Yinson third quarter earnings jump to RM91mil

PETALING JAYA: It’s not all doom and gloom in the oil and gas ( O&G) sector, with Yinson Holdings Bhd giving investors a rare treat of better-than-expected latest quarterly results.

The company’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) division is again the biggest contributor to its growth.

Yinson said yesterday it had posted a 44% jump in net profit to RM91.2mil in the third quarter ended Oct 31, compared with RM63.1mil a year ago.

Revenue during the three-month period doubled to RM263.1mil.

This lifted its nine-month earnings to RM235mil.

Consensus estimates had put its full-year earnings at RM305mil before the latest quarterly results were released.

“We are delighted with the significant ninemonth financial results’ improvement, which further anchors Yinson as a full-fledged FPSO operator notwithstanding the O&G industry remaining uncertain,” group executive chairman Lim Han Weng said.

He noted that the recent recovery in the price of crude oil had helped improve sentiment in the industry.

Shares in Yinson had advanced 30% this year at Wednesday’s close of RM3.76, as its market value topped RM4bil.

“We are cautiously optimistic that there would be more opportunities in the market for us to capitalise and to ultimately grow the business in a sustainable manner,” Lim said.

Yinson had advanced a heads of agreement with a consortium of Japanese companies to firm up a conditional share purchase agreement on Nov 21 for the disposal of a 26% equity interest in subsidiary Yinson Production (West Africa) Pte Ltd.

“We are confident that all parties will be able to complete the transaction before June 30, 2018,” Lim said.

Meanwhile, Yinson, Lim said, was working closely with a joint-venture partner in Vietnam to extend the deployment of the FPSO PTSC Lam Son in the Lam Son field.

“We are hopeful that negotiations would be concluded in due course,” Lim said.

On the local front, the company is working on a project to supply FPSO services in offshore Sarawak.

“A positive outcome in the arrangement would be a notable milestone for Yinson in its home country,” Lim said.

As of this financial year, Yinson has paid a final single-tier dividend of two sen per share for the financial year ended Jan 31, 2017 on Aug 18.

The company has further declared an interim single-tier dividend of four sen, which will be payable on Dec 22.