BW LPG, the world’s largest LPG carrier owner, has taken an upbeat view of the future after delivering strong 1Q15 figures.
The company’s first-quarter net profit rose to USD57.5 million this year from USD30.8 million in 2014 on a bigger fleet and firmer rates. Revenues increased to USD167.9 million from USD150.7 million, the company reported.
In the VLGC business, timecharter average earnings (TCE) averaged USD41,300/day in the quarter, compared with USD32,700/day in the corresponding period last year. The company, which is listed in Oslo and controlled by Singapore based BW Maritime group, has 33 VLGCs with a combined capacity of 2.71 million m³.
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In LGC (large gas carrier) trades, TCE rates averaged USD30,900/day in1Q15, markedly higher than USD20,400/day in 1Q14. BW LPG has five LGCs in its fleet, with a combined capacity of 672,000 m³.
On the back of continued export growth, the first quarter of this year delivered the strongest chartering market ever experienced. “With continued growth in supply and demand and relatively few new asset deliveries, there is reason to anticipate continued market strength through 2015,” the company said.
“The expectation for 2016 is continued positive development in demand. There is some degree of risk to US LPG production if oil prices remain low, albeit so far there has been little to no negative impact on availability of LPG to meet export demand,” BW LPG said, adding, “The increasing rate of VLGC newbuild deliveries is likely to result in some degree of retracement in charter rates from the relative highs experienced in 2014 and 2015.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
