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Hafnia Limited (HAFNI.OL)
Energy · Product tankers (Hafnia) · LTM Q1 2026
Analysis date: 2026-07-07
Price at analysis: $64.70
Method: mttssn_streamlined_v1
Conviction: MEDIUM
HOLD
Conviction: MEDIUM
The largest product-tanker owner printing war-spiked numbers: LTM adjusted ROIC 13.2% and +USD 169M economic profit, but Q1 2026's 65% EBIT margin reflects the Hormuz closure, not a run-rate. At NOK 64.7 the price sits between reversion value (~NOK 53) and pre-war cycle value (~NOK 79), just under fleet steel value. Cyclical peak — buy weakness, not the spike. HOLD.
Adj. ROIC
13.2%
WACC 8% → spread +5.2pp
Economic Profit
+$169M
+USD 169M LTM at 8% WACC; peak-influenced (FY2025 anchor ~USD 58M)
FCF Yield
n/a
LTM USD 454M; low-capex phase, funds 80% payout
Price / Target
NOK 65 → NOK 72
+11% base; HOLD
Revenue (LTM)
$1,019.6B
LTM TCE USD 1.02B; Q1 +29% YoY on war spike
EBIT Margin
46.8%
Adj EBIT 42% of TCE; Q1 alone 65% — cycle-peak, not run-rate
EV / IC
n/a
Enterprise value / invested capital
Net Debt
n/a
USD 790M; net LTV 20.2%, equity ratio 63%
Thesis

Hafnia owns and operates 109 product tankers (LR2/LR1/MR/Handy) plus pool and fee businesses. LTM adjusted NOPAT of USD 430M on USD 3.26B invested capital gives 13.2% ROIC and +USD 169M economic profit at an 8% WACC — but the LTM window absorbs the March 2026 Persian Gulf war and Strait of Hormuz closure, which spiked tonne-mile demand and drove Q1 EBIT margin on TCE to 64.6% versus 34.5% a year earlier.

The company's own FY2025-anchored profile — roughly 10.8% ROIC and USD 58M EP — is the better through-cycle read, and even that captures a firm freight market. Management is explicit: Q2 2026 is 73% covered at USD 46,600/day (well above Q1's 30,327 average), yet the outlook is framed as 'highly uncertain,' with the IEA projecting the first annual oil-demand decline since COVID and rate risk in both directions as the Strait reopens and ballast tonnage repositions.

What supports the floor: distributions (80% payout, USD 0.2877/share declared for Q1), vessel sales realising residual value at gains (USD 44.8M LTM, normalised out of our EBIT), net LTV of 20.2%, and a broker fleet value of USD 4.1B including JV share against an enterprise value near USD 3.8B. The potential TORM combination (Hafnia already holds a stake carried at USD 408M) is live strategic optionality — and integration risk.

Valuation · reverse-DCF & scenarios

Reverse-EP brackets, bridged from USD reporting to NOK listing at the pipeline's injected conversion: capitalising peak LTM NOPAT at zero growth gives ~NOK 99 — not credible as a base. The FY2025-anchored adjusted NOPAT (~USD 356M) capitalised at 8% gives ~NOK 79; full reversion to ROIC = WACC leaves ex-OCI book at ~NOK 53. The NOK 64.7 price sits inside the band, and EV is slightly below the USD 4.1B broker fleet valuation — the market is already discounting substantial normalisation.

Base NOK 72 (+11%): rates fade toward, then slightly below, FY2025 levels — shaded under the NOK 79 anchor because FY2025 itself was a strong rate year. Bull NOK 95 (+47%): prolonged Hormuz dislocation plus a multi-quarter inventory-rebuild cycle holds rates near current levels into 2027. Bear NOK 53 (−18%): the Strait reopens, rates mean-revert hard, EP compresses to zero and the equity settles at book.

