Malaysia’s MISC, a unit of Petronas, said its profit increased in the third quarter, as its LNG business logged a rise in both revenue and operating profit.
The shipping firm said its LNG asset solution business posted a revenue of 741.2 million ringgit ($177.2 million) and an operating profit of 313.7 million ringgit ($75 million) in the July-September period.
LNG revenue rose 20.8 percent due to higher earning days following deliveries of six very large ethane carriers, while operating profit increased 31.3 percent when compared to the same period last year, MISC said.
The Malaysian shipping firm is one of the largest operators of LNG carriers and most of them are on long-term charters. It operates a fleet of 29 LNG carriers and two floating storage units.
Looking at the overall quarterly results, MISC reported a profit of 402.1 million ringgit ($96 million), a rise compared to 281.2 million ringgit in the corresponding period.
Revenue also increased by 30.7 percent to 2.69 billion ringgit ($643.6 million) while operating profit rose 46.8 percent to 484.3 million ringgit.
LNG earnings to remain “fairly stable”
MISC said spot LNG charter rates remained “relatively steady” in the third quarter of
2021 despite a surge in European gas demand due to lower wind and solar power generation.
However, MISC expects LNG shipping rates to strengthen towards the year-end on account of high winter season demand in Europe and Asia.
Despite surging gas prices, Asian LNG demand would likely remain robust as China is facing power outages in its Northern regions with its policy of curbing coal consumption leading to gas shortages, MISC said.
“Notwithstanding the market volatility, the operating income of the LNG asset solutions segment is expected to remain fairly stable, underwritten by its portfolio of long-term charters,” the firm said.