Qatar Navigation (Milaha), a leader in marine services, has posted a net profit of QR821 million ($225 million) for the first nine months of the year as against QR778 million ($213.5 million) for the same period in 2013, an increase of 5.5 per cent year over year.

Operating revenues touched QR1.973 billion ($541 million) vs. QR 1.745 billion ($479 million) for the same period in 2013, an increase of 13.1 per cent year over year.

After relatively disappointing result for the first half (H1) of the year, Milaha recovered strongly in the third quarter to show year-to-date profit growth.  The recovery was driven by strong growth in trade volumes and a rebound in the Qatar equities market.

Year-on-year, the results for Milaha’s core maritime segments – Offshore, Maritime & Logistics, Gas & Petrochem – improved slightly.  This was driven by higher net profit in the Gas & Petrochem segment, which benefited from stronger VLGC rates and higher profits from Milaha’s stake in Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat), which more than offset weaker performance in the Offshore and Maritime & Logistics segments.

The third quarter also saw a rebound in the Qatar equities market, which more than offset weaker H1 results and drove Milaha Capital’s profit higher on a year-over-year basis.

“We are pleased to have got back on track after a somewhat disappointing first half,” said Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani, chairman and managing director of Milaha. “Trade volumes have grown as a result of increased project activity as well as population growth in Qatar, and we hope this will be sustained going forward.”

“Although we are still behind last year in 2 of our core maritime segments, we are pleased that Q3 helped us narrow the gap,” said Khalifa Ali Al-Hetmi, president and chief executive officer of Milaha.

The company will conduct an investor conference call on November 4 in Doha to further discuss its results, a statement said. – TradeArabia News Service