ASYAD Shipping profit doubles to OMR 67.7mn on higher freight rates

Summary

• ASYAD Shipping's nine-month net profit after tax rose 107% to OMR 67.7 million, filings to Muscat Stock Exchange show.
• The company credited higher freight and time-charter rates, especially crude transport and liner shipping, plus newly delivered vessels.
• Net margin nearly doubled to 24% from 13%, with 16 more vessels still on order.

The latest

Net profit after tax at ASYAD Shipping more than doubled to OMR 67.7 million in the first nine months of 2026, from OMR 32.6 million a year earlier, according to preliminary unaudited results filed with the Muscat Stock Exchange on Monday 19 October 2026. Revenue growth was far slower than earnings growth, at 10%. The shipping arm of ASYAD Group ended September with roughly 90 vessels.

Details

• The headline number: Nine-month net profit after tax reached OMR 67.7 million, equivalent to about $176 million at 0.3845 to the dollar, against OMR 32.6 million in the same period of 2025 — a 107% increase, according to the preliminary unaudited results submitted to the Muscat Stock Exchange.
• Revenue: Gross revenue rose 10% to OMR 277.4 million, while time-charter-equivalent revenue — the industry's measure of daily earnings per vessel net of voyage costs — increased 9% to OMR 242.5 million. Earnings therefore grew roughly ten times faster than the top line over the nine months.
• Margins: EBITDA climbed 20% to OMR 183.1 million, lifting the EBITDA margin to 66% from 60%. The net profit margin nearly doubled to 24% from 13% a year earlier, the clearest sign that rate gains flowed through to the bottom line rather than being absorbed by costs.
• The company's explanation: ASYAD Shipping attributed the improvement to higher freight and time-charter rates across its five business segments, singling out crude oil transportation and liner shipping, alongside the contribution of newly delivered vessels entering service during the period.
• Quarter on quarter: Against the second quarter, gross revenue rose 11% and net profit 26% in the third quarter. The company cited newly delivered vessels, greater exposure to the spot market and higher prevailing market rates as the drivers of that sequential improvement.
• Third quarter alone: Argaam reported third-quarter net profit of OMR 28.80 million, against OMR 12.42 million in the third quarter of 2025 — a gain of more than 130% year on year, and the strongest single quarter within the nine-month period.
• The fleet: As of 30 September 2026 the fleet stood at about 90 vessels, comprising 51 owned and 30 chartered-in, with a further 16 units on order. The company did not publish a delivery schedule for the vessels still to be handed over.
• Ownership and listing: ASYAD Shipping is the maritime transport arm of ASYAD Group and reports its results through the Muscat Stock Exchange. The figures released are preliminary and unaudited, the standard format for interim disclosure ahead of audited statements.

Between the lines

The gap between 10% revenue growth and 107% profit growth points to operating leverage rather than volume expansion: once vessels are financed and crewed, each increment in freight rates passes largely to earnings. That also cuts the other way — the same 24% net margin that doubled this year is exposed if crude and liner rates retreat, particularly with greater spot-market exposure and 16 more vessels to absorb.

What's next

Watch for audited full-year results, the delivery timetable for the 16 vessels on order, and whether fourth-quarter crude and liner rates hold at third-quarter levels.

Source: Muscat Daily, Argaam