Hello, and welcome to the Qatar Navigation Milaha Conference Call. I would like to advise all participants that this call is being recorded. Thank you. I'd now like to welcome Mr. Bobby Sarkar to begin the conference. Bobby, over to you. Okay, thank you, Havish. Hi. Hello, everyone. This is Bobby Sarkar, Head of Research at QNB Financial Services. I wanted to welcome everyone to Milaha's fourth quarter and year-end 2022 results conference call. So on this call from Milaha management, we have Akram Iswaisi, who is the EVP in Finance & Investments, and Sami Shtayyeh, who's a VP in Financial Planning and Analysis. So as usual, we'll conduct a call with management, first reviewing the company's results, followed by a brief Q&A. I would like to now turn the call over to Akram. Akram, please go ahead. Okay. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you everyone for joining Milaha's 2023 year-end earnings call and your interest in the company. 2023 was a great year for Milaha, especially when you consider the headwinds we faced early on. The largest and as expected and discussed on previous earnings calls, was the container shipping windfall we saw in 2022, which quickly dissipated, leaving us with a large gap to fill in terms of profitability in 2023. We more than filled that gap, posting a year-over-year increased profits, and our ability to do that, to do that defined 2023, and we anticipate 2024 to look just as strong. I will now go over our consolidated financial results and then our various individual business segments before turning it over to Sami to go over the outlook. As usual, we will end the call with Q&A. The key highlights of our financial results, Milaha's operating revenue came in at QAR 2.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared with QAR 3.3 billion for the same period in 2022, for a decrease of 10%. Operating profit came in at QAR 436 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared with QAR 487 million for the same period in 2022, for a decrease of 10%. Net profit for the year ended December 31, 2023, was QAR 1.03 billion, compared with QAR 1.013 billion for the same period in 2022, for an increase of 2%. Lastly, our earnings per share was 0.91 for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared with 0.89 for the same period in 2022. Now I'm gonna get into the various segments, starting with Milaha Maritime and Logistics. As mentioned in my opening remarks, the large decline in container shipping rates took its toll on 2023. That drop in container shipping rates not only impacted Milaha but impacted the entire container shipping industry. This obviously had a severe impact on our maritime and logistics segment. Overall, revenue for maritime and logistics dropped by QAR 477 million versus the same period last year, and that was predominantly because of the reduced container shipping rates, along with a slight decrease in volumes. Expenses came down by QAR 214 million, driven primarily by the drop in container shipping volumes. Overall, we ended the year with net profit down QAR 330 million versus the same period in 2022. Now, moving on to offshore. Offshore ended the year with operating revenue being up QAR 164 million or 14% versus the same period in 2022. The offshore segment continues to benefit from the oil and gas expansion taking place in Qatar, with additional subsea and engineering-related projects and services, along with increased utilization of key assets driving our growth. Overall, expenses increased by QAR 55 million, with variable expenses tied to the increased revenue, more than offsetting favorable one-offs related to the reversal of a VAT provision from... that was taken in 2021 and lower professional fees. The net income result was a year-over-year growth of QAR 87 million or 112%. Gas and Petrochem recorded a 12% increase in revenue, driven by increases from our FSO unit that became operational in the middle of 2022, along with one-off increases in our LNG vessels. Those two more than offset lost revenue from the sale of our gas carrier last year. Overall expenses came down by QAR 21 million, primarily from reduced expenses related to the gas carrier divestment, along with lower operational-related costs incurred for the FSO. At the non-operating level, income increased by QAR 62 million, with QAR 79 million... A positive QAR 79 million from reduced impairments, more than offsetting a negative QAR 12 million gain taken in 2022, on the sale of the gas carrier that didn't recur, and QAR 8 million lower in income from our JVs and associates. Net profit for the segment ended up QAR 180 million, QAR 108 million, or 19% versus the same period in 2022. In our trading segment, we were able to reduce bottom-line losses by QAR 3 million versus the same period in 2022, by increasing sales of higher-margin goods and services, namely marine-related ship chandlery products. Lastly, capital revenue slipped by 19%, or QAR 102 million, with QAR 140 million drop in Qatar Quarries, partially offset by higher overall investment income. Total expenses came down by QAR 156 million, driven by QAR 131 million of lower Qatar Quarries cost of goods sold. But that's tied to the drop in revenue, along with a twenty-four million reduction in bad debt provisions. The non-recurrence of a QAR 86 million impairment on a real estate property recorded in 2022 helped boost year-over-year results, ending with an overall net profit growth of QAR 149 million or 165% versus the same period in 2022. That wraps up the segments, and I will now turn it over to Sami to discuss the outlook. Thank you, Akram. Starting with maritime and logistics, on the container shipping side, as already discussed for, as already discussed, 2023 was negatively impacted by the large drop in container shipping rates, and for the most part, we expect rates to continue being under pressure due to depressed global demand and expected new vessel capacity coming online. In logistics, the environment is quite challenging and expected to remain so. Our focus is on boosting sales efforts and improving operating