The fourth quarter of 2019 marked a return to profitability for Teekay, as we recorded consolidated adjusted net income of $31 million or $0.31 per share compared to an adjusted net loss of $2 million or $0.02 per share in the same period of the prior year.
We also generated total adjusted EBITDA of $324 million, an increase of $113 million or 53% from the same period in the prior year, excluding the contribution from Teekay Offshore which we sold in May of 2019.
In addition, we narrowed our consolidated adjusted net loss in the fiscal year 2019 to $19 million from $53 million in 2018 and we continue to expect 2020 to be a profitable year.
Teekay Parent generated positive adjusted EBITDA of $14 million in the fourth quarter, which includes EBITDA from our directly owned assets and cash distributions from our publicly traded daughter entities.
Our results were up compared to the fourth quarter of 2018, mainly as a result of lower interest expense due to bond repurchases over the past year and our bond refinancing completed in May 2019, higher contributions from the Banff and Hummingbird Spirit FPSO units, a 36% increase in TGP's quarterly cash distribution and lower G&A expenses.
On the balance sheet side, in January 2020, Teekay Parent eliminated $52 million of debt guarantees previously provided to Teekay Tankers as a result of their $533 million refinancing completed during that month and we fully repaid the remaining balance on our 2020 unsecured bond with cash.
On the gas side we have significant declines in LNG prices in Asia and Europe with Asia reaching levels below $3 per MMBTU, primarily due to the coronavirus outbreak and milder winter weather, which has put pressure on spot LNG shipping rates.
On the Tanker side, crude spot tanker rates reached the highest level since 2008 due to positive underlying tanker supply and demand fundamentals, normal winter seasonality, as well as one-off events such as US sanctions on COSCO that removed 26 VLCCs from the trading fleet, floating storage ahead of the implementation of IMO 2020 and the removal of vessels from the global trading fleet to retrofit scrubbers.
Looking ahead, we believe the medium-term fundamentals remain intact with a record year in 2019 for new LNG projects reaching final investment decision that are expected to start up in 2022 onwards, and long-term demand for LNG expected to rise by 4% to 5% per year to 2030, as LNG continues to displace coal.
We have provided a graph of our annual total adjusted EBITDA over the past three years that adjusted for our sale of Teekay Offshore has increased by 66% since 2017, primarily underpinned by our stable and growing cash flows from our gas business that have increased by 52% during this time.
We expect our total adjusted EBITDA to continue to grow in 2020 with our gas cash flows expected to grow another 10% to 14% in 2020 compared to 2019 and a full year of potentially stronger earnings from our tanker business.
Our FPSO results improved significantly in the fourth quarter as the units ramped up production, following plant maintenance in the third quarter and the recognition of approximately $8 million in operational tariff revenues from the Foinaven, which is typically recognized in the fourth quarter of each year.
Teekay LNG Partners report a strong fourth quarter and fiscal 2019 results that were within its guidance, generating total adjusted EBITDA of $184 million and adjusted net income of $50 million or $0.56 per unit, up significantly during the quarter compared to the same period of the prior year as growth projects continued to drive higher earnings and cash flows.
We expect these results to continue to grow in 2020 with adjusted earnings per unit expected to be 45% to 73% higher than 2019.
Teekay LNG has reached an important milestone with the completion of its growth program, with the delivery of its fifth and sixth 50% ARC7 LNG carrier newbuilding for the Yamal LNG project, which immediately commenced their respective 26-year charter contracts, as well as its 30% owned Bahrain regas terminal completed mechanical construction and commissioning, and began receiving revenues in early January.
Also in early January, Awilco LNG fulfilled its obligation to repurchase two of TGP's LNG carriers, resulting in receipt of over $260 million in cash that was used to delever its balance sheet and increased its liquidity by over $100 million.
Additionally, Teekay LNG continues to execute on its balanced capital allocation strategy, which includes prioritizing balance sheet delevering for now and second consecutive year of over 30% increase in quarterly cash distributions with a 32% increase commencing in May 2020.
As outlined on the graph on the far right, this approach has allowed for significant delevering from a proportionate net debt to total adjusted EBITDA of 9.1 times in 2018 to 6.4 times based on our Q4 '19 annualized results, pro forma for the Awilco transaction that I touched on earlier.
This is creating significant equity value for all Teekay LNG unitholders with more to come as Teekay LNG approaches its target leverage of around 4.5 to 5.5 times and which is expected to result in significantly increased financial flexibility.
Lastly, since December 2018, TGP has opportunistically repurchased 3.5% of its outstanding common units at an average repurchase price of $12.85 per unit.
Teekay Tankers reported record high adjusted net income in the fourth quarter, generating total adjusted EBITDA of $132 million, up from $62 million in the same period of the prior year and adjusted net income of $83 million, or $2.47 per share, in the fourth quarter, an improvement from $14 million or $0.42 per share in the same period of the prior year.
TNK's results were driven by stronger spot tanker rates which reached the highest levels since 2008.
This strength continued into the first quarter of 2020 and I'm pleased to report that the tanker rates we have secured so far in Q1 are even higher with 77% of Q1 Suezmax days fixed at $51,700 per day and 63% of Q1 Aframax and LR2 days fixed at $38,600 per day compared to $39,100 and $33,000 per day in the fourth quarter, respectively.
On an annualized basis, the rates that we achieved in the fourth quarter of 2019 would translate to over $320 million of free cash flow or over $9.50 per share.
This is compelling relative to TNK's closing share price yesterday of $12.66 per share and equates to a free cash flow yield of 75%.

Summary:
The fourth quarter of 2019 marked a return to profitability for Teekay, as we recorded consolidated adjusted net income of $31 million or $0.31 per share compared to an adjusted net loss of $2 million or $0.02 per share in the same period of the prior year.