Saudi Shipper Bahri Q1 Profit Soars

National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), the exclusive oil-shipper for Saudi Aramco, reported a 53.6 percent jump in first-quarter net profit on Monday.

The company's net profit for the three months to Mar. 31 was 611.99 million riyals ($163.3 million), up from 398.41 million riyals in the same period a year earlier, it said in a bourse statement.

Bahri, one of five Saudi stocks not open to direct purchase by foreign investors, said its year-on-year performance was boosted by factors including an increase in operating revenues due to buying and receiving several very large crude carriers (VLCCs), as well as higher average charter prices.

Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing detailed results later.

Bahri reported strong profit growth in the prior four quarters as it continued to grow its fleet. It announced in December its board had approved buying two more VLCCs for $155 million, which would start impacting its earnings in the first quarter.

 

Reporting by Archana Narayanan