efficiencies. In offshore, on the support vessels and services side, we expect to see continued growth, particularly longer term, with all the expansion work in Qatar's oil and gas industry. For the harbor operations, we expect stable revenue throughout the year, given that most of the vessels are on long-term contracts. In gas and petrochem, overall, we expect limited volatility due to the long-term nature of contracts we have in most business units. Our VLGC joint venture is the exception, where performance is difficult to predict due to volatile spot prices. In trading, we will continue to focus on profitable growth and margin improvement. And in capital, we will continue to focus on yield enhancement. With that, operator, we'll now open up for questions. Thank you. To ask a question, please press the star followed by the one on your telephone. That's star one to ask a question. Our first question comes from the line of Marcus Coombes from TFI. Please go ahead. Thanks very much, gentlemen. Sorry, excuse me. I just wanted to ask a question about the sort of the freight forwarding and that sort of the container business. Obviously last year it was in a loss, but this year, apparently rates have improved because of disruptions in the Red Sea. Do you think that? What do you think is kind of a stabilized or sort of a normalized level for that subsidiary? Like, what are you hoping for this year from it? In all honesty, I think with the Red Sea situation, you know, you know, we're seeing that, you know, not just in our business, but in with other, container shipping carriers, that rates have gone up. Okay? But the expectation is that increase will be temporary. So because the situation is in flux, or fluid, it's very difficult to predict, you know, what would be the positive impact on our numbers for the rest of the year. So, you know, I can't really, we can't really disclose to you really what, you know, what the normalized numbers will look like for the rest of the year, but we expect a, you know, a decent pickup as a result of this situation. Because, again, it's still fluid, and the question is, how long will it last? You know, the longer it lasts, obviously, the more positive an impact it has on container shipping rates. Okay, and then I just want- Overall, you know, not just, you know, in container shipping market, in the market overall, there is an increase in rates as a result of the Red Sea situation. Okay. And then, I just wanted to ask, obviously, you have a very large investment book, like Milaha Capital. Is there any consideration to sort of lower that over time and increase the dividend paid to shareholders? I think it's a good question. I think the way we're looking at this right now is that, you know, if you take, for example, today, our offshore business. Our offshore business has done exceptionally well in 2023, and we are optimistic that this business will continue to do well in the next few years. I mean, the offshore market is very strong. The demand far exceeds supply, even from a vessel perspective, and there's a huge pipeline of opportunities. So our plan is to continue to invest in our core operating activities, of which offshore is gonna be a substantial one. And so if you look at our CapEx program, I mean, the past couple of years, you know, we have not invested enough in our CapEx. If you look at the cash flow, you'll see that. But already this year, we've been winning tenders, winning contracts, and the next couple of years is gonna be a significant CapEx program to build out a bigger, a bigger fleet, and to also continue to rejuvenate our fleet. So what we're looking at is how do we use our balance sheet to fund that growth activities, whether it's the investment portfolio or using debt to continue to fund that growth? This is how we're looking at it. And so there, there are- Yeah, I- Discussions with the board on how to optimize that investment program. Yeah, obviously, I just wondered if that might help narrow the discount to book that your stock trades at, if you improved the payout ratio, you know, of your earnings that you pay out in dividend. That was just an observation. No, I think it's a good... I mean, listen, we continue to have discussions with the board on this, and it's definitely a good question. But, you know, but what we're looking at is how do we use our balance sheet, whether it's the investment portfolio, or using debt to try to fund some of this CapEx program? Because at the end of the day, if you look at our business, we need to continue to invest. Our business is CapEx heavy. We are a shipping and offshore company, a logistics company. If you look at where the growth is gonna come from for us, a big part of what we're focusing on right now is offshore business. You guys are in the region, you're in the market. There's significant potential, you know, not even for the next couple of years, we see it for a much longer period. And so our focus is on how do we fund that growth? And so we're looking, like, again, at how do we optimize our balance sheet to be able to fund that growth. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Our next question comes on the line of Ejayan Al-ahbabi from Al Rayan Investment. Please go ahead. Sami, thank you for taking my question. My question is regarding the amortization and the impairments for 2024. How do you see it for the full year? Do you have any plans to increase or decrease your impairments? Thank you. Thank you for the question. I mean, as we've mentioned on previous calls, the large impairment charges in our perspective are behind us. And you know, as you look at future impairments, if you look at this year, you know, we booked close to QAR 20 million on our P&L, which is really negligible, immaterial. And so as we have old equipment, you know, we will be conservative. Honestly, we're not gonna be aggressive, approaches to be much more conservative on how we look at impairments, and the future economic life of our assets. So in terms of future impairments, we don't expect anything material. I mean, as you've seen