French LNG containment giant GTT received orders for 42 liquefied natural gas carriers and one floating LNG producer in the first half of this year.
GTT said in its financial report on Thursday that deliveries of these LNG carriers are scheduled between the first quarter of 2026 and the fourth quarter of 2027.
The FLNG, being built at South Korea’s SHI, is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2027.
Thses orders for 42 LNG carriers compare to 88 LNG carriers in the first quarter of last year.
GTT received record 162 orders for LNG carriers in 2022.
Besides these LNG carriers and the FLNG, GTT recently received an order from Chinese shipyard Yangzijiang to design the tanks for ten LNG-powered ultra-large containerships.
LNG demand remains “particularly strong”
Earlier this year, GTT’s chief Philippe Berterottière said GTT is expecting that there will be up to 450 orders for large LNG carriers over the 2023-2032 period.
Commenting on the company’s H1 results, Berterottière said that with 42 orders for LNG carriers and one FLNG unit, “GTT’s commercial performance in the first half of 2023 continues to be very strong, in the wake of an exceptional 2022.”
“LNG demand remains particularly strong, as illustrated by the number of long-term sales and purchase agreements leading to numerous final investment decisions for new liquefaction plants and to additional needs for LNG carriers,” he said.
This year’s FID’s include Venture Global LNG’s second Plaquemines LNG phase, and Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG project, and NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project.
Revenues climb
As of June 30, 2023, GTT’s order book excluding LNG as fuel stood at 302 units.
This includes 287 LNG carriers, 2 ethane carriers, 1 FSRU, 1 FLNG, and 11 onshore storage tanks, the firm said.
Following cessation of activities in Russia, GTT removed from its order book 15 ice-breaking LNG carriers and three GBSs.
With regard to LNG as fuel, the order book stood at 69 units as of June 30, 2023. These are all containerships.
Moreover, GTT reported a 23.3 percent rise in its revenues for the first half to 177.8 million euros ($195 million).
Newbuild revenues amounted to 163.5 million euros, up 25.2 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
Berterottière said earnings “are rising steeply as the group begins to benefit from the numerous orders received in 2021 and 2022.”
“In view of the shipbuilding schedules, the group therefore confirms its revenue and Ebitda forecasts for the whole of the 2023 financial year. We are also proposing an interim dividend of 1.85 euro, reflecting the group’s strong performance,” he said.