Sanctioned Russian state shipowner Sovcomflot (SCF Group) has revealed a lower profit for 2021 in a results statement that contains no mentions of the war in Ukraine.
The Moscow-listed company was one of 13 of the “most critical major Russian enterprises and entities” sanctioned by the US following the invasion in February.
And the UK has since banned all Russian ships from its ports.
In a brief results statement, there was no mention of the usual conference call with analysts.
Net earnings in 2021 dropped to $35.8m from $267.1m in 2020 in a difficult year for the conventional tanker market, the company said.
Revenue fell to $1.54bn from $1.65bn.
The group called operating results “solid”.
Its “industrial” fleet of LNG and LPG carriers and other long-term chartered vessels offset some of the tanker sector weakness.
The contract backlog rose by a further $400m over the year to stand at $24bn.
The industrial business delivered a 6.3% year-on-year revenue growth.
Green shoots for tankers
The conventional tanker market began to show initial signs of recovery with a seasonal uplift in charter rates since October, Sovcomflot said.
This division logged a 15.4% revenue rise in the final three months of the year.
Sovcomflot’s only statement on the Russian invasion came on 25 February.
It told TradeWinds: “The company continues its normal business activity and is well-positioned to meet its commitments towards its clients and partners and provide safe shipping services.”
The Sovcomflot aframax tanker, the 106,000-dwt NS Challenger (built 2005), became the subject of questions in the UK parliament in February after it loaded at Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands the day before sanctions were imposed.
UK shipping public relations firm Navigate stopped working with the shipowner after the invasion.
