BW LPG profit halves in third quarter

BW LPG saw its profit decrease by more than 50% in the third quarter of 2025, despite a strong performance from its shipping segment.

Profit after tax in 3Q25 was $56.8m, down from $120.5m in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 53%.

Pure shipping income actually increased by 39% in the third quarter to $201.8m, as VLGC rates averaged $51,300 per day and BW LPG achieved 92% fleet utilisation.

The reduction in net profit can therefore be attributed to a poor result from the company’s product services division, its trading arm.

“Negative mark-to-market valuation adjustment of the forward portfolio”, that is, a fall in value of cargoes on the books, caused net loss of $29m after tax. The price cut by Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco earlier in the quarter was cited by BW as a key reason behind the division’s loss.

Looking ahead, BW remains bullish on the LPG market.

US construction continued to expand and a recently signed deal by Indian importers for US LPG and renewed supply contracts with Indonesia were likely to boost tonne-miles, it said. Middle Eastern exports are also expected to rise “meaningfully” driven by higher oil output and commissioning of new gas processing facilities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

A cooling of tensions between the US and China means inefficiencies in the VLGC fleet are “expected to diminish” as trading restrictions on both US and China-linked fleets have been lifted. BW LPG said it expects to see a “modest” increase in available VLGC capacity as a result.