Qatar's Nakilat swings to Q4 loss

MISSED CALL: The company gave no reason for the decline, which missed forecasts. (Getty Images - for illustrative purposes only)

Qatar Gas Transport Co (Nakilat), which ships liquefied natural gas, swung to a 28.9 million riyal ($7.94m) loss in the fourth-quarter from net profit of 40.48 million riyals ($11.12m) in the year-earlier period.

Net income rose to 129.1m riyals in the year to Dec. 31, compared with a net profit of 89.5 million riyals a year earlier, the company said in a statement on the Doha bourse web site on Thursday. Reuters calculated the fourth quarter earnings based on previous financial data.

The company gave no reason for the decline, which missed forecasts. Middle East Financial Brokerage had forecast that Nakilat's profits would rise 113 percent to 86.47 million riyals in the fourth quarter year-on-year.

Nakilat posted its biggest quarterly profit on record in the fourth quarter of 2007 on returns from funds it plans to use to expand its fleet and high oil prices. Oil prices have collapsed from highs near $150 a barrel in July to around $53 a barrel on Thursday as the global financial crisis batters the world economy.

Set up in 2004, Nakilat plans to own 56 LNG and four liquefied petroleum gas tankers by 2010, the company has said. Qatar, the world's third-largest holder of natural gas reserves, plans to more than double LNG production to 77 million tonnes per year by 2010. (Reuters)

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