Singapore’s Marco Polo Marine said strong rebounds in its core shipyard and offshore support vessel businesses brought in healthy returns during the third quarter of its 2022 financial year.
The offshore services and shipyard company on Wednesday reported a gross profit of SGD 9.7m ($7m), which it said was triple the amount it earned in the corresponding period of 2021.
Marco Polo said shipyard and offshore vessel chartering segments experienced tremendous growth brought in revenue of SGD 28.5m, a 130% increase year-on-year. It did not report on net earnings in this voluntary business update.
The latest figures bring the total amount of revenue Marco Polo has earned during the first nine months of its 2022 financial year to SGD 56.2m, a 70.3% increase over the previous year.
During the nine-month period, the company earned gross profits of SGD 17.8m as compared to the SGD 8.4m earned during the first nine months of its previous financial year.
Marco Polo said growth in third quarter shipyard revenue was a result of higher ship repair activities, stronger demand from end customers and an increase in capacity following the completion of extension works on a dry dock.
“During the quarter, the group also observed a growth in market share due to an increase in demand. The Group’s shipyard was operating near full capacity at an average utilisation rate of 86%.”
In the offshore segment, where Marco Polo operates a fleet of 13 offshore support vessels, it said vessels remained strong, driven by both the oil and gas and offshore windfarm sectors.
Marco Polo said its offshore fleet saw a significant increase in average charter rates as well as vessel utilisation rates.
“In terms of ship chartering, the group continued to see strong momentum and demand from end customers. Since the acquisition of Taiwan-based PKR offshore, the group has cemented its leadership as one of the leading vessel service providers supporting the Taiwan offshore windfarm market.
“Currently, the group is managing a fleet of third-party vessels, including five of the group’s thirteen OSVs which are chartered to service the offshore windfarm sector in Taiwan.”
Sean Lee, Marco Polo’s chief executive, said the company remains optimistic about its prospects in the year ahead and expects a strong finish to the year on the back of rising demand from end customers for both the shipyard and ship chartering segments.
“Our quarter financial results continued to demonstrate our ability to manage our business effectively despite the challenging operating environment. It is a positive quarter for the group, as we fired on all cylinders with strong operational performance recorded from both the shipyard and ship chartering segments.
“This is also the first quarter where we saw contributions from our recent acquisitions, which have positively impacted the Group’s top and bottom line.”
Lee noted that the offshore windfarm sector continues to present “tremendous opportunities” for Marco Polo, which is looking to expand both its geographical presence and service offerings for the offshore windfarm sector.
