Dubai-based shipping company Gulf Navigation Holdings said it will focus on its chartering business while exiting unprofitable business sectors in the second half of 2021 even as it reported return to net profit in the second quarter. 

The Dubai Financial Market-listed maritime and shipping company said in a statement on Sunday that it posted a small net profit of 125,000 dirhams ($34,000) for Q2, swinging from a net loss of 33 million dirhams in the year-ago period, due to effective cost control measures and improved cash flows.

Revenue in the quarter was 31 million dirhams compared with 34 million dirhams in the second quarter of 2020.

Chairman Sheikh Theyab bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan said the financial results come at a time when the company is embarking on a new phase of growth and recovery.

“As we enter the second half of 2021, our main focus will be on chartering ships with trusted clients on a long-term basis and exiting unprofitable business sectors to ensure the continuity of all operations in light of the economic conditions and global challenges facing the shipping sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also evaluating the opportunities available to us for the purpose of increasing our maritime fleet, and entering into several strategic partnerships regionally and globally, which will provide the company with many diverse opportunities and the ability to grow throughout the region,” Sheikh Theyab added.

Earlier this year, the crude shipper said it reached an agreement with the majority of its lenders on new and flexible terms that will allow the company to adapt to the current market conditions, achieve better growth and support operational and financial performance.

The company also collected the insurance amounts arising from the loss of one of its vessels, which it said “will contribute to enhancing the liquidity of the company and support its operations.”

Gulf Navigation’s China-bound vessel Gulf Livestock 1 sank after it was reported missing off the Japanese coast in September 2020.

(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite, editing by Brinda Darasha)

Imogen.lillywhite@refinitiv.com

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