Qatar’s Nakilat posts higher H1 profit

Qatar’s Nakilat, the world’s largest LNG shipper, said its net profit rose 2 percent in the first half of this year as compared to the same period a year ago.

The LNG shipping giant posted a net profit of 501 million riyals (US$138m) for the first half, compared to 491 million riyals in 2015.

Earnings per Share (EPS) amounted to 0.90 riyals versus 0.89 riyals for the same period of the previous year.

Nakilat said in a statement on Wednesday the increase in its profits reflects the “strong growth of Nakilat’s operating activities in transporting LNG, and better performance of its LPG vessels”.

However, Nakilat’s net profit in the second quarter of 2016 dropped 2.8 percent on year to 260.3 million riyals, LNG World News calculations based on previous Nakilat’s financial reports showed.

Nakilat’s fleet of 67 wholly- and jointly-owned LNG and four LPG vessels comprises one of the world’s largest gas fleets.

The LNG vessels represent a total investment of approximately $11 billion and have a combined carrying capacity of over 8.5 million cubic meters or 15% of the world capacity, according to Nakilat’s website.

1 Qatar riyal = 0.274639 U.S. dollars

LNG World News Staff