Hafnia reports best-ever quarterly results, invests in methanol project

Denmark-based shipping company Hafnia has posted a net profit of $97.7 million for the second quarter of the year, claiming the best quarterly result in the company’s history despite uncertainties caused by COVID-19.

The company’s net profit for the first six months amounted to $ 174.8 million with a total dividend of $ 77.2 million.

” Due to Covid-19, we are now all living with confinement restrictions, leading to unprecedented demand destruction and weak economic fundamentals. This negatively impacts our short to medium-term market outlook,” Mikael Skov, CEO of Hafnia said.

“We are very proud of establishing the Hafnia Specialized pool, adding an additional pillar to our successful pool management business. In addition, we have invested together with a strategic joint venture partner in a methanol project, exemplifying our strategy to look at sustainable and modern shipping technologies.”

Hafnia further revealed that in the third quarter, it invested $10 million for 3.33% of a pre-FID methanol project, via a joint venture with a strategic partner.

The project will focus on converting regionally sourced natural gas to methanol with a 3.6 million tonnes per annum production capacity of which the JV will be transporting one-third of the methanol produced on 19-years contracts.

In addition to investing in the methanol plant, the JV will be building the vessels transporting their share of the methanol, the company said.

At the end of the quarter, Hafnia had 87 owned vessels and 15 chartered-in vessels. The total fleet of the group comprises six LR2s, 36 LR1s, 47 MRs and 13 Handy vessels owned/operated.

These include four LR1s and two LR1 newbuilds owned through 50% ownership in the Vista Joint Venture with CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping.

In August 2020, Hafnia Shenzhen, a LR1 newbuild under the Vista Joint Venture, was delivered. Hafnia America, a 2006 built LR1 vessel, was sold for $ 11.6 million net in Q3 2020.