Stena Finance

Summary of 2024

Stena Finance is the Group’s central finance department and has its headquarters in Göteborg. The company is responsible for the Stena Group’s financing and liquidity planning, as well as managing the operational business units’ financial risks in the fixed income, currency and oil markets, and managing the Group’s financial investments.

The recession that has characterised the global economy in recent years largely subsided during the year. Inflation slowed and the relatively high interest rate situation dipped slightly. As a result, the Stena Group’s financial performance in 2024 was good, and the Group’s operating companies performed well overall. Although there were challenges, these were offset by high rates for both tankers and drilling rigs. This development boosted the capital market’s confidence in Stena, resulting in financing being possible on competitive terms.

The right financing mix

As Stena is a capital-intensive company with operations in volatile markets, financing and liquidity planning are of utmost importance. Stena Finance has focused on maintaining a good mix of financing, where interest rates, loan-to-value ratio and maturity are in balance and refinancing risks are a priority. During the year, Stena Finance handled a number of major maturities, including the refinancing of two major bond loans, and thus the maturities of these bond loans could be extended to 2031. This means that the refinancing risk has been virtually eliminated for the next five years. The next major maturity is a revolving credit facility that will mature at the end of 2027. Lenders in the form of banks and investors in the bond markets increasingly consider sustainability aspects in lending and investment decisions, which can affect access to financing. The companies’ work on energy efficiency and extensive technical expertise with a strong focus on technology to reduce carbon emissions, is therefore important in order to secure access to financing sources going forward.

Good liquidity

The Group has good liquidity in the form of credit facilities, liquid assets and financial investments. This means the maturity of liabilities can always be managed and that Stena can act opportunistically when opportunities for investment arise. Available liquidity rose to over SEK 20 billion in the context of the pandemic. However, the extraordinary credit facilities that were taken out at the time were phased out early in 2024, as they were no longer deemed necessary as the outside world had stabilised, despite relatively widespread geopolitical unrest. Available liquidity of SEK 15–18 billion is now considered reasonable and as of 31 December 2024, liquidity amounted to SEK 17.8 billion.

Good return on portfolio

In order to primarily cover the costs of the liquidity that is kept available, Stena Finance manages a securities portfolio of approximately SEK 6 billion consisting of shares, bonds and fund units. The performance of the securities portfolio in 2024 was good, generating a return of 13 per cent.