“The condition in the offshore support services industry continues to show signs of improvement...”
DATUK AZLAN MOHD HASHIM, Marine & General Bhd executive chairman
KUALA LUMPUR: Marine & General Bhd (M&G) aims to further improve the financial and operating conditions at its Marine Logistics upstream and downstream divisions, as well as enhance the competitiveness and growth prospects of its downstream division.
This followed the sale of the 37km Kajang Traffic Dispersal Ring Road (SILK Highway) to Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) for RM380 million.
“Taking into account the successful completion of the disposal of the highway asset, the company is expected to undertake several other changes in the coming months, to better reflect its new-found focus in the core business,” said executive chairman Datuk Azlan Mohd Hashim.
M&G, formerly known as Silk Holdings Bhd, recorded a revenue of RM44.9 million for the third quarter ended September 30, which is 25 per cent higher than the RM35.8 million posted in the same quarter a year ago.
On a year-to-date basis, the company recorded a consolidated revenue of RM113.4 million, which is 8.5 per cent lower compared with RM123.9 million recorded in the previous ninemonth period.
Marine Logistics upstream division’s revenue of RM33.6 million in the period was 15 per cent higher than RM29.3 million previously.
This was due to improvements in utilisation rates to 59 per cent in the current period from 47 per cent previously, despite the challenging operating environment for providers of offshore support vessels.
Its Marine Logistics downstream division posted a revenue of RM11 million for the quarter, against RM6.5 million in the previous corresponding quarter.
This was mainly due to improved vessel utilisation and availability as one of its three vessels was sent for scheduled docking in the previous year.
“The condition in the offshore support services industry continues to show signs of improvement with the increasing number of tenders being called by oil majors.
“The upstream division saw improvement in fleet utilisation rates from 33 per cent in the first quarter to 59 per cent in the current quarter,” said Azlan.
Based on the rising number of tenders, the prospects for the remainder of the year looked brighter as compared to the beginning of the year, said Azlan.