Singapore-listed offshore services provider, Swiber Holdings (Swiber) posted a profit of USD70,000 down 99.9% year-on-year for the first quarter ended 31 March 2015, due to the depletion of the company’s order book last year.
Revenue fell 17.3% to USD164.9 million in 1Q15 as compared to USD199.5 million in 1Q14. Despite the lower earnings, gross profit hiked 115.6% to USD19.4 million in 1Q15 from USD9 million in 1Q14. The decrease of revenue was due to the lesser contracts being executed during 1Q15, while Swiber’s gross profit margin increased to 11.8% in 1Q15 as compared to 4.5% in 1Q14 due to more stringent control over its operating costs.
Meanwhile, the company saw a drop of 97% in its other operating income to USD2.9 million in 1Q15 as compared to USD97.1 million in 1Q14. The decrease was due mainly to the absence of gain on disposal of group of subsidiaries of USD95.1 million.
Swiber has also incurred more finance costs in 1Q15, up 9.4% in 1Q15 to USD15.1 million as compared to USD13.8 million in 1Q14 due to higher interest rates. Total borrowing as at 31 March 2015 were accumulated at USD1,092 million as compared to 31 March 2014 of USD1,048.8 million.
Future growth
Swiber expects to strengthen its capabilities in higher-value Engineering Procurement Installation Commissioning (EPIC) services and improve its operational performance while maximising cost efficiencies.
The company sees business opportunities in its field of expertise and is working actively on new project tenders in its target markets in South Asia, Southeast Asia, West Africa and Latin America. Nonetheless, Swiber will continue to adopt a prudent and cautious approach due to the fluctuation of oil prices and take the necessary steps to mitigate such risks.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
