ASL Marine, the offshore vessel operator and shipbuilder, has booked a pre-tax profit for the first quarter of its financial year, reversing a loss seen in the same quarter last year.
The Singapore-listed company said the profit was SGD 4.7m ($3.50m) for the three months ended 30 September 2023 against a loss of SGD 8m 12 months ago.
The group reported a revenue of SGD 88.1m for the reporting period, an increase of SGD 20.8m, or 31% compared to the corresponding quarter in financial year 2023, driven by higher contributions from all three business segments.
“This turnaround was primarily due to higher revenue and gross earnings from all three segments, the absence of other operating expenses, a reduced impairment loss on financial assets, and an improved share of results of associates,” ASL Marine said.
Shipbuilding revenue increased by 185.2% to SGD 17.5m during the quarter due to the higher percentage of completion recognised from the construction of tug that was at its initial stage of construction in the corresponding quarter last year.
Ship repair revenue increased by 20.6% year-on-year to SGD 43.7m on the back of more and bigger vessel repairs and other marine-related services as well as the sale of more dredge components.
Ship chartering revenue, in contrast, was up just 8% to SGD 26.8m thanks to higher contributions from offshore support vessels deployed in overseas infrastructure projects, higher contributions from new local marine infrastructure projects that began in the second half of last financial year, which was partially offset by reduced contributions from overseas towage jobs and rock transportation work.
Looking ahead, ASL Marine said for its shipbuilding segment, it continues to focus on securing orders for vessels of standard and generic designs such as 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,” it said.
In the ship repair segment, ASL Marine is expanding its dry-docking capacity by deploying a second floating dock in its Singapore yard to capture a larger share of the local ship repair market for bunkering vessels and harbour craft.
In terms of its chartering operation, ASL Marine said it expects a continued inflow of business from customers in the marine infrastructure industry, oil and gas exploration and production and offshore renewable energy sectors in the Asia-Pacific and South Asia region.
The company said it also plans to dispose of certain vessels to enhance liquidity and reduce maintenance costs while renewing its fleet to better meet its customer requirements.
