Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat), one of the world's largest shippers of liquefied natural gas, posted a 13 per cent drop in fourth-quarter net profit on Tuesday.

The company made a fourth-quarter profit of 176.5 million Qatar riyals ($48.5 million), down from 203.3 million riyals a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations based on its financial statements.

QNB Financial Services had forecast Nakilat would make a quarterly profit of 201 million riyals.

Nakilat posted a 2013 net profit of QR729 million compared to a profit of QR765.5 million in 2012, it said.

The company blamed the full-year profit drop on a 25.7 million riyal loss from a joint venture's derivative instrument; it said the loss was for accounting purposes and "does not affect the economics of the derivative transactions nor the cash flows or liquidity of the company". It made a derivatives gain of 19.5 million riyals in 2012.

Nakilat proposed an 11 per cent cash dividend.-Reuters