Marco Polo Marine reports earnings of $18.3 million for the 2HFY2023 ended Sept 30, 74.1% higher y-o-y. This brings its earnings for the FY2023 to $22.6 million, 5.8% higher y-o-y.
The surge in the company’s 2HFY2023 and FY2023 earnings were due to higher revenues from both the ship chartering and shipyard segments and higher gross profit margins (GPMs). Revenue from ship chartering grew due to the higher average utilisation and charter rates for its fleet of offshore vessels y-o-y in 2HFY2023 while FY2023 ship chartering revenue grew mainly from the consolidation of PT Bina Buana Raya (PT BBR) and PKR Offshore’s (PKRO)’s results.
Revenue from the company’s shipyard segment in the 2HFY2023 and FY2023 grew due to higher contract values for this segment’s repair projects and the commencement of new ship-building projects in the current year.
Total revenue for the 2HFY2023 rose by 21.8% y-o-y to $71.2 million.
Gross profit rose by 45.3% y-o-y to $28.0 million.
GPM for the six-month period rose by 6.3 percentage points y-o-y to 39.3%.
See also: Trump wins Republican nomination, setting up rematch with Biden
Ebitda surged by 55.8% y-o-y to $28.2 million while ebitda margin improved by 8.7 percentage points y-o-y to 39.6%.
FY2023 revenue increased by 47.7% y-o-y to $127.1 million as revenue across the company’s two segments grew.
Gross profit for the FY2023 surged by 66.6% y-o-y to $45.7 million as GPM rose by 4.1 percentage points y-o-y to 36.0%.
Ebitda for the FY2023 surged by 78.9% y-o-y to $43.3 million as ebitda margin rose by 6 percentage points y-o-y to 34.1%.
Cash and cash equivalents as at Sept 30 stood at $61.3 million.
A dividend of 0.1 cent per share has been declared for the period, where there were no dividends in the same period the year before.
“FY2023 has been a year of significant growth for Marco Polo Marine 5LY . Our ship chartering segment has achieved notable success, marked by increased fleet utilisation and strong growth in charter rates. Concurrently, our shipyard operations also delivered a commendable set of results, fuelled by valuable new contracts with higher project margins,” says Sean Lee, CEO of Marco Polo Marine.
“These achievements underscore our effective expansion and collaborative efforts in the offshore marine industry, and we are also particularly excited about the progress we have made in the offshore wind farm sector,” he adds.
Looking ahead, the company expects the utilisation rate of its offshore support vessels to remain relatively robust on the back of the positive supply-demand dynamics. Charter rates for OSVs are also still expected to appreciate in the coming financial year, albeit at a more moderate pace compared to FY2023.
The company says it will also continue to support the Taiwan offshore wind farm market via its ship chartering business.
For more stories about where money flows, click here for Capital Section
In shipyard, the company says it has secured several new build contracts for the construction of barges, with progressive deliveries up to 2HFY2024.
“Our company is dedicated to serving the oil and gas and offshore renewable energy industries. We recognise the significant growth potential of renewable energy and remain committed to our strategy of pursuing opportunities in this field. Our commissioning service operation vessels (CSOV) is currently under construction at our Batam yard and will be completed in the second half of 2024,” Lee says.
“This CSOV will be our stepping stone to penetrate the high-growth Taiwan offshore wind sector, and we are excited to have secured the framework agreement with Vestas that will see our vessel being gainfully deployed over the next three years,” he adds.
Shares in Marco Polo Marine closed at 5.2 cents on Nov 24.
