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Scorpio Tankers Inc. Announces Financial Results for the Third Quarter of 2014 and Newbuilding Vessel Deliveries

MONACO — (Marketwired) — 10/27/14 — Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE: STNG) (“Scorpio Tankers,” or the “Company”) today reported its results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014.

For the three months ended September 30, 2014, the Company had a net loss of $1.2 million, or $0.01 basic and diluted loss per share. The Company–s adjusted net loss was $1.2 million (see Non-GAAP Measure section below), or $0.01 basic and diluted loss per share, excluding a $0.1 million, or $0.00 per share unrealized gain on derivative financial instruments.

For the three months ended September 30, 2013, the Company had net income of $0.7 million, or $0.00 basic and diluted earnings per share. The Company–s adjusted net income was $0.6 million (see Non-GAAP Measure section below), or $0.00 basic and diluted earnings per share, excluding a $0.1 million, or $0.00 per share unrealized gain on derivative financial instruments.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2014, the Company had net income of $51.6 million, or $0.29 basic and $0.28 diluted earnings per share. The Company–s adjusted net loss was $10.6 million (see Non-GAAP Measure section below), or $0.06 basic and diluted loss per share, which excludes (i) a gain of $51.4 million, or $0.29 per share, resulting from the previously announced sales of seven Very Large Crude Carriers (–VLCCs–) under construction, (ii) a gain of $10.9 million, or $0.06 per share, resulting from the previously announced acquisition of 7,500,000 common shares of the Company in exchange for 3,422,665 shares of Dorian, (iii) a write-off of $0.3 million, or $0.00 per share, for deferred financing fees relating to the repayment of the STI Spirit Credit Facility in April 2014 and (iv) an unrealized gain on derivative financial instruments of $0.2 million or $0.00 per share.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, the Company had net income of $11.2 million or $0.08 basic and diluted earnings per share. The Company–s adjusted net income was $10.8 million (see Non-GAAP Measure section below), or $0.08 basic and diluted earnings per share, excluding a $0.5 million, or $0.00 per share unrealized gain on derivative financial instruments.

Since July 28, 2014, the Company has acquired $67.5 million of its common shares that are being held as treasury shares, in the open market at an average price of $8.64 per share.

During 2014, the Company has acquired an aggregate of 36,729,136 of its common shares that are being held as treasury shares, which include (i) 19,101,536 common shares that were purchased in the open market at an average price of $9.06 per share, (ii) 7,500,000 common shares that were acquired in exchange for 3,422,665 shares in Dorian and (iii) 10,127,600 common shares that were acquired in conjunction with the Company–s offering of $360 million of Convertible Senior Notes due 2019 in June 2014. There are currently 164,436,411 shares outstanding.

The Company has $82.5 million remaining under its stock buyback program as of the date of this press release. The Company expects to repurchase these shares in the open market, at times and prices that are considered to be appropriate by the Company, but is not obligated under the terms of the program to repurchase any shares.

Recently took delivery of two ice-class 1A Handymax tankers, STI Wembley and STI Battersea, from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd. (“HMD”). Including the previously announced deliveries of STI Mayfair and STI Yorkville, the Company has taken delivery of four product tankers in October 2014.

Took delivery of 17 vessels (four LR2, eight MR, and five ice-class 1A Handymax) during the third quarter of 2014, including STI St. Charles, a newbuilding MR product tanker that we purchased in August 2014 and was delivered from SPP in September 2014.

Participated in the previously announced offering of $125,250,000 in aggregate principal amount of floating rate guaranteed notes due 2019 (the “KEXIM Notes”) in July 2014. The KEXIM Notes reduced KEXIM–s funding obligations under the Company–s KEXIM Credit Facility, and will reduce the Company–s borrowing costs under such facility by 1.55% per year

Paid a quarterly cash dividend on the Company–s common stock of $0.10 per share in September 2014.

In October 2014, the Company took delivery of four product tankers. STI Yorkville and STI Mayfair, MR product tankers, were delivered from HMD and SPP, respectively and STI Wembley and STI Battersea, ice-class 1A Handymax product tankers, were delivered from HMD. Upon delivery, STI Yorkville and STI Mayfair each commenced a time charter for up to 120 days at approximately $18,000 per day and STI Wembley and STI Battersea each commenced a time charter for up to 120 days at approximately $15,000 per day.

