zoomH.E. Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of Milaha’s Board of Directors; Image Courtesy: Milaha

Qatar-based marine transporter Qatar Navigation (Milaha) has seen its net profit drop by 20.8 percent for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 to QAR 759 million (USD 208.4 million), from QAR 959 million (USD 263.3 million) reported in the same period a year earlier.

The company said that its operating revenues for the period stood at QAR 1.99 billion, down from QAR 2.3 billion reported in the same period in 2015.

Operating profit also decreased to QAR 513 million, compared to QAR 686 million reached in the nine-month period of 2015.

“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,” H.E. Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of Milaha’s Board of Directors, said.

Milaha Maritime & Logistics’ overall revenue declined by 13%. The 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 & Petrochem’s revenue grew by 24% as a result of the full period impact of the investment in two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers made in the second half of 2015.

“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%,” Abdulrahman Essa Al-Mannai, Milaha’s President and CEO, said.