in 2023, and that's, it's been QAR 20 million, so that tells you a lot about what to expect in the future. And again, we've done a lot the past few years. You know, we were conservative. And so our view is always to be, you know, conservative on how we look at, you know, again, the economic life of our vessels and we take action immediately. Thank you. Hopefully, that answers your question. Our next question comes on the line of Joshua Martin from Ashmore Group. Please go ahead. Hi, yeah. I was just wondering with regards to the maritime section, how much spare capacity do you currently have? And really, what are you planning to add in that space? Thank you. Thank you for the question. When you say maritime, you're talking about container shipping primarily, right? Yes. Okay. You know, in terms of our capacity, it's in flux, 'cause what we do is we have our own vessels, and we're also chartering vessels, depending on market dynamics. You know, this container shipping business, we will grow it strategically. So we're looking at various new opportunities, new network expansion programs. But we're also looking. The way we're looking at our business right now is: How do we push our platform out? So looking at container shipping and logistics as an integrated platform to be able to optimize the returns. So, you know, that's basically how we're looking at our business. So again, we own five vessels today, and you know, again, we are looking at potentially buying some more vessels. But again, the way we're trying to grow that business is looking at container shipping as part of a platform, so, integrating the other services with it, which is logistics, and, and various other supply chain solutions. And, you know, we've been successful recently with a couple of pilots, and that's sort of what we're looking to do, is continue to push that integrated, you know, platform approach as we push out, some of the maritime services, in Qatar and outside of Qatar. Thank you. Hello? Our next question comes from the line of Nikhil Bhutani. Please go ahead. Yeah, good afternoon, gentlemen. Maybe I've not been able to start the meeting early. Well, just wanted to know whether these questions have been asked, well and fine, otherwise you can skip it. But this is regarding again to your impairment vessels, which you have again shown in your Offshore. And the management has, you know, indicated very much in the past that we could not be necessarily showing this again and again because that has been done and dusted. But again, we are seeing the same thing going forward in fourth quarter. So wanted to have a view on that. Secondly, similar to that, you know, we have the state-related provisions, you know, Maritime and Logistics. So what is this? I mean, can you just give some color on this? Thank you. ... So the first question, you're referring to impairments on offshore, correct? That's what you referred to, right? Okay. But if you look at the P&L, that impairment number is immaterial in the grand scheme of things. And if you compare, you know, offshore companies and shipping companies, there are always gonna be impairment charges taken on various equipment, various assets. But the question was asked is, what does it look like for 2024? And my response earlier was, you know, we'll always look at our assets, our vessels, and, you know, evaluate the economic value of those vessels. We're always gonna follow the proper accounting standards, and we're usually conservative, we're not aggressive. So, you know, we've taken a lot of charges in the past that were material, but if you look at 2023, I think the number QAR 20 million is really immaterial in the grand scheme of things, so we don't expect big charges going forward. Okay? As it relates to the second question on, I think you mentioned, on maritime and logistics. I mean, listen, we have, you know, if you look at maritime logistics 2023, there was really... If you're talking about provision, what are you talking about provisions for MML? We have none right there. I mean, if you look at provisions from impairment of trade receivables, it's 0. So I'm not sure which number are you referring to for the second part of the question? It is regarding the provisions that you have provided, I mean, under your maritime logistics, which you just mentioned, trade-related. It's not related to maritime logistics, it's related to offshore. So those provisions relate to offshore. If you look at maritime and logistics, provisions for impairment of trade receivables is zero, impairment of property and vessels is zero, so there's none there. It's mainly tied to offshore. And specifically, as I mentioned, those, you know, we had old equipment, and we went through the exercise of evaluating impairment. So, and those assets are no longer employable, so we were conservative in taking the impairments in Q4. That's it. Okay. Uh- Did I answer? I mean, again, yeah, I mean, coming back to your maritime and logistics, I mean, what we are seeing is, you know, a lot of tourism-related activities around Qatar, you know, going forward. Even right now, as we look at in first quarter, I mean, can we see some kind of a lift-off in your warehousing, freight forwarding activities going forward? I mean, in terms of that logistics business is a volume game. So, you know, as you've alluded to, if we see more activities here in Qatar, that bodes well for us. You know, you've seen our announcement in the media about our expansion into Saudi Arabia, so we've started new products and services in Saudi Arabia. So that business will continue to evolve and grow, and that's what we're hoping for. But we've got a strategy to grow that business, and that growth requires volume. So part of it will have to come domestically as things start moving, but we're also looking at expansion outside of Qatar. And again, you've seen that first step with Saudi Arabia. We're pushing hard in Saudi Arabia, and from there, we're gonna continue to push the logistics business. Okay, fine. Well, lastly, on your operating expenses, I mean, you know, we are seeing