HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Teekay Corporation (Teekay) (NYSE:TK) presented at its 2019 Annual General Meeting on Monday, June 10, 2019, which included details on its two publicly-traded Daughter entities, Teekay LNG Partners L.P. (Teekay LNG) (NYSE:TGP) and Teekay Tankers Ltd. (Teekay Tankers) (NYSE:TNK). Below is a speech from Kenneth Hvid, Teekay’s President and Chief Executive Officer:

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for attending our June 2019 Annual General Meeting. It is my pleasure to report to you at this Annual General Meeting as Teekay’s President and Chief Executive Officer. For further information, I refer you to our website at www.teekay.com where you will be able to download our 20-F filing for the year ended December 31, 2018 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Before I begin, I must include the usual and important disclaimers about forward looking statements that are mandated by U.S. Securities laws (see Forward Looking Statements section below).

Over the past three years, we have completed several important initiatives with the objective of de-risking, delevering and preserving value and optionality during what was a very challenging time for the energy and capital markets, while also executing on a very large gas project orderbook that is delivering on-time or early and on-budget.  With the recent successful refinancing of Teekay’s 2020 bond, the near completion of all our LNG growth projects, and the anticipated improvement in tanker shipping market fundamentals, we believe Teekay has reached a positive turning point and the Teekay Group is in the best position it has been in for quite a few years. We expect the Teekay Group’s cash flows to continue to grow as our remaining gas growth projects deliver and with the anticipated strengthening of the tanker market in the second half of 2019, both of which are expected to build equity value in all our companies.

Looking ahead, from Teekay’s perspective, we will focus on maximizing the value of each of our four key assets, which are:

• Teekay LNG is nearing completion of approximately $3 billion of growth projects without issuing any common units to fund this growth and it continues to report growing cash flows, with more to come as these projects are fully reflected in its financial statements throughout 2019 and 2020. With the growing contracted cash flows, supported by over $10 billion in forward fixed-rate revenues, Teekay LNG’s balance sheet will naturally delever over time, which will create equity value for unitholders, including Teekay as the largest limited partner and the sole general partner.  We also believe that from time to time Teekay LNG’s common unit price represents compelling value and thus, Teekay LNG is able to create additional value for unitholders, including Teekay, through its common unit buyback program. This is just one component of Teekay LNG’s balanced capital allocation strategy, which also included a quarterly cash distribution increase of 36% in May 2019.
   
• Teekay Tankers has been proactively managing its financial position during the recent tanker market downturn and it is now well-positioned to benefit from what is widely expected to be an oncoming tanker market upturn in the second half of 2019 and into 2020.  After executing multiple sale-leaseback financings, Teekay Tankers now has over $160 million of liquidity and with nearly all of its vessels deployed in the spot market, resulting in strong operating leverage, Teekay Tankers would generate approximately $1 per share of annualized Free Cash Flow, even at mid-cycle tanker rates.  As the largest shareholder in Teekay Tankers, Teekay stands to benefit from this anticipated increase in cash flow as well as an expected corresponding increase in tanker asset values.
   
• Teekay LNG Incentive Distribution Rights (IDRs).  We believe that the IDRs in Teekay LNG represent a valuable asset to Teekay given the projected growth in Teekay LNG’s cash flows and the expected balance sheet delevering over the next few years, which we believe will increase the distribution capacity of Teekay LNG.  As the sole general partner of Teekay LNG, we are focused on maximizing the value of the IDRs for Teekay’s shareholders, while also positioning Teekay LNG for continued success in the future.  We intend to explore all solutions that are beneficial to all parties that would improve Teekay LNG’s future cost of capital, simplify its structure, and further align the interests of Teekay and Teekay LNG.
   
• Directly-owned FPSOs.  Teekay’s three directly-owned FPSO units have had a negative impact on our recent quarterly results, mainly due to unplanned maintenance shutdowns and timing differences. However, we have made some positive progress with the recent one-year contract extension of the Petrojarl Banff FPSO, and we are in discussions on further contract extensions/amendments or dispositions of the FPSO units.  Optimizing these assets remains a key priority for us and we are committed to working with our customers to achieve this goal.

In addition, we are focused on reducing our general and administrative (G&A) expenses across the Teekay Group. This includes right-sizing our organization in light of our divestiture of Teekay Offshore and lower anticipated growth, streamlining/automating some of our core processes, implementing an across-the-board salary freeze in 2019, reducing the size of our boards, and reducing office costs.  One of our core initiatives is to focus and simplify the organization, which we believe will result in lower G&A costs going forward.  

We are also planning an Investor Day in New York during the first week of October 2019, at which time we will provide a comprehensive presentation on the Teekay Group of companies, covering our strategy, financial position and market outlook.  We plan to provide the exact date and details of this event during our next earnings call in the first week of August 2019.

Before I conclude, I would like to highlight that operational excellence has always been among Teekay’s key strengths. Our global teams onboard ships and ashore, devote enormous effort towards upholding the Teekay name as a respected symbol of quality and as a protector of the environment.  We set ourselves high standards for personnel safety, fleet availability and customer service. However, we recognize that there will always be room to do better and we live by our core value of continuous improvement. In closing, I would like to thank our customers for the opportunity to serve them; our colleagues for their dedicated efforts; our Board of Directors for their valued guidance; and our fellow shareholders for their continued support.”

