Marco Polo Marine has reported a near 20% jump in second-half net profit on the back of a major improvement in the offshore markets.
The Singapore-listed company posted net income of SGD 10.5m ($7.6m) for the six-month period versus the SGD 8.8m achieved 12 months earlier.
No dividend was declared for the period under review, with the company saying it would like to “conserve cash” for its capital expenditure requirements in the coming financial year.
Revenue for the second half of the year more than doubled to SGD 58.5m, helped by a 200% increase in revenue from its ship chartering arm to SGD 34.2m.
“This increase was mainly as a result of the acquisition of Indonesian shipping agency company PT Pelayaran Nasional Bina Buana Raya and Taiwan-based PKR Offshore in March and May 2022 respectively,” Marco Polo Marine said.
“In addition, the group recorded higher average utilisation rates and charter rates for its fleet of offshore vessels during the year.”
Marco Polo Marine chief executive Sean Lee described 2022 as a “monumental year” as the company accelerated its expansion into the offshore wind-farm sector.
“Our joint venture with Oceanic Crown Offshore Marine Services and the acquisition of PKR Offshore Co has cemented our position as one of the leading OSV service providers supporting the offshore wind farms in Taiwan,” he said.
“Together with our growing ship-repair business, we have delivered a commendable performance for the year despite a challenging macroeconomic outlook.”
Looking ahead, Marco Polo Marine said the offshore and shipping industries continue to face uncertainties amidst the challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape.
“The group will continue to improve its operational efficiency to enhance its competitiveness, as well as accelerate its expansion into the renewable energy sector,” it said.
For the ship-chartering business, Marco Polo Marine said it will “continue to explore opportunities to support the booming offshore wind-farm market”.
In the near term, the company said rising oil prices due to ongoing geopolitical tensions are also expected to positively benefit the group’s daily charter rates and utilisation rates for its fleet of offshore support vessels.
“As an overall strategy, we are committed to targeting our collective efforts and resources towards meaningful change in the renewables sector,” Lee said.
“We hope to deepen our push into this space through synergistic partnerships and the addition of new state-of-the-art vessels, including our self-developed commissioning service operation vessel, which is currently under construction, to further support the growing demand from offshore wind-farm projects.”
