ASL Marine, the offshore vessel operator and shipbuilder, has managed to reduce the red ink in the second quarter of 2024, the latest figures show.
The Singapore-listed company posted a loss of $1.65m for the three months to 31 December 2023, versus a year ago loss of $12.9m.
Revenue for the quarter was up 30.5% to $90.6m, while costs showed a year-on-year increase of just 17.6% to $78.1m, the company said.
ASL Marine attributed the improved revenue to higher contributions from shipbuilding and chartering operations.
Shipbuilding revenue increased from $1.75m to $16.4m year on year due to a higher percentage of completion being recognised from the construction of a tug, which was at its initial stage of construction last year
In addition, more barges were being constructed in the second quarter, with two under construction and four delivered.
Following the addition of newbuilding contracts for 35 barges in the second half of the previous year, ASL Marine’s shipbuilding orderbook is now worth $86m.
In contrast, ASL Marine’s ship repair, conversion and engineering services revenue in the second quarter was marginally lower than a year ago, mainly due to the comparatively lower volume of high-value projects.
ASL Marine’s charter revenue increased by 57.2% year on year to $26.3m in the second quarter due to higher contributions from offshore support vessels deployed in overseas infrastructure projects.
Looking ahead, ASL Marine said for its shipbuilding segment, it continues to focus on securing orders for vessels of standard and generic designs like tugs, barges and workboats.
“To better manage financial risks, the management is working on contracts, which have shorter delivery cycles and are less capital intensive. We will continue to exercise caution with our review of customers based on their creditworthiness,” the company said.
For the ship repair segment, the group is expanding its dry-docking capacity by deploying a second floating dock at its Singapore yard to capture a larger share of the local ship repair market for bunker vessels and harbour craft.
For its chartering operations, ASL Marine said it expects a continued inflow of business from regional customers in the marine infrastructure industry, oil and gas exploration and production, offshore renewable energy sectors and bulk cargo transshipment industry in the Asia Pacific and South Asia region.
The company said it also plans to dispose of certain vessels to enhance liquidity, scrap ageing vessels to reduce maintenance costs and renew its fleet.
