Saudi Arabian shipping giant Bahri saw profits increase by more than 400% in 2022, built on a boom in tanker rates.
Bahri, the National Shipping Co of Saudi Arabia, reported improvements across the board — but particularly in the oil and chemical tanker sectors of the business.
The company — a joint venture between the country’s sovereign wealth fund and oil major Saudi Aramco — reported net profit in 2022 of SAR 1.04bn ($278m) in the year ending 31 December.
That represented an increase of 440% on the previous year, the company reported. It added that it also tapped into surging asset prices, with sales of SAR 160m over the year as part of a fleet-renewal programme.
Bahri has a fleet of 95 ships with more on order. It includes 40 VLCCs and 40 chemical and product tankers, according to its website. It also has six multipurpose vessels and nine dry bulk carriers.
Rate surge
It said the increase in revenues was owing to the “improvement in shipping rates and the increase in shipping operations as well as the additions of new vessels” to the fleet.
The company said more than half of the annual net profits came in the fourth quarter, which saw a surge in net profits to SAR 578m — an increase of 528% from the final quarter of 2021.
Rates for VLCCs surged in the final quarter as China — the world’s largest importer of crude — started to emerge from Covid-19 lockdowns and owners benefited from volatile oil prices linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Time charter equivalent rates hit more than $75,000 per day in November — the highest figure for more than two years, according to the Baltic Exchange. VLCC earnings were in negative territory for virtually the whole of 2021.
