Qatari shipowner Nakilat has increased its profits while honing its expenses in the first three months of 2021.
Nakilat posted a 14.5% rise in first-quarter profit, which jumped to QAR 320.1m ($87.9m) in the period from QAR 279.5m in the first three months of 2020.
Revenue for the quarter ending 31 March slipped slightly to QAR 1.01bn, from QAR 1.02bn a year earlier.
The company said in its presentation that this was mainly due to one less day of trading in the period, since 2020 was a leap year.
Nakilat said that overall, its expenses for the quarter decreased by 7.5%.
The company said operating expenses fell by 4.1% to QAR 181.9m from QAR 189.6m in the same quarter of 2020 due to cost saving initiatives.
General and administrative expenses were down 28.1% at QAR 22m from QAR 30.5m.
Depreciation and finance charges were also lower.
Nakilat said Covid-19 did not have any major negative financial impact on its first-quarter performance.
The company said its “defensive and solid business model provides the flexibility to navigate sustainably through volatile markets”.
In February, TradeWinds reported that Nakilat had locked away the remaining three of four speculatively ordered LNG carriers to Cheniere Energy. The first vessel was seen fixed to Shell.
Two of the quartet are already trading with the remaining pair scheduled for handover in October and January 2022.
Nakilat, whose group companies cover ship repair, offshore fabrication, towage and other maritime services, controls a fleet of 74 vessels. That includes 69 LNG carriers, counting two ships under construction. The company also has four LPG carriers and a floating storage and regasification unit.
