Milaha Reports Net Profit of QR 759 Million for Jan-Sept 2016

Doha, October 20 (QNA) - Qatar Navigation (Milaha) announced its financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2016. In a press release issued Wednesday, Milaha said that the net profit for that period amounted to QR 759 million, compared to QR 959 million for the same period in 2015. Earnings per share for Q3 is QR 6.68, compared to QR 8.44 for the same period last year the statement added. Operating revenues, meanwhile reached QR 1.99 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, compared to QR 2.30 billion for the same period in 2015. The statement sowed operating profit of QR 513 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, compared to QR 686 million for the same period in 2015. Milaha Maritime and Logistics' overall revenue declined by 13 percent, the statement said adding that Port Services unit continued to be negatively impacted by lower revenues from ancillary services, non-containerized general cargo, and RORO. In addition, despite growing market share and volumes, the container shipping unit was negatively impacted by rate pressure. The company's Gas and Petrochems revenue grew by 24 percent as a result of the full period impact of the investment in two LNG carriers made in the second half of 2015, according to the statement. Chairman of Milaha's Board of Directors HE Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al-Thani said, "Due to the weaker macroeconomic conditions and volatility in our core sectors, we continue to operate in a challenging environment. In the face of these difficult times, however, Milaha remains focused on investing for the future and pursuing the best growth opportunities domestically and internationally." For his part, Milaha's President and CEO Abdulrahman Essa Al Mannai said: "Shipping is experiencing some of the most difficult conditions we have seen since the financial crisis. Despite these difficulties and the drop in earnings relative to the same period last year, Milaha's net profit margin remains a healthy 38 percent" . Milaha was established in July 1957 as the first public shareholding company registered in Qatar. Its current activities include marine transportation in gas, petroleum products, containers and bulk, offshore support services, port management and operations, logistics services, shipyard, trading agencies, real estate investments, and asset management. (QNA)