KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 21): Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd saw its net profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2017 (2QFY18) rise 3.4% to RM11.04 million from RM10.68 million a year ago, thanks to higher revenue and lower expenses, but offset by absence of foreign exchange (forex) gains incurred in the same quarter a year ago.

Quarterly earnings per share stood at 0.72 sen, against 0.76 sen in 2QFY18, according to its filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

It was the eighth consecutive profitable quarter for Hibiscus since the oil and gas outfit acquired its first producing asset — Anasuria Cluster — two years ago, the company said in a separate statement.

Quarterly revenue jumped 21.08% to RM76.06 million from RM62.82 million previously, largely driven by higher average realised oil price per barrel in the quarter.

This was however partially offset by lower average uptime of 63% from 90% in 2QFY17, mainly due to a planned shutdown of the Anasuria floating production storage and offloading vessel for 31 days in the quarter, added with lower average daily production rate due to two temporary malfunctions — both of which have since been resolved.

For the six-month period ended Dec 31, 2017 (6MFY18), Hibiscus' net profit was 76% lower at RM21.83 million against RM90.96 million in the same period a year ago. This was due to lower deferred taxation of RM3.71 million in 6MFY18 compared to RM83.88 million in 6MFY17.

Hibiscus recorded a 30.35% increase in pre-tax profit to RM22.83 million, from RM17.51 million previously, thanks to lower expenses and higher revenue offset by absence of forex gains. Half-year revenue rose 14.23% to RM134.3 million, from RM117.57 million in 6MFY17.

"During the first half of this financial year, we have demonstrated an ability to deliver results even though we have conducted extensive planned maintenance and have been subject to some unscheduled production interruptions," said Hibiscus managing director Kenneth Pereira.

"The fact that we have executed the planned maintenance activities should place us in a good position going forward, provided oil prices remain at current favourable levels," he added.

Hibiscus, said Pereira, is now focusing on the drilling of the GUA-P2 side-track well by the end of June 2018, "which will unlock 1.01 million barrels from our current 29.2 million barrels 2P reserves".

The progress puts Hibiscus on the right track towards achieving 5,000 barrels of oil per day by 2020 from the Anasuria Cluster, he added.

"We are also working towards the completion of the North Sabah acquisition by March 31, 2018, which will represent a significant milestone and introduce a second cash generating business segment to the group," Pereira said.

At 2.07pm, shares of Hibiscus rose 1.5 sen or 1.53% to 99.5 sen, giving the oil and gas company a market capitalisation of RM1.58 billion.