The Company has taken delivery of 21 vessels under its Newbuilding Program with HMD, SPP, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (“DSME”) and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (“HSHI”) since June 30, 2014. These deliveries are summarized as follows:

In September 2014, we time chartered-in an LR2 tanker that is currently under construction in South Korea with delivery expected in January 2015. Upon delivery from the shipyard, the vessel will be chartered-in for one year at $21,050 per day. We also have an option to extend the charter for one year at $22,600 per day.

In September 2014, we extended the time charter on an LR1 tanker that is currently time chartered-in. The term of the agreement is for one year at $15,000 per day beginning in November 2014.

In September 2014, we extended the time charter on a Handymax tanker that is currently time chartered-in. The term of the agreement is for an additional year at $13,500 per day beginning in March 2015.

In August 2014, we extended the time charter on an LR2 tanker that is currently time chartered-in. The term of the agreement is for six months at $15,500 per day effective November 2014.

In August 2014, we extended the time charter on an LR2 tanker that is currently time chartered-in. The term of the agreement is for six months at $17,500 per day beginning in September 2014.

In July 2014, we extended the time charter on an LR2 tanker that is currently time chartered-in. The term of the agreement is for one year at $17,550 per day beginning in September 2014.

On July 18, 2014, Seven and Seven Ltd., an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Issuer”), completed an offering of $125,250,000 in aggregate principal amount of floating rate guaranteed notes due 2019 (the “KEXIM Notes”) in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to the Securities Act and in offshore transactions complying with Regulation S under the Securities Act. The KEXIM Notes were issued in connection with the Company–s KEXIM Credit Facility and will reduce KEXIM–s funding obligations and the Company–s borrowing costs under such facility by 1.55% per year.

Payment of 100% of all regularly scheduled installments of principal of, and interest on, the KEXIM Notes are guaranteed by The Export-Import Bank of Korea (“KEXIM”), a statutory juridical entity established under The Export-Import Bank of Korea Act of 1969, as amended, in the Republic of Korea.

The KEXIM Notes are currently listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the “SGX-ST”). The Notes will not be listed on any other securities exchange, listing authority or quotation system.

As of October 27, 2014, the Company had $84.0 million in cash.

We made the following drawdowns from our credit facilities in July, August, September and October 2014:

As of October 27, 2014, the Company–s outstanding debt balance, and amount available to draw, is as follows:

Newbuilding Program

During the third quarter of 2014, the Company made $451.2 million of installment payments on its newbuilding vessels. The Company currently has 27 newbuilding vessel orders with HMD, SPP, HSHI and DSME (14 MRs, five Handymax ice class 1-A tankers and eight LR2s). The estimated future payment dates and amounts are as follows*:

*These are estimates only and are subject to change as construction progresses.
**$83.4 million has been paid prior to the date of this press release.

For the three months ended September 30, 2014, the Company recorded a net loss of $1.2 million compared to net income of $0.7 million in the three months ended September 30, 2013. The following were the significant changes between the two periods:

Time charter equivalent, or TCE revenue, a non-IFRS measure, is vessel revenues less voyage expenses (including bunkers and port charges). TCE revenue is included herein because it is a standard shipping industry performance measure used primarily to compare period-to-period changes in a shipping company–s performance irrespective of changes in the mix of charter types (i.e., spot charters, time charters, and pool charters), and it provides useful information to investors and management. The following table depicts TCE revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013:

TCE revenue increased $25.5 million to $82.0 million. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in the average number of operating vessels (owned and time chartered-in) to 58.6 from 42.3 for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively along with an increase in time charter equivalent revenue per day to $15,264 per day from $14,557 per day for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively (see the breakdown of daily TCE averages below).

Vessel operating costs increased $9.8 million to $20.9 million from $11.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in the Company–s owned fleet to an average of 33.7 vessels from 17.3 vessels for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The increase was offset by an overall decrease in vessel operating costs per day to $6,705 per day from $6,851 per day for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively (see the breakdown of daily TCE averages below).

Charterhire expense increased $1.1 million to $32.9 million from $31.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The increase is a result of a shift in the mix of time chartered-in vessels towards larger vessel classes (LR1 and LR2) offset by a reduction in exposure towards smaller vessel classes (Handymax and MR) for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. See the Company–s Fleet List below for the terms of these agreements.

Depreciation expense increased $5.2 million to $11.6 million from $6.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. This increase was primarily the result of an increase in the average number of owned vessels to 33.7 from 17.3 for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

General and administrative expenses increased $5.2 million to $11.7 million from $6.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. This increase was driven by a $3.8 million increase in the amortization of restricted stock (non-cash) and an overall increase in other general and administrative expenses due to the significant growth in the Company–s fleet and Newbuilding Program.

Financial expenses increased $6.2 million to $6.7 million from $0.5 million primarily as a result in an increase in the Company–s debt balance for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Total debt outstanding, net of deferred financing fees, was $1.2 billion at September 30, 2014 compared to $171.3 million at September 30, 2013.

Business Strategy
The Company–s primary objectives are to profitably grow the business and emerge as a major operator of product tanker vessels. The Company intends to acquire modern, high-quality tankers through timely and selective acquisitions. The Company is currently concentrating on these sectors because of their attractive fundamentals which the Company believes includes:

increasing demand for refined products.

increasing ton miles (distance between production and areas of demand), and

reduced order book.

Dividend Policy

The declaration and payment of dividends is subject at all times to the discretion of the Company–s board of directors. The timing and amount of dividends, if any, depends on the Company–s earnings, financial condition, cash requirements and availability, fleet renewal and expansion, restrictions in the loan agreements, the provisions of Marshall Islands law affecting the payment of dividends and other factors.

On September 10, 2014, the Company paid a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.10 per share to all shareholders as of August 22, 2014 (the record date). On June 12, 2014, the Company paid a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.09 per share to all shareholders as of May 27, 2014 (the record date). On March 26, 2014, the Company paid a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.08 per share to all shareholders as of March 11, 2014 (the record date).

Share Buyback Program

On July 28, 2014, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a new stock buyback program with authorization to purchase up to $150 million of its common stock. This program replaced the stock buyback programs that were previously announced in July 2010, April 2014 and June 2014, which have been terminated.

The Company expects to repurchase these shares in the open market, at times and prices that are considered to be appropriate by the Company, but is not obligated under the terms of the program to repurchase any shares.

Since July 28, 2014, the Company has purchased an aggregate of $67.5 million of shares in the open market at an average price of $8.64 per share during 2014 and has $82.5 million remaining under its stock buyback program as of the date of this press release.

Scorpio Tankers Inc. is a provider of marine transportation of petroleum products worldwide. Scorpio Tankers Inc. currently owns 48 tankers (four LR2 tankers, two LR1 tankers, 10 Handymax tankers, 31 MR tankers, and one post-Panamax tanker) with an average age of 1.5 years, time charters-in 24 product tankers (eight LR2, five LR1, four MR and seven Handymax tankers), and has contracted for 27 newbuilding product tankers (14 MR, eight LR2, and five Handymax ice class-1A product tankers), 13 are expected to be delivered to the Company throughout 2014 and 14 in 2015. The Company also owns approximately 16% of Dorian LPG Ltd. Additional information about the Company is available at the Company–s website , which is not a part of this press release.

This press release describes adjusted net income and Adjusted EBITDA, which are not measures prepared in accordance with IFRS (i.e. “Non-GAAP” measure). The Non-GAAP measures are presented in this press release as we believe that they provide investors with a means of evaluating and understanding how the Company–s management evaluates the Company–s operating performance. These Non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation from, as substitutes for, or superior to financial measures prepared in accordance with IFRS.

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 Company 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,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “pending” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management–s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe 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 our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the failure of counterparties to fully perform their contracts with us, the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for tanker vessel capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, charter counterparty performance, ability to obtain financing and comply with covenants in such financing arrangements, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.

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