GasLog CEO: Rates Have Bottomed Out

The company said that its revenues were at USD 138.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, up from USD 128.3 million reported in the same period a year earlier. The increase was mainly driven by the higher revenues from vessels operating in the spot market and the new deliveries in GasLog’s fleet, namely the GasLog Houston, the GasLog Hong Kong and the GasLog Genoa.

GasLog’s profit for the period reached USD 42.5 million, compared to a profit of USD 23.4 million seen in the first quarter of 2017, mainly due to the positive movement in mark-to-market valuations of the company’s derivative financial instruments in the first quarter of 2018, increased profit from operations and the increased contribution of vessels operating in the spot market.

“I am pleased to report another record quarter of revenues and EBITDA for GasLog, driven by the initial contribution of our 2018 newbuild deliveries and the stronger performance of the vessels operating in the LNG carrier pooling arrangement,” Paul Wogan, Chief Executive Officer of GasLog, said.

As expected, LNG carrier spot rates experienced a seasonal decline from the multi-year highs of Q4 2017, Wogan continued. However, headline spot rates remain higher year-on-year, and “there are signs that rates have bottomed out as buyers now look to source supply for cooling demand in the Northern Hemisphere summer and heating demand in the Southern Hemisphere winter.”

“We expect rates to strengthen in the second half of this year,” Wogan concluded.

Global LNG production continued to grow in Q1 2018, registering a 10% year-on-year increase and a 2% increase over Q4 2017 as measured by Wood Mackenzie.

While a number of projects expected onstream in 2018 have experienced delays, Wood Mackenzie currently expects that some 29 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of capacity will enter commercial service between Q2 and Q4 2018, underpinning the forecasted 2018 supply of 325 mtpa, or 9% growth over 2017.

Source: worldmaritimenews