KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): Icon Offshore Bhd reported a 33-fold jump in third quarter (3Q) net profit to RM14.37 million, from RM426,000 a year earlier, primarily due to contribution from its drilling segment which commenced operations in April this year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 increased 66.01% to RM87.28 million, from RM52.58 million previously, helped by the drilling segment's contribution and higher revenue from the offshore support vessel (OSV) segment.
For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2021, Icon's net profit dropped 35.39% to RM17.9 million, from RM27.68 million in the previous January-September period, when the results included a gain on debt restructuring of RM19.1 million and waiver of interest payables of RM8.8 million upon completion of debt restructuring.
Notwithstanding this, Icon posted a 39.71% jump in nine-month revenue to RM219.99 million, from RM157.46 million previously, mainly due to the revenue from the drilling business and higher utilisation of vessels in the OSV segment.
Icon said the outlook for upstream exploration and production activities in Malaysia is expected to be positive this year compared with in last year on the back of recovery of crude oil price.
In addition to the OSV segment, the group's drilling segment commenced its maiden contract in April 2021 and contributed RM6.4 million in net profit.
"The order book as at Sept 30, 2021 stood at RM770.6 million, comprising RM732.5 million for the OSV segment and RM38.1 million for the drilling segment. Long term contracts represent 94% of the order book which will provide cash flow stability and earnings visibility," Icon said.
The group added that the continued focus of the group will be on operational efficiencies, securing new contracts, maximising utilisation rate through competitive bidding for domestic and regional contracts as well as leveraging on its continued presence in Brunei and maximising synergies between OSV and drilling segments.
In a separate statement, Icon managing director Datuk Seri Hadian Hashim said the result showed sustained performance of the group's turnaround and transformation as a continuation of its debt restructuring and recapitalisation last year.
"We are pleased with our positive momentum since the previous quarter. This was made possible through increased improvement efforts across various aspects of our operations, including focusing on safety at work for crew and taking preventive maintenance of our assets, which have enabled our OSV as well as rig to operate more efficiently.
"Further, we also managed to contain cost increments given the additional stringent safety measures and standard operating procedures that were put in place throughout our operations due to Covid-19," he added.
Hadian said that armed with a combined order book and tender book of RM1.7 billion, Icon believes it is currently on stronger footing and poised to capture more value creation opportunities for its shareholders on the back of increased oil and gas activities in Malaysia and the region.
Icon's share price closed unchanged at 12.5 sen on Thursday, valuing the group at RM337.9 million, with 25.95 million shares changing hands.