Milaha’s Profit Rises by 11 Pct in First Half of 2018

Qatar Navigation (Milaha) saw its net profit increase by 11 percent during the first half of 2018.

The company delivered a net profit of QAR 297 million in the six-month period ended June 30, 2018, against a net profit of QAR 267 million reported in the same period in 2017.

Operating revenues for the first half were at QAR 1.25 billion, rising from QAR 1.15 billion seen a year earlier, while operating profit increased to QAR 258 million from QAR 170 million recorded in the six months ended June 30, 2017.

The increase was driven mainly by the company’s maritime and logistics business on the back of higher volumes at Hamad Port and new shipping routes in the company’s container shipping unit. Due to these developments, Milaha’s maritime and logistics arm reported a surge of QAR 82 million in revenue and QAR 36 million in net profit.

The company’s gas and petrochem business saw a rise of QAR 5 million in operating profit, however, the overall net profit plunged by QAR 145 million due to vessel impairments.

Milaha Offshore’s bottom line increased by QAR 9 million due to increase in vessel utilization rates and overall improvement in the offshore sector, while Milaha Capital’s profits increased by QAR 138 million mainly due to improved returns from the financial investments portfolio. Milaha Trading’s net profit declined by QAR 9 million as a result of lower heavy equipment sales.