MJL procures largest ocean-going Aframax oil tanker

FE Desk

MJL Bangladesh Limited has procured country's largest ocean-going Aframax oil tanker with a capacity of 107,091 DWT.

M. Mukul Hossain, Chief Executive Officer of MJLBL disclosed this while presenting the Q2 earnings of 2017-18 in a hotel recently.

"MJLBL is the first Bangladeshi company owning two such Aframax tankers in the private sector of Bangladesh," he said.

He also highlighted the challenges lubricants industry is facing and the measures taken by MJLBL to mitigate those risks.

Sabbir Ahmed, FCA, Head of Finance & Planning of MJLBL said the company witnessed a thriving business performance with 8.71 per cent growth in manufacturing unit to reach BDT 1,067 million in the second quarter of 2017-18.

The revenue of trading unit rose 6.80 per cent to reach BDT 1,017 million for the same period. The revenue of the oil tanker unit plunged 79.04 per cent, as it remained out of production for two months due to regulatory periodic maintenance (dry docking), which has to be done twice in every five years.

"The drop in revenue of oil tanker weakened both profit after tax and EPS of MJLBL by 32.56 per cent to reach BDT 287 million and BDT 95 paisa respectively in the second quarter of 2017-18," added Mr. Ahmed. He also echoed that the dent in oil tanker revenue was partially neutralized due to a whopping 83 per cent revenue growth of Omera Petroleum Limited (OPL), making the consolidated EPS nearer to the previous reporting period.

However, MJLBL management is very much optimistic to recoup the losses in the remaining parts of this financial year.

"OPL has achieved significant business result in just three years of operation", said Mr. Tanzeem Chowdhury, DGM- Corporate Planning & Business Development of OPL. Mr. Chowdhury also emphasized on the potential of untapped LPG segment of Bangladesh along with the upcoming expansion plan of Omera Petroleum Limited & Omera Cylinders Limited to grab those opportunities. "Omera Gas One Limited (OGL), a joint venture between OPL & Japanese top ranked energy giant, Saisan Co. Ltd was formed to meet the tailored LPG demand of Residential & Commercial complexes, Industrial and Automotive sector of Bangladesh" added Mr. Chowdhury.

Mr. Tanjil Chowdhury, Director of MJLBL emphasized on the downstream synergies emanated from the subsidiaries, associates and sister concern of MJLBL. Mr. Chowdhury also highlighted on the core competencies of MJLBL, OPL, OCL and OGL along with the initiatives taken to capitalise unexplored markets of Bangladesh.