Belgium's Exmar Group did not enjoy as good a start to 2015 as the year before. For the first three months the group achieved a consolidated result after taxes of USD 9.4 million, compared to USD 14.2 million in the same period last year.

The carrier notes that the result for the first quarter 2014 included a USD 4.4 million profit from the sale of a ship. The decline is especially caused by decreased activities in engineering and offshore, where many companies have opted to downscale following the sliding oil price. On the other hand, the LPG market - where the carrier operates with the major VLGC gas vessels - was strong in the period, as average daily time charter equivalent (TCE) rates increased to USD 49,928 from USD 25,941 in the same period 2014. And the towering activity in the segment will continue throughout the year, according to Exmar.