quite a change, significantly increasing trend, especially in your wages. Say, for example, in a maritime logistics division, I mean, against the normal rate, it has quite, you know, increased substantially. So are we going to be seeing the, I mean, is this a one-time thing which has happened? Is it something which we could be seeing in 2024, similar pattern? I'm sorry, you're, you're referring to maritime and logistics. So what are you- you're referring to what, what do you see? An increase in operating and expenses, operating supplies and expenses? Yes, yes, yes. Actually, with operating supplies and expenses have come down. They've decreased by QAR 208 million on- No, I'm talking about overall, including other operating expenses and other things which have been classified, including your wages. So there has been, you know- Listen, at the end of the day, you know, we tightly monitor the operating supplies and expenses. You know, we were impacted again by, you know, macro dynamics. There's been an impact, you know, as a result of inflation; we've had an impact on various expenses. We've had crew cost issues that have gone up as well in the past. So, you know, we continue to look at ways to optimize costs, but generally speaking, our costs, you know, has been well controlled, and that's what we're seeing in the P&L. Now, you know, we continue to find ways to do more with less. You know, we look at how do we, you know, how to use... I mean, we've got major digital initiatives to try to leverage technology, to be able to build scalability into our business, to be able to do more with less. But if you look at our operating expenses, they seem stable. In fact, they've come down. You know, and you got to look at that in relation to revenue as well, because, again, some of our... You got to look at that in relation to revenue. If you look at, you know, what we've been able to do today, we've been able to significantly increase the top line on offshore without majorly increasing the operating expenses. So that is also a testament to what we've been trying to do to squeeze more value out of the top line, whether it's, you know, change, optimizing pricing, you know, doing more with less. And so you see that in our numbers. I think it's quite clear. Okay, fine. I will not argue on this. But lastly, on your trading division, you know, wanted to understand when we can see a turnaround. 2024, we could be seeing that? You know, in terms of trading, I think there's a, there was a positive improvement compared to last year. And so, you know, we mentioned again, if we're gonna make an investment, and we've developed some new products and services, and it takes anywhere from 2-3 years to begin to reap the fruits of your investment. So, you know, shipyard, you know, we've made major changes to shipyard management, as an example. We brought some, you know, some across the business, we brought some new talents, so we're optimizing the business. If you look at trading, for example, we also made some changes in terms of management there. You know, the ship chartering platform, you know, is gonna be, you know, it's a platform that takes time to develop. So over the next 2-3 years, you'll begin to see, you know, the fruits of some of those investments being made. But again, it's not gonna be an overnight success because it takes time to build those services and roll out those products. Okay, thank you. Again, I wanna, I wanna highlight again, if you look at what we've done with offshore, where we've lost a significant amount of revenue from container shipping, and we've managed to replace most of that profitability, most of that top line from the offshore business, that's a testament to our ability to be able to react to the market. So we're building a lot of products and services right now to continue to, you know, grow the business. But it takes a little bit of time to be able to reap the fruits of those investments. So it doesn't happen within 12 months. Okay, thank you. You're welcome. Our next question comes from the line of Ejayan Al-Ahbabi from Al Rayan Investment. Please go ahead. Yes. Hello, gentlemen. You've mentioned CapEx for the offshore business for 2024. I was just wondering if you can provide us with some guidance regarding that, please, and just some clarifications on the number and which how are you thinking of going about this CapEx? Honestly, we've signed non-disclosure agreements, so can't specifically give you a number, but I can tell you it's gonna be substantially higher than what you've seen in our P&L. We've bid on a lot of contracts, and we've won some contracts as well. And so, you know, I think you will, you know, see more disclosures coming up, you know, over the next quarter. But right now, I can't give you an exact number, but it's gonna be substantially higher than what you've seen in the past. And if you look at, I mean, from a CapEx perspective, in 2023, I think we did a little less than QAR 300 million, whether it's maintenance CapEx or new CapEx. In 2022, I think it was some close to QAR 400 million. The number we're expecting to see is much, much higher than that, for two reasons. One, we're winning a lot of tenders. Secondly, on the offshore side, we are looking to rejuvenate our fleet. And so, if you look at offshore vessels in the market today, generally speaking, if you look at even our competitors, the vessels are aging. And, you know, there hasn't been significant CapEx investments in new, new vessels, a new fleet. So we are looking at rejuvenating our fleet and also fulfilling requirements for some of the tenders that we're winning. Thank you very much. Thank you. Welcome. There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand the call back to Mr. Bobby Sarkar. Okay. Thank you, Havish. If there are no further questions, we can end the call for today. I wanna thank Akram and Sami for taking the time to answer our questions, and we will pick this up next quarter. Thank you very much, guys. Thank you very much, everyone. Appreciate it. Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.