GasLog Ends 2018 with Record Earnings

Greece-based owner and operator of LNG carriers GasLog wrapped up 2018 with record annual and quarterly results, driven by strong spot earnings from the company’s vessels. 

Illustration; Image Courtesy: LNG Carriers/ Flickr-Kees Torn under CC BY-SA 2.0 license

The company’s profit increased to USD 126.4 million in 2018 from USD 84.2 million posted a year earlier.

In addition, revenues rose to USD 618.3 million in 2018 from USD 525.2 million seen in 2017.

During the fourth quarter of 2018, GasLog delivered a record profit of USD 30.4 million, compared to USD 29.7 million in the corresponding period of 2017. Revenues stood at USD 188.6 million in Q4 2018, against USD 135.8 million recorded in Q4 2017.

“GasLog delivered another set of record results in the fourth quarter of 2018 driven in large part by very strong earnings from our spot vessels against a backdrop of extreme tightness in the LNG shipping market. These spot earnings, combined with our fleet growth during the year, our strong operational performance and strict cost control, delivered record annual results,” Paul Wogan, Chief Executive Officer, commented.

In 2018, GasLog ordered a total of six new LNG carriers at South Korean Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard.

“During 2018, we continued to execute our growth strategy. We announced seven newbuild orders, six of which are committed to long-term charters, four with Cheniere and two with a wholly owned subsidiary of Centrica plc (“Centrica”),” he continued.

GasLog Partners issued over USD 320 million of new equity in 2018, of which over USD 200 million was recycled to GasLog. The equity recycled to GasLog and the company’s declining leverage mean that GasLog is well placed to fund the newbuild vessels under construction, as explained by the company.

During the year, the company took delivery of GasLog Houston, GasLog Hong Kong and GasLog Genoa and sold Methane Becki Anne.

What is more, the company achieved in Q4 the highest ever quarterly net pool performance from its vessels trading in the spot market under the LNG carrier pooling agreement following a significant increase in LNG shipping spot rates and utilization.

“While spot rates have recently moderated from fourth quarter peaks, in line with historical seasonal trends, we expect tightness in LNG shipping markets to return given forecast LNG supply growth through 2020 and relatively few uncommitted newbuild vessels delivering in that period,” Wogan said.

“As we look beyond 2020, additional shipping capacity will be required if consensus LNG demand and supply forecasts are realized. However, whilst we now believe that the LNG shipping market is heading towards a balanced state early next decade, the long-term secular growth of LNG supply and demand mean that, over the medium and long-term, GasLog will continue to serve a dynamic and growing industry,” Wogan concluded.