STEALTHGAS INC. Reports Second Quarter And First Six Months 2010 Financial And Operating Results, Results Of The Company's Annual General Meeting Held On August 23, 2010, Plus An Update On The Company's Stock Repurchase Programme

ATHENS, Greece, Aug. 23, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STEALTHGAS INC. (Nasdaq:GASS), a ship-owning company primarily serving the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector of the international shipping industry, announced today its unaudited financial and operating results for the second quarter and first six months ended June 30, 2010.

Second Quarter 2010 Results:

For the three months ended June 30, 2010, voyage revenues amounted to $26.9 million, a decrease of $0.2 million, or 0.7%, compared to voyage revenues of $27.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2009. Net income for the three months ended June 30, 2010 was $4.1 million or $0.19 per share, a decrease of $2.4 million, from net income of $6.5 million, or $0.29 per share, for the three months ended June 30, 2009. Net income for the three months ended June 30, 2010 included a gain on the sale of vessels of $1.0 million compared to a loss on the sale of vessels of $0.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2009.

For the three months ended June 30, 2010, the Company had a $1.4 million realized cash loss on interest rate swap arrangements and a $1.2 million unrealized non-cash gain on interest rate swap and foreign currency hedging arrangements. This compares to a realized cash loss of $0.5 million on interest rate swap arrangements and an unrealized non-cash gain on interest rate swap and foreign currency hedging arrangements of $3.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2009.

Voyage and operating expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2010 were $3.5 million and $9.3 million, respectively, compared to $2.1 million and $9.8 million, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2009. The increase in voyage expenses was due primarily to the increased level of spot market activity with 907 spot voyage days in the second quarter of 2010 compared to 743 spot voyage days in the same period last year. Under spot voyage charters, the Company is responsible for all voyage expenses including fuel, port and canal fees. The decline in vessel operating expenses was due primarily to the decrease in the size of the fleet for the three months ended June 30, 2010 compared to the three months ended June 30, 2009, and was achieved despite the overall reduction in the average number of vessels on bareboat charter (9 for the three months ended June 30, 2010 compared to 14 in the same period in 2009). Dry docking expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2010 were $0.6 million, an increase of $0.4 million compared to $0.2 million in the same period in 2009.