About Teekay

Teekay is a leading provider of international crude oil and gas marine transportation services and also provides offshore production and logistics. Teekay provides these services primarily through its directly-owned fleet and its controlling ownership interests in Teekay LNG Partners L.P. (NYSE:TGP), the world’s third largest independent owner and operator of LNG carriers, and Teekay Tankers Ltd. (NYSE:TNK), one of the world’s largest owners and operators of mid-sized crude tankers. The consolidated Teekay entities manage and operate total assets under management of approximately $11 billion, comprised of approximately 155 liquefied gas, offshore, and conventional tanker assets. With offices in 12 countries and approximately 5,600 seagoing and shore-based employees, Teekay provides a comprehensive set of marine services to the world’s leading oil and gas companies.

Teekay’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange where it trades under the symbol “TK”.

For Investor Relations enquiries contact:
Ryan Hamilton
Tel: +1 (604) 609-2963
Website: www.teekay.com

Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) which reflect management’s current views with respect to certain future events and performance, including statements, among other things, regarding: the Teekay Group’s financial position and the expected growth in its cash flows; the anticipated strengthening of the global tanker market in the second half of 2019 and 2020; the Teekay Group's ability to build equity value in each of its companies; the amount of forward fixed-rate revenues in Teekay LNG; the compelling value of Teekay LNG; the ability of Teekay LNG to delever its balance sheet and create additional value through its common unit buyback program; the timing of newbuilding vessel and project deliveries, and the commencement of related contracts; the effect of Teekay Tankers’ recently completed financing transactions on its liquidity position; the amount of Free Cash Flow per share generated by Teekay Tankers at mid-cycle tanker rates; the anticipated increase in cash flows and tanker asset values from an expected upturn in the tanker market; the value, timing and ability to monetize the IDRs of Teekay LNG and its impact on Teekay LNG’s future cost of capital; future cash flows and valuations of Teekay’s FPSO units; efforts to amend or extend the associated contracts or potentially sell the FPSO units; and the expected reduction in the Teekay Group’s G&A’s expenses going forward. The following factors are among those that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, and that should be considered in evaluating any such statement: market or counterparty reaction to changes in exploration, production and storage of offshore oil and gas, either generally or in particular regions that would impact expected future growth; changes in the demand for oil, refined products, LNG or LPG; changes in trading patterns significantly affecting overall vessel tonnage requirements; greater or less than anticipated levels of vessel newbuilding orders and deliveries and greater or less than anticipated rates of vessel scrapping; changes in global oil prices; issues with vessel operations; potential shipyard and project construction delays, newbuilding specification changes or cost overruns; deliveries of vessels under charter contracts and the commencement thereof; changes in applicable industry laws and regulations and the timing of implementation of new laws and regulations; the effects of IMO 2020; the potential for early termination of long-term contracts of existing vessels; higher than expected costs and expenses; general market conditions and trends, including spot, multi-month and multi-year charter rates; inability of charterers to make future charter payments; the inability to renew or replace long-term contracts on existing vessels; potential lack of cash flow to reduce balance sheet leverage; the amount of Teekay LNG’s capital available to allocate to its unitholders; the timing of and/or potential inability to agree on an upfront monetization of the IDRs; delays in the commencement of charter or other contracts; the ability to fund remaining capital commitments and debt maturities; and other factors discussed in Teekay’s filings from time to time with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018. Teekay expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Teekay’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Definitions and Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release includes a financial measure that is a non-GAAP financial measure as defined under the rules of the SEC. This non-GAAP financial measure, Free Cash Flow, is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered substitutes for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, this measure does not have standardized definitions across companies, and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. This non-GAAP measure is used by management, and Teekay Tankers believes that this supplemental metric assists investors and other users of its financial reports in comparing financial and operating performance of Teekay Tankers across reporting periods and with other companies.

Free cash flow (FCF) represents Teekay Tankers’ net income (loss), plus depreciation and amortization, unrealized losses from derivatives, certain non-cash items, loss on sales of vessels, equity loss from the equity-accounted for investments, and any write-offs or other non-recurring items, less unrealized gains from derivatives, equity income from the equity-accounted for investments, gain on sales of vessels and certain other non-cash items. Teekay Tankers also includes FCF from equity-accounted for investments as a component of its FCF. FCF from the equity-accounted for investments represents Teekay Tankers’ proportionate share of FCF from its equity-accounted for investments. Teekay Tankers does not control its equity-accounted for investments, and as a result, the Company does not have the unilateral ability to determine whether the cash generated by its equity-accounted for investments is retained within the entity in which Teekay Tankers holds the equity-accounted for investment or distributed to Teekay Tankers and other owners. In addition, Teekay Tankers does not control the timing of such distributions to Teekay Tankers and other owners. Consequently, readers are cautioned when using FCF as a liquidity measure as the amount contributed from FCF from the equity-accounted for investments may not be available to Teekay Tankers in the periods such FCF is generated by the equity-accounted for investments. FCF is a non-GAAP financial measure used by certain investors and management to evaluate Teekay Tankers’ financial and operating performance and to assess Teekay Tankers’ ability to generate cash sufficient to repay debt, pay dividends and undertake capital and dry dock expenditures.