Qatari LNG shipping giant Nakilat has grown its earnings visibility to 1,464 years of charters if all the optional hire periods are included for its rapidly expanding fleet.
The company has earning visibility of 879 years of firm contract backlog, plus an additional 585 years of optional periods for its wholly owned vessels, it said in a third-quarter results presentation.
The presentation detailed Nakilat is sitting on an orderbook of 36 LNG carriers — 27 vessels of 174,000 cbm plus a further nine QC-Max ships of 271,000 cbm and four 88,000-cbm very large LPG/ammonia carriers.
All but two of the LNG carriers have been contracted under long-term charters with domestic producer QatarEnergy as part of its huge LNG shipbuilding project.
Nakilat currently controls 69 LNG carriers, four LPG vessels and one floating storage and regasification unit, along with shipyard and marine services assets.
The company said its fleet will reach 114 vessels when all the newbuildings are delivered.
Nakilat unveiled a 7.2% hike in net profit for the first nine months of this year, which was up at QAR 1.3bn ($357.5m) compared with QAR 1.2bn in the same period last year.
The company said the rise was mainly driven by higher revenue from wholly owned vessels, along with lower depreciation and finance costs.
Total income for the first three quarters was slightly lower, down 0.4% at $3.4bn compared with $3.5bn in the same nine-month period last year.
Nakilat said this was due to reduced income from its LPG vessels and shipyard joint venture, and lower interest and other income resulting from investment in its newbuilding programme, plus the introduction of an interim dividend.
The company said it is continuing to strengthen its position as one of the world’s largest LNG fleet owners through strategic partnerships and fleet modernisation.
Chief executive Abdullah Al-Sulaiti said: “Nakilat’s strong performance this quarter reflects our ongoing efforts to enhance operational efficiency.
“As the global demand for clean energy transportation continues to grow, we remain committed to driving innovation and pursuing long-term growth.”
Al-Sulaiti thanked the team at Nakilat for their “tremendous efforts in preparing for the implementation of the new fleet construction, which is considered the world’s largest programme for building LNG vessels for a single owner”.
The company said it continues to progress with its construction of advanced LNG carriers, as well as LPG and ammonia carriers, scheduled for delivery in the coming years. “These new vessels, along with Nakilat’s strategic long-term contracts, position the company to meet the growing global energy demands while increasing fleet efficiency,” the company added.
