Exmar has more than doubled its first-half profit as the Belgian gas carrier owner reaped the rewards of contracts in its LNG infrastructure business.
The Belgium-listed company, which majority shareholder and executive chairman Nicolas Saverys is proposing to take private, also revealed that it locked four newbuildings into long-term charters.
Exmar reported $21m in profit for the first six months of 2023, up from $9.6m in the same period of last year.
Revenue also surged, although how much depends on how the figures are measured.
Antwerp-headquartered Exmar’s management reported revenue of nearly $244m, up from $100m a year earlier, by using results from joint ventures in proportion to the company’s stake.
But under international reporting standards, the company’s revenue rose to $200m from $57.1m in the first half of 2022.
Key to the surge was Exmar’s infrastructure division, which saw revenue rise to $145m from $24.4m.
Exmar said that the figure included full employment of the 25,000-cbm floating storage and regasification unit Eemshaven LNG (built 2017), which is on a five-year charter with Dutch gas company Gasunie.
Also adding to the revenue was the 138,000-cbm LNG carrier Excalibur (built 2002), which is undergoing conversion to serve as floating storage for the Congo LNG project with Eni.
Engineering, procurement and conversion work for that LNG export project in Congo also bolstered the top line.
Exmar’s shipping revenue inched upward to $71.9m in the first half of this year from $69.8m a year earlier, with VLGCs performing well and midsize gas carriers experiencing a robust LPG market despite declining ammonia volumes.
Meanwhile, Exmar said struck deals to charter out its 40,000-cbm LPG carriers on order at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea.
The long-term deals include extension and purchase options.
The dual-fuel ships, which can run on LPG and conventional fuels, are scheduled to be delivered in 2026 and 2027.
Details of the charters were not revealed.
