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The firm reported a net profit of about 860 million riyals ($236.2 million) for the first half of the year ended June 30, 2025.
This compares to 829 million riyals in the first half of 2024.
Nakilat reported a net profit of 433 million riyals in the first quarter of this year, up by 3.2 percent year-on-year.
According to Nakilat, its net income in the first half was driven by higher revenue from wholly-owned vessels and reduced finance charges.
Nakilat said this was achieved despite lower interest income due to capital allocation towards the newbuild program and higher amortization of new drydocks cycle.
Total income of 2.27 billion riyals in the first half decreased by 1 percent primarily driven by lower interest income due to capital deployment for Nakilat’s newbuild program, while Ebitda of 1.82 billion riyals decreased by 1 percent.
Nakilat said its expenses decreased by 4.5 percent to 1.39 billion riyals primarily due to lower finance charges derived from higher capitalized interest on newbuilds, reduced refinancing margins, scheduled loan repayments, and lower average variable interest rate.
Abdullah Al-Sulaiti, Nakilat’s CEO, said the company’s “strong performance in the first half of 2025 reflects the dedication of our team and the flexibility we adopt in maintaining and sustaining our operations.”
“Beyond maintaining resilient vessel operations, we are actively pursuing an innovative financing strategy to further strengthen Nakilat’s financial position. This includes exploring creative structures and cost-effective solutions to reduce overall funding costs,” he said.
Nakilat recently launched the first financing package with the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) for 25 conventional Korean-built LNG vessels.
LNG fleet
Nakilat said it remains on track with its newbuild program, which includes LNG carriers and LPG/ammonia gas carriers under construction.
In March, Nakilat marked a milestone with two steel-cutting ceremonies for a total of ten of its new LNG carriers and four LPG/ammonia gas carriers at Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Samho shipyards in South Korea.
In addition, South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries officially started building in May Nakilat’s first of 17 LNG carriers as part of an order placed last year.
Nakilat’s fleet currently includes 24 conventional LNG carriers, 31 Q-Flex vessels (210,000-217,000 cbm), 14 Q-Max vessels (263,000-266,000 cbm), and one FSRU. This includes jointly-owned LNG carriers.
In January last year, Nakilat placed orders worth about $955 million with HD Hyundai Samho to construct two LNG tankers and four LPG/ammonia carriers.
Moreover, Nakilat signed charter agreements in March 2024 with LNG giant QatarEnergy for 25 conventional-size LNG carriers as part of the second phase of its massive shipbuilding program.
Seventeen of the 25 LNG vessels are being constructed at the HD Hyundai Heavy shipyards in South Korea, while the remaining eight are being constructed at Hanwha Ocean, formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
QatarEnergy also signed a time charter and operation agreement with Nakilat for nine 271,000-cbm LNG carriers.
The nine QC-Max vessels will be constructed at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua.
Nakilat has 36 LNG carriers and four LPG/ammonia carriers on order.
The total vessel count in the company’s fleet will reach 114 once all the vessels are delivered, including 105 LNG carriers.