ASL Marine has seen its second quarter profit halved and does not expect the market to improve this year.
The Singapore-listed company earned SGD 0.88m ($0.62m) between October and December, a decline of 51.6%.
Ang Kok Tian, chairman of ASL, said: “Despite the recent stabilization of oil prices, we do not foresee the operating environment for our businesses improving significantly in the next 12 months.
“The demand for shipbuilding and ship chartering remains weak and price-sensitive and the credit tightening in the industry continues to be a challenge for many industry players.”
ASL is now focusing on making the most out of the approval it got in January for the extension of two bonds.
This gives the company the opportunity to use a SGD 99.9m loan facility to meet working capital needs.
Tian added: “With careful cost management, we will continue to seek feasible business opportunities and ASL Marine will be increasingly resilient to ride out the market downturn.”
According to Clarksons, ASL controls a 43-strong fleet comprised of anchor handlers, platform supply vessels (PSVs) and tugs.
