CMB.TECH Posts $364m Second-Quarter Profit as Tanker Markets Run Hot

CMB.TECH has reported a profit of $364.4m for the second quarter of 2026, or $1.26 per share, against a net profit of $7.8m or $0.04 per share attributable to owners in the second quarter of 2025. EBITDA for the period was $552.8m, up from $224.1m a year earlier.

The Antwerp-headquartered group, listed in New York, Brussels and Oslo, operates a combined fleet of about 250 vessels spanning dry bulk, crude and chemical tankers, container ships and offshore energy tonnage, and also supplies hydrogen and ammonia fuel from its own production and third-party producers.

Contract backlog held steady at $3.26bn, with the addition of two two-year commissioning service operation vessel charters and one one-year VLCC time charter. The company intends to distribute $0.64 per share.

Asset sales contributed materially to the quarter. The previously announced disposal of the 2012-built VLCCs Ilma and Ingrid, each of 314,000 dwt, generated a gain of $98.2m in the second quarter, while the sale of the 2007-built Suezmax Sienna produced a further $29.2m. Three more transactions are already booked to land later in the year: the sale of the 2016-built VLCC Donoussa will generate a gain of approximately $74.3m in the fourth quarter, and the sale of the Suezmaxes Brest, Brugge and Bristol will generate roughly $100.2m in the third quarter and $56.9m in the fourth.

Nine newbuildings were delivered across the second and third quarters to date: the Newcastlemaxes Mineral Latvija, Mineral Magyar, Mineral Eesti and Mineral Lietuva; the VLCC Morini; the Suezmaxes Cap Grace and Cap Joseph; the commissioning service operation vessel Windcat Haarlem; and the crew transfer vessel FRS Windcat 65.

The group also signed an agreement with Fortescue for the charter of up to 12 ammonia-powered Newcastlemax vessels of 210,000 dwt, tying its alternative-fuel programme to a single large industrial counterparty.

"CMB.TECH achieved excellent results in the second quarter of 2026, supported by continued strength in tanker and dry bulk markets. We continue to make hay while the sun shines, building on the important strategic decisions taken over the past three years: diversifying beyond tankers, acquiring Golden Ocean and investing in a future-proof newbuilding programme," said chief executive Alexander Saverys, adding that uncertainties remain around global trade, geopolitical tensions and the tanker orderbook. Third-quarter results are scheduled for publication on 26 November 2026.