Market-implied growth
≥-50.0%
model ceiling — EV implies more than constant-ROIC sustains
No-growth value / share
$12,297
19006% of price; rest = priced-in growth
ROIC − WACC
+5.2 pp
ROIC 13.2% vs WACC 8.0% — positive = value creation
CAP (priced-in)
0.0 yrs
years of excess returns the price implies (fades to WACC)

At today’s enterprise value the constant-ROIC reverse-DCF maxes out: even at its sustainable-growth ceiling (~-50.0%, limited by ROIC 13% ≈ WACC 8%) it cannot reach the current EV. No-growth value is $12,297/share (19006% of price); the market prices in growth and/or a higher ROIC than booked — richly valued on this lens. Read the sensitivity grid.

Scenario24m targetImpl. gUpsideProb.Driver
Bull$95≥-50%+47%25%Hormuz dislocation + inventory rebuild hold rates into 2027
Base$72≥-50%+11%45%Rates fade toward FY2025 levels; shaded for cycle
Bear$53≥-50%-18%30%Strait reopens, rates revert; EP to zero, ex-OCI book
Prob-weighted$72+11%100%Scenario-weighted expected value

Sensitivity — fair value / share at WACC × growth

WACC \ g0%3%5%8%10%15%
6.50%16,64718,16419,24420,97322,20025,545
7.25%14,13115,26816,07117,34318,23820,643
8.00% (base)12,29713,16313,76714,71515,37317,110
8.75%10,90011,56412,02112,72613,20814,450
9.50%9,80010,30810,65111,17111,51912,383

Green = fair value above the current price of $64.70. The reverse-DCF conclusion is dominated by WACC and growth — see the whole surface, not a single fair value.

Method & data. NOPAT $430,107, invested capital and ROIC 13.2% are observed (adjustments.json); WACC 8.0% and terminal g 2.5% are assumptions. EV→equity uses net debt $8,515. The model holds ROIC constant (no fade) over the explicit horizon; the CAP figure instead fades excess returns to WACC.

⤓ Download the full model (.xlsx) — formula-driven sheets; flex the blue input cells and the model cascades in Excel.

Key drivers

1. War-driven rate spike

Hormuz closure rerouted trade flows; Q2 2026 already 73% covered at $46,600/day, above Q1's average.

2. Inventory rebuild cycle

IEA cumulative stock deficit ~900mb by Sep 2026; restocking could support tanker demand for years.

3. Capital returns

80% payout ratio, quarterly dividends ($143.8M for Q1) plus treasury-share cancellation.

4. Supply discipline

Aging global fleet, growing sanctioned tonnage and LR2s leaking to crude trades tighten effective supply.

5. Fleet value realisation

Vessel sales at gains ($44.8M LTM); unencumbered vessels worth $1.1B give balance-sheet flexibility.

Key risks
Conclusion

Hafnia is a well-run, conservatively levered product-tanker owner whose current numbers are flattered by a war premium the company itself will not extrapolate. The 13.2% LTM ROIC and +USD 169M EP are real cash — funding an 80% payout — but the through-cycle anchor is nearer the FY2025 profile, and the price already sits between reversion and pre-war-cycle value. HOLD, medium conviction; base NOK 72 (+11%).

The setup to act on is weakness: toward the high-NOK 50s the price approaches ex-OCI book with fleet steel value above EV, and the payout does the waiting. Chasing the spike at cycle-high rates is the error the cyclical_peak rule exists to prevent.

Footnote evidence & sources

Every adjustment traces to the cited note/page in the source filing — click to open it there. Annual report / 10-K: 📄 open  ·  Latest interim: 📄 open

