KUALA LUMPUR: Marine & General Bhd
remains cautiously optimistic over its current financial year prospects given the external developments that could affect the global and domestic economic climate.
In a statement, the group said its upstream division is looking forward to a more active year ahead while the downstream division expects its charter operations to be buoyed by sustained economic activities and national economic growth.
Despite the disposal of two out of its eight vessels in the preceding year, the group said the commercial prospects over the medium-term remain positive for the downstream division given its high operating standards and demand for Malaysian-flagged tankers in the market.
"The downstream division remains committed to its long-term growth plan with fleet expansion being continuously considered based on market demand and strategic opportunities," it added.
In the first quarter of its financial year, Marine & General recorded a net profit of RM13mil, up from RM7.41mil in the year-ago quarter, for a higher earnings per share of 0.58 sen against 0.33 sen.
The group reported revenue of RM91.19mil in the quarter under review against RM84.63mil in the comparative quarter.
During the quarter, the upstream division continued to be the main contributor of revenue with 77% contribution, while downstream generated the remaining 23%.
Marine & General said the upstream division recorded an 11.2% higher revenue of RM70.4mil from the year-ago quarter.
This was mainly owing to higher charter rates, especially in the 70M AHTS vessel segment, in line with the sustained rise in oil drilling activities and the general economic recovery in the region.
Consequently, the division recorded a 28% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profit of RM15.9mil.
The downstream division recorded revenue of RM20.8mil in 1QFY25, which was lower than RM21.3mil in the year-ago quarter due to the disposal of two tankers in the previous two quarters.
However, the division posted a pre-tax profit of RM2.7mil against a loss of RM57,000 in the year-ago quarter.
"This turnaround was largely driven by lower operating expenses incurred during the current period following the disposal of two vessels in the preceding financial year while
maintaining the revenue level as vessel utilisation increased from 85% to 91% in the current period," it said.
