KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 23): Petra Energy Bhd has appointed Datuk Mohd Nizam Abdul Razak, a substantial shareholder of the company, as a non-independent and non-executive director.

Nizam, 60, who is the brother of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was appointed to the post effective Feb 22, the oil and gas services providers said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today. 

Nizam is pro chancellor of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, as well as a trustee on several charitable foundations. He has also previously served on the board of  Deutsche Bank Malaysia Bhd, Delloyd Ventures Bhd, Mamee-Double Decker (M) Bhd, Yeo Hiap Seng (M) Bhd and Wah Seong Corp Bhd.

Meanwhile, Simon Ong was also appointed to Petra Energy’s board as an independent and non-executive director, the group said in a separate filing. 

Ong, 65, had recently retired as the managing director of Shell Global Solutions (M) Sdn Bhd and has 38 years of experience in upstream businesses, Petra Energy said. 

Both Nizam and Ong were also appointed as members of the group’s nomination committee, with Ong being appointed as chairman of the committee effective Feb 22. Ong was also appointed as a member of the audit committee. 

Nizam owns 29.25 million shares or a 9.11% stake in Petra Energy, making him the fourth largest shareholder in the group, after Tan Sri Bustari Yusuf (via Shorefield Resources Sdn Bhd), Wah Seong and Lembaga Tabung Haji. 

Petra Energy reported a 39.3% narrowing of its net loss to RM46.91 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2017, mainly due to lower impairment of property plant and equipment. 

Revenue doubled to RM120.81 million from RM59.83 million a year earlier, on higher contributions from its services and marine assets segments. 

Despite this, a higher pre-tax loss of RM53.8 million was recorded in the quarter for its services segment, due to “poor performance on certain project(s),” the group said. 

The marine assets segment on the other hand, posted a pre-tax profit of RM9.2 million, versus a loss of RM10 million previously, due to higher vessel utilisation. 

Higher profit before taxation of RM9.4 million was also recorded in the production and development segment, on the back of improved contribution from an associate, Petra Energy said. 

The group’s full 2017 financial year net loss narrowed by 59.33% to RM46.45 million, while revenue rose 39.3% to RM462.6 million. 

Shares in Petra Energy closed up 1 sen or 2.07% today at 74 sen, coming off an all-time low of 73 sen. The group had a market capitalisation of RM238.1 million.