Adjustment / figureValueSourceWhy mttssn treats it this way
TCE income (net revenue) — Q1 2026282,495Condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income, p.11 📄 p.11Net revenue after voyage expenses and pool distributions; used as the LTM revenue build block for the quarter added.
TCE income (net revenue) — Q1 2025 comparative218,751Condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income, p.11 (comparative column) 📄 p.11Same-period-prior-year comparative used to subtract out of the FY2025 anchor for the LTM bridge.
Operating profit (reported EBIT) — Q1 2026182,503Condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income, p.11 📄 p.11Company-reported operating profit for the quarter added into the LTM EBIT bridge.
Operating profit (reported EBIT) — Q1 2025 comparative75,463Condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income, p.11 (comparative column) 📄 p.11Same-period-prior-year comparative subtracted out of the FY2025 anchor.
Gain on disposal of assets — Q1 202632,526Condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income, p.11 📄 p.11Vessel-sale gain (LR1/MR vessels held for sale) normalised out of adjusted EBIT as non-operating.
Gain on disposal of assets — FY2025 anchor12,236Consolidated statement of comprehensive income, p.F-6 📄 p.189FY2025 disposal gain component of the LTM normalisation total of $44.8m.
Income tax expense — Q1 2026788Condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income, p.11 📄 p.11LTM effective tax rate build (tonnage-tax regime): LTM tax 1,864 / LTM pretax income 458,086 = 0.41%.
Total shareholders' equity — Q1 2026 snapshot2,541,404Condensed consolidated balance sheet, p.12 📄 p.12Latest-interim IC snapshot base, before OCI stripping and NCI check (none present).
Total borrowings — Q1 2026 snapshot1,025,529Condensed consolidated balance sheet, p.12 (non-current 779,504 + current 246,025); confirmed vs Note 2 Borrowings total 1,025,529 📄 p.12Interest-bearing debt component of invested capital.
Cash and equivalents — Q1 2026 snapshot235,263Condensed consolidated balance sheet, p.12 (cash at bank 146,457 + pool cash 88,806) 📄 p.12Excess cash above 2% of LTM revenue is removed from invested capital.
Accumulated OCI reserves — Q1 2026 snapshot93,158Condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity, p.13 (translation 109 + hedging 8,140 + fair value 84,909) 📄 p.13FX, hedge and fair-value (FVOCI equity investment) reserves are non-operating; stripped so invested capital reflects deployed operating capital. Large swing vs FY2025 driven by the TORM FVOCI fair-value gain.
Right-of-use vessel assets — Q1 2026 snapshot36,549Condensed consolidated balance sheet, p.12 📄 p.12Immaterial (~1.6%) vs owned vessels + dry-docking of 2,267,659, so lease liabilities remain excluded from invested capital.
Adjusted EBITDA — Q1 2026 (company APM)198,621Key figures table p.10; defined in Note 9: Non-IFRS measures, p.35 📄 p.10Company's own non-IFRS operating profitability measure; used with trailing Q2 2025-Q1 2026 quarterly Adjusted EBITDA ($633.0m) less LTM D&A ($200.6m) to sanity-check our LTM adjusted EBIT of $431.9m (divergence 0.13%).
Free cash flow — Q1 2026106,899Condensed consolidated statement of cash flows, p.14 (operating 127,684 - capex 20,785) 📄 p.14Quarter added into the LTM FCF bridge (LTM FCF $453.6m).
Dividend declared — Q1 20260.288Highlights — Q1 2026, p.6 📄 p.6USD 0.2877/share, 80% payout ratio; confirms continued distribution policy.
Analysis history

How the mttssn view has evolved — each prior dated note is preserved.

Quality · Buffett tenets8 / 15
Understandable business
Pure-play product tankers: 109 owned vessels, transparent TCE-per-day economics (Q1 avg $30,327/day), long operating record
Durable moat
Commodity shipping with no pricing power; scale, pool platform and fee income ($7.8M in Q1) mitigate but do not protect returns
Management & capital allocation
80% payout policy ($143.8M Q1 dividend), vessel sales realising $44.8M LTM gains, net LTV 20.2%; disciplined, but TORM combination is an open strategic call
Financial strength & returns
Adj ROIC 13.2% vs 8% WACC, equity ratio 63%, net debt $790M; spread is real but entirely rate-cycle-dependent
Valuation margin of safety
NOK 64.7 sits above EP-to-zero reversion value (~NOK 53); cushion exists only if FY2025-level rates prove through-cycle