KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): MISC Bhd said it aims to grow its secured and recurring profits by 20% in the next three to four years by expanding the shipping company's business in South America, Africa and the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas sectors, Nikkei Asian Review reported yesterday.

Nikkei Asian Review, quoting MISC president and group CEO Yee Yang Chien, reported that Petronas currently holds about 57% equity stake in MISC.

"Anyone who believes we focus on doing in-house business for Petronas, no, that is an incorrect perception. We do business with a global set of clients. When you look at our financials, historically we have done primarily liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers with Petronas, but we are expanding beyond that.

"The new business will be in the Atlantic area for us, for both oil and gas," Yee was quoted as saying. The Atlantic Basin includes South America, Africa and the Gulf of Mexico, where Petronas does not have existing operations.

Nikkei Asian Review reported that MISC is currently focusing on the North Sea area around Norway for shuttle tