Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot swung to a profit during the first half of the year 2019 on the back of improved market conditions.
The company reported a net profit of $91 million during the first six months of 2019, compared to a net loss of $57.8 million in the corresponding period last year.
Commenting on the results, Sergey Frank , president and CEO of Sovcomflot said, “The company achieved significant growth in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, exceeding our budget plans. The successful operation of SCF’s vessels serving industrial oil and gas projects, together with the growth of revenues from fleet operations in the conventional tanker market segments (oil and petroleum products), reflected certain improvements in the freight market, although spot rates did not reach their historical averages.”
Senior executive vice-president of Sovcomflot, Evgeniy Ambrosov added that the company reached milestones during the period under review, with the 10th anniversary of the start of LNG shipments from the Sakhalin-2 project by the Grand Aniva and Grand Elena LNGC’s and the 10-millionth tonne of oil transported by the Mikhail Ulyanov series of tankers from the Prirazlomnaya platform.
Sovcomflot further reminded that in May, it signed a new $297 million credit facility, for up to ten years with ING Bank, KfW IPEX-Bank, and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank. The funds will be used towards the financing of two new-generation 174,000-cubic meters Atlanticmax LNG carriers, which will operate under long-term charters to Shell.