French LNG containment giant GTT received orders for 52 liquefied natural gas carriers and one floating LNG producer in the first nine months of this year.
GTT said in its financial report on Wednesday that deliveries of these LNG carriers are scheduled between the first quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2028.
The FLNG, being built at South Korea’s SHI, is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2027.
GTT won orders for 10 LNG carriers in the third quarter and 42 LNG carriers in the first half.
The Paris-based firm received record 134 LNG carrier orders in January-September last year and record 162 orders for LNG carriers in 2022.
Besides these LNG carriers and the FLNG, GTT received an order from Chinese shipyard Yangzijiang to design the tanks for ten LNG-powered ultra-large containerships and for five very large LNG-powered containerships with South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Delivery of all these container ships is scheduled between the second quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2028.
LNG demand remains “particularly high”
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 January-September results, Berterottière said that with 52 orders for LNG carriers and one FLNG unit, “the commercial performance of our core business continues to be very strong.”
He noted that GTT booked 15 orders for LNG as fuel in the third quarter of 2023, “indicating a resumption of commercial activity as LNG spot prices stabilize.”
“LNG demand remains particularly high and sustainable, as illustrated by the number of final investment decisions for new liquefaction plants made since the beginning of the year, leading to additional LNG carrier needs,” he said.
This year’s FID’s include Venture Global LNG’s second Plaquemines LNG phase, Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG project, and NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project.
Revenues climb
As of September 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 84 units as of September 30, 2023. These are all containerships.
Moreover, GTT reported a 35.1 percent rise in its revenues for the January-September period to 300 million euros ($318 million).
Revenues for the third quarter of 2023 reached 122.2 million euros, up 57 percent compared to the third quarter of 2022, benefitting from the gradual increase in the number of LNG carriers under construction, GTT said.
Newbuild revenues amounted to 272.6 million euros, up 36 percent compared to newbuild revenues for the first nine months of 2022.
“Therefore, in the absence of significant delays in vessel building schedules, the group confirms its 2023 objectives, which it now expects in the upper half of the initial ranges,” Berterottière said.
GTT previously said it expects 2023 consolidated revenues of between 385 million euros and 430 million euros, and 2023 consolidated Ebitda of between 190 million euros and 235 million euros.