Qatar LNG Shipper Nakilat Posts Q2 Profit Drop

Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat), one of the world's largest shippers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), posted a drop in second-quarter net profit on Monday.

It made a net profit of 182.4 million riyals ($50 million) in the three months to June 30, according to Reuters calculations.

This compares with a profit of 204.1 million riyals in the corresponding period in 2012.

QNB Financial Services forecast Nakilat's quarterly net profit would be 212.4 million riyals.

The company's net profit for the first half of 2013 was 359.6 million riyals, down from 380.8 million riyals a year earlier, it said in a statement.

Nakilat said its losses from derivatives trebled in the first six months of 2013 to 15.1 million riyals, compared with a loss of 4.6 million riyals in the prior-year period. ($1 = 3.6416 Qatar rials)

Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Matt Smith (C) Reuters 2013.