Capital Product Partners L.P. Announces First Quarter Financial Results and Increases Cash Distribution

ATHENS, Greece, Apr 30, 2008 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Capital Product Partners L.P. (Nasdaq:CPLP), an international owner of modern double-hull tankers, today released its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008 and announced that its Board of Directors has declared a cash distribution of $0.40 per unit.

Net income for the quarter was $9.5 million. The reported results reflect the consolidation of M/T Amore Mio II, which was acquired on March 27, 2008, for the full quarter, as the transaction was between two entities under common control. If M/T Amore Mio II had not been consolidated for the period that it was not owned by the Partnership, net income would have been $8.0 million, or $0.35 per limited partnership unit.

The Partnership generated an operating surplus for the quarter of $10.2 million. Operating surplus is a non-GAAP financial measure used by certain investors to measure the financial performance of the Partnership and other master limited partnerships. (Please see Appendix A for a reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure to net income.)

Gross revenues for the first quarter were $27.1 million, of which $333,000 were profit sharing revenues, a lower contribution than in previous quarters. Total operating expenses were $6.5 million, including $5.2 million in fees for the commercial and technical management of the fleet paid to a subsidiary of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. (Capital Maritime), the Partnership's sponsor, and $0.7 million in general and administrative expenses. Net interest expense and finance cost for the quarter was $5.2 million.

Ioannis Lazaridis, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Capital Product Partners' general partner, said, "During the first quarter we maintained a high level of operating surplus and increased our distribution further even though we have 2.55 million additional units outstanding following the acquisitions of Amore Mio II in late March and Aristofanis today. The Amore Mio II made an insignificant contribution to the quarter's earnings, as the acquisition was made on March 27. We continue to benefit from the stability of our cash flows due to our medium- to long-term charter agreements, our 5-year fixed-rate management agreement with a subsidiary of Capital Maritime and the accretive acquisitions from our sponsor."

Inquiries about and rates for long-period charters remained solid in the medium-range (MR) product tanker segment during the first quarter, and asset prices held firm at record-high levels. However, the clean product spot market remained relatively subdued during most of the first quarter, as a result of softening U.S. gasoline demand and lower refining margins due to persistent high oil prices.

Mr. Lazaridis added, "So far this year, Capital Product Partners has made excellent strategic progress. We secured a new $350 million 5-year non-amortizing credit facility, which will enable us to continue to fund accretive transactions over the next couple of years. We also took successful delivery of Alexandros II, an MR product tanker, from Capital Maritime and have completed the 'drop-down' acquisition of two more tankers that are expected to add approximately $0.08 per unit to our annual operating surplus."

The Partnership's long-term debt as of March 31, 2008 was $368.5 million and stockholders' equity was $181.8 million. The balance sheet remains strong, with a modest debt level relative to the market value of the Partnership's vessels. Currently, the Partnership's remaining undrawn capacity under its credit facilities stands at approximately $340 million.

The Board of Directors has declared a cash distribution for the first quarter of $0.40 per unit, an increase from the previous cash distribution of $0.395 per unit, and 7 percent greater than the Partnership's minimum quarterly distribution. The cash distribution will be paid on May 15, 2008, to unit holders of record on May 7, 2008. Distributions will be paid on the additional units issued in connection with the acquisitions of the Amore Mio II and Aristofanis. As a result, after reserving $2.6 million for replacement capital expenditures, all available cash generated during the quarter will be distributed.

Capital Maritime currently owns 31 modern tankers of different sizes. The Partnership has a right of first refusal on six MR product tankers from Capital Maritime if medium- to long-term charters are arranged for them. Twenty-three of Capital Maritime's vessels are handy/small product tankers, all of which are currently under construction and expected to be delivered between 2008 and 2010.

Mr. Lazaridis concluded, "With our modern, high-quality fleet and unique relationship with our sponsor, Capital Product Partners is well-positioned to capitalize on the tanker industry's long-term growth dynamics and to deliver continued steady growth in cash distributions to our unit holders."

Capital Product Partners will host a conference call to discuss its results today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The public is invited to listen to the conference call by dialing 1-888-935-4577 (U.S. and Canada), or +1 718-354-1389 (international); reference number 7087848. Participants should dial in 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. The slide presentation accompanying the conference call will be available on the Partnership's website at http://www.capitalpplp.com. An audio webcast of the conference call will also be accessible on the website. The relevant links will be found in the Investor Relations section of the website.

About Capital Product Partners L.P.
Capital Product Partners L.P. (Nasdaq:CPLP), a Marshall Islands master limited partnership, is an international owner of modern double-hull tankers. Following the acquisition of the M/T Aristofanis, Capital Product Partners L.P. owns 16 vessels, including 13 modern MR tankers, two small product tankers and one Suezmax crude oil tanker and has agreements to purchase two additional product tankers from Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. All 18 vessels are under medium to long-term charters to BP Shipping Limited, Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc., Overseas Shipholding Group, Shell International Trading & Shipping Company Ltd., and Trafigura Beheer B.V.

Capital Product Partners L.P. press release