DOHA: Qatar Navigation (Milaha) posted a 4 percent rise in net profit to QR365m for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 compared to QR349m in the corresponding period of last year.
The company’s operating revenues jumped by 12 percent to QR786m in the first quarter of 2015 against QR699m for the same period in 2014. The operating profit stood at QR279m against QR273m for the same period in 2014, showing an increase of 2 percent. Earnings per share increased to QR3.21 in the first quarter compared to QR3.08 for the same period in 2014.
“We are very pleased to have started 2015 so strongly overall,” said Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of Milaha. “And while we hope to maintain the momentum, we know that general market conditions for our offshore segment are weakening, and that our capital segment is heavily tied to uncertainties in the local equity market. It will be a challenging year,” he said.
“The core businesses have done extremely well to take advantage of favourable market conditions where possible, while also maintaining strong cost discipline,” said Khalifa Ali Al Hetmi, President and CEO of Milaha.
Strong year on year growth in the core businesses more than offset a decline in the returns from Milaha’s investment portfolio. Each of Milaha’s core segments — Maritime & Logistics, Gas & Petrochem and Offshore —improved their combined bottom line by 71 percent relative to Q1 (first quarter) of 2014.
Continued strong growth in trade volumes, driven by the ramp up in project activity in Qatar, resulted in a 25 percent increase in revenue and 175 percent increase in net profit for Milaha Maritime & Logistics, with a positive impact on Port Services and Container Shipping units in particular.
Milaha Gas & Petrochem’s revenue grew by 39 percent and its net profit by 45 percdnt, on the back of stronger performance in its fully owned and operated product tanker and gas carriers, as well as higher VLGC rates relative to Q1 2014. In addition, the segment benefited from the full year effect of 19 harbour vessels, some of which were received through mid-year 2014.
Milaha Offshore improved significantly from Q1 2014 despite weaker market conditions driven by the steep decline in oil prices and the cutbacks on capital spending by oil majors in the region and beyond.
The actively managed investment portfolio of Milaha Capital, despite outperforming the Qatar Exchange index, was negatively impacted by the volatility in Qatar’s equities market in the first quarter, driving a 31 percent decrease in the segment’s net profit.
