Bahri likely to see strong performance in 2025, plans expansion into new sectors: CEO

Ahmed Ali Al-Subaey, CEO of National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), said the company expects to continue delivering strong performance in 2025, supported by its sustainable growth and sector diversification strategy.

He noted that long-term shipping contracts remain a key pillar of Bahri’s overall strategy.

In an interview with Al Arabiya on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference, Al-Subaey said Bahri renewed its contract with South Korea’s S-Oil for an additional 10 years to operate four very large crude carriers (VLCCs), following a decade-long partnership. "In the shipping business, the real return comes from owning vessels, not from selling them," the CEO noted.

He added that Bahri has signed similar contracts with Aramco, SABIC, Sipchem, and Luberef, in addition to an agreement with the International Maritime Industries (IMI) shipyard to build 53 vessels over 10 years, worth more than $200 million, underscoring the company’s commitment to fleet expansion.

Al-Subaey explained that while the company’s operations are cyclical by nature, Bahri has maintained a steady growth trajectory over the past three years, driven by a proactive demand-management strategy.

He noted that securing shipping cargoes is the greatest challenge for any maritime company, but Bahri has succeeded in ensuring both current and future shipments, enabling smooth operations even in high-risk waters such as the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.

Bahri’s quarterly results were strong, with the third quarter marking another in a string of successful quarters — the company has now recorded growth for 10 consecutive quarters thanks to its effective demand-management strategy.

"The third quarter was very strong, and I can say the best is yet to come — the trajectory is moving in the right direction," the top executive said.

He emphasized that Bahri is diversifying its activities and expanding into new sectors, including food, metals, pharmaceuticals, and defense, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to diversify national income sources. These new sectors will play an increasingly significant role in future revenues and net profits.

According to Argaam data, Bahri’s net profit declined to SAR 1.45 billion for the first nine months of 2025, compared to SAR 1.69 billion in the same period of 2024, while Q3 profit rose slightly to SAR 513.4 million from SAR 509 million in the year-earlier quarter.