FRONTLINE PLC REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE SECOND QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2026
Frontline plc (the "Company", "Frontline," "we," "us," or "our"), today reported unaudited results for the six months ended June 30, 2026:
Highlights
* Reported the best quarterly profit ever of $659.2 million, or $2.96 per share for the second quarter of 2026 and the best adjusted profit ever of $580.2 million for the second quarter of 2026, or $2.61 per share. * Declared a cash dividend of $2.61 per share for the second quarter of 2026. * Reported revenues of $943.3 million for the second quarter of 2026. * Achieved average daily spot time charter equivalent earnings ("TCEs")(1) for VLCCs, Suezmax tankers and LR2/Aframax tankers in the second quarter of $152,700, $111,500 and $92,400 per day, respectively. * Reduced financing costs through a combination of margin reductions on existing facilities and full refinancing of selected facilities, reducing the Company's weighted average interest rate margin by approximately 52 basis points ("bps") from 178 bps at the end of the first quarter of 2026 to 126 bps upon completion of the process in the third quarter of 2026. * Entered into agreements to sell two VLCCs built in 2017 in July 2026 for a total sales price of $270.0 million. Subject to the completion of the sales, the total cash proceeds from the sales of approximately $179.0 million will be returned to shareholders through the payment of a special one-time dividend of $0.80 per share. * Delivered our two oldest Suezmax tankers built in 2014 and 2015 in the second quarter of 2026, resulting in a gain on sale of $54.7 million. * Entered into two one-year time charter-out agreements for two VLCC newbuildings delivered on June 22, 2026 and July 3, 2026, at a rate of $120,000 per day per vessel. * Entered into time charter-out agreements for two VLCCs, both built in 2016, for periods of two and three years at average rates of $90,000 and $75,000 per day, respectively, commencing in August 2026.
Lars H. Barstad, Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Management AS, commented:
"The second quarter of 2026 continued to be volatile. The entire energy complex is being challenged, creating inefficiencies that support tanker utilization. While the fundamental story of oil demand versus vessel supply has temporarily taken a back seat, Frontline remains focused on capturing near-term value for our shareholders.
Currently, it is difficult to see the ultimate endgame of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but our conviction regarding its longer-term effects remains firm. Energy supply security will increasingly dominate strategic decisions, altering trade lanes. At the same time, the need to replenish oil inventories should create material tailwinds for tankers.
Frontline continues to capitalize on these markets into the third quarter, with an increased focus on securing revenue visibility at historically high levels."
Inger M. Klemp, Chief Financial Officer of Frontline Management AS, added:
"In the second and third quarters of 2026, we reduced our financing costs through a combination of margin reductions on existing facilities for their remaining tenors and full refinancing of selected facilities, reducing the Company's weighted average interest rate margin by approximately 52 bps from 178 bps at the end of the first quarter of 2026 to 126 bps upon completion of the process in the third quarter of 2026.
We believe that the refinancing of, and amendments to, our existing debt facilities have been achieved on highly attractive terms, further strengthening our liquidity position while reducing our borrowing costs and cash breakeven rates. We continue to focus on maintaining our competitive cost structure, breakeven levels and solid balance sheet to ensure that we are well positioned to generate significant cash flow and create value for our shareholders."
Average daily TCEs and estimated cash breakeven rates
+-------------------------------------+---------------+---------+--------------+ | | | | Estimated | | | | |average daily | | | Spot TCE | |cash breakeven| | | currently | |rates for the | | ($ per day) Spot TCE | contracted |% Covered|next 12 months| +-------------------------------------+---------------+---------+--------------+ | 2026 Q2 2026 Q1 2026| Q3 2026 | | | | | | |VLCC 124,600 152,700 103,500| 156,900 86% | 23,800 | | | | | |Suezmax | 79% | | | 91,700 111,500 72,400 | 117,400 | 25,700 | | | | | |LR2 / Aframax 71,700 92,400 50,700 | 81,000 70% | 22,200 | +-------------------------------------+-------------------------+--------------+
We expect the spot TCEs for the full third quarter of 2026 to be lower than the spot TCEs currently contracted, due to the impact of ballast days during the third quarter of 2026. See Appendix 1 for further details.
The Board of Directors Frontline plc Limassol, Cyprus August 27, 2026
Ola Lorentzon - Chairman and Director John Fredriksen - Director James O'Shaughnessy - Director Cato Stonex - Director Dr. Maria Papakokkinou - Director Mikkel Storm Weum - Director
Questions should be directed to:
Lars H. Barstad: Chief Executive Officer, Frontline Management AS +47 23 11 40 00
Inger M. Klemp: Chief Financial Officer, Frontline Management AS +47 23 11 40 00
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this report may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements, which 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.
Frontline plc and its subsidiaries, or the Company, desire 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. This report and any other written or oral statements made by us or on our behalf may include forward-looking statements, which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results. When used in this document, the words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "will," "may," "should," "expect" and similar expressions, terms or phrases may identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this report are based upon various assumptions, including without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and 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. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
In addition to these important factors and matters discussed elsewhere herein, important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include:
* the strength of world economies; * fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, including inflationary pressures and central bank policies intended to combat overall inflation and high interest rates and foreign exchange rates; * the impact that any discontinuance, modification or other reform or the establishment of alternative reference rates have on the Company's floating interest rate debt instruments; * general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values; * changes in the supply and demand for vessels comparable to ours and the number of newbuildings under construction; * supply chain disruptions affecting shipyards, spare parts or critical equipment, including delays in newbuilding deliveries or vessel maintenance; * the highly cyclical nature of the industry that we operate in; * the loss of a large customer or significant business relationship; * changes in worldwide oil production and consumption and storage; * changes in OPEC and non-OPEC production decisions and geopolitical developments affecting oil supply and trade flows; * changes in the Company's operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry docking, crew costs and insurance costs; * planned, pending or recent acquisitions, business strategy and expected capital spending or operating expenses, including dry docking, repairs, surveys and upgrades; * risks associated with any future vessel construction; * our expectations regarding the availability of vessel acquisitions and our ability to complete vessel acquisition transactions as planned; * our ability to successfully compete for and enter into new time charters or other employment arrangements for our existing vessels after our current time charters expire and our ability to earn income in the spot market; * availability of financing and refinancing, our ability to obtain financing and comply with the restrictions and other covenants in our financing arrangements; * availability of skilled crew members and other employees and the related labor costs; * work stoppages or other labor disruptions by our employees or the employees of other companies in related industries; * compliance with governmental, tax, environmental and safety regulation, any non-compliance with U.S. European Union and other international regulations; * the impact of increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, lenders and other market participants with respect to our Environmental, Social and Governance policies; * compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or other applicable regulations relating to bribery; * general economic conditions and conditions in the oil industry; * effects of new products and new technology in our industry, including the potential for technological innovation to reduce the value of our vessels and charter income derived therefrom; * new environmental regulations and restrictions, whether at a global level stipulated by the International Maritime Organization, and/or imposed by regional or national authorities such as the European Union or individual countries; * vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hire; * cost and effects of cybersecurity incidents or other failures, interruptions, or security breaches of our systems or those of our customers or third-party providers, including software failures, unforeseeable security breaches, or incidents stemming from the misuse of intentional or unintentional misapplication of artificial intelligence in our business; * our ability to successfully adopt artificial intelligence and digital logistics into our operating systems; * risks associated with potential cybersecurity or other privacy threats and data security breaches; * potential conflicts of interest involving members of our Board of Directors and senior management; * the failure of counter parties to fully perform their contracts with us; * changes in credit risk with respect to our counterparties on contracts; * our dependence on key personnel and our ability to attract, retain and motivate key employees; * adequacy and cost of insurance coverage; * our ability to obtain indemnities from customers; * changes in laws, treaties or regulations; * the volatility of the price of our ordinary shares; * our incorporation under the laws of Cyprus and the different rights to relief that may be available compared to other countries, including the United States; * changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities; * government requisition of our vessels during a period of war or emergency; * potential liability from pending or future litigation and potential costs due to environmental damage and vessel collisions; * the arrest of our vessels by maritime claimants; * general domestic and international political conditions or events, including "trade wars"; * any further changes in U.S. trade policy that could trigger retaliatory actions by the affected countries; * disruptions to global trade routes, including actual or threatened attacks on commercial shipping, military conflicts, piracy, terrorism, sanctions enforcement actions, restricted transit through strategic waterways, or other security incidents affecting the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Panama Canal or other major shipping routes; * the impact of increasing trade restrictions, tariffs, port charges, sanctions, export controls, and other protectionist measures; that may affect global oil trade flows, vessel utilization, customer demand, or operating costs; * the impact of port or canal congestion; * business disruptions due to adverse weather, natural disasters or other disasters outside our control; and * other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission.
We caution readers of this report not to place undue reliance on these forward- looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. These forward-looking statements are no guarantee of our future performance, and actual results and future developments may vary materially from those projected in the forward- looking statements.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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(1) This press release describes Time Charter Equivalent earnings and related per day amounts and spot TCE currently contracted, which are not measures prepared in accordance with IFRS ("non-GAAP"). See Appendix 1 for a full description of the measures and reconciliation to the nearest IFRS measure.
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