North American commodity exports and increased vessel inefficiencies across key trade routes.

“Q2 2026 was an exceptional quarter,” management said during the earnings call, pointing to all-time highs for net income, EBITDA, earnings per share and average TCE rates.

Navigator reported net income attributable to stockholders of $53.0 million, or $0.86 per share, compared with $21.5 million, or $0.31 per share, in the second quarter of 2025.

EBITDA reached a record $101.6 million, up from $80.3 million in the first quarter and $71.9 million a year earlier.

Adjusted EBITDA was $86.4 million, compared with $65.0 million in the prior quarter and $60.1 million in the year-earlier period.

Average TCE rates rose to a record $33,946 per day, exceeding $29,684 per day in the first quarter and $28,216 per day in the second quarter of 2025.

Fleet utilization was 90.8%, compared with 90.6% in the first quarter and 84.2% a year ago.

Chief Financial Officer Gary Chapman said higher voyage expenses during the period were largely pass-through costs related to bunker fuel and other spot-voyage expenses.

Vessel operating expenses were $47.1 million, broadly unchanged in dollar terms, although daily operating costs increased due to crewing, logistics and the timing of project-related costs.

Navigator’s all-in cash breakeven estimate for 2026 increased to $21,990 per vessel per day from $21,230 in the prior-quarter estimate, primarily because the pending sale of eight Unigas Pool vessels will reduce the number of fleet ownership days over which costs are spread.

The company’s Morgan’s Point ethylene export terminal processed a record 374,278 tonnes during the quarter.

Navigator’s share of terminal results, reflected in equity-method investment income, was $7.1 million, up from $4.8 million in the prior-year quarter.

Executive Vice President Randy Giveans said international demand for U.S. ethylene rose during the quarter as higher oil-based naphtha prices supported the economics of U.S. supply.

The company has signed four new terminal offtake contracts so far this year, including one that began in June, and said discussions with additional potential customers remain active.

Giveans said terminal throughput is expected to decline during the third quarter due to lower naphtha prices, global inventory destocking, Europea...