Print
PDF
Two of the region’s leading shipping companies, Milaha and Bahri, have both recently released much improved results for the first half of the year.
Milaha delivered a net profit of QAR 651 million (US$ 179 million) for the first half of 2015, a 26 per cent increase in profitability compared to the first half of 2014, with operating revenues up by 22% per cent to QAR 1.51 billion (US$ 415 million.)
The Milaha Maritime & Logistics division saw its revenue grow by 27 per cent and net profit by 119 per cent, mainly driven by project activity in Qatar which increased trade volumes, benefitting the ports business. Milaha Gas & Petrochem’s revenue grew by 26 per cent and net profit by 29 per cent, on the back of stronger performance from its fully owned and operated product tankers and gas carriers, as well as investments in jointly-owned LNG carriers.
Milaha Offshore’s revenue was up by 41 per cent and net profit by 151 per cent, while Milaha Trading’s revenue grew by 24 per cent and net profit by 108 per cent on the back of strong equipment sales, driven largely by ongoing projects in Qatar. Despite outperforming the Qatar Exchange index, the performance of the actively traded investment portfolio of Milaha Capital experienced a decline, however, resulting in an 8 per cent drop in net profit in comparison to the same period in 2014.
The Saudi Arabia-based shipping company, Bahri, recorded net profits of SR 740.80 million (US$ 197.5 million) in the first six months of the year. This was 127 per cent higher than in the same period of 2014. The company attributes the improvement to the increase in the company’s VLCC fleet size from 17 to 31, and the addition of five product tankers, following the amalgamation with Vela Marine. In addition the company benefitted from improved time charter rates for tankers compared with 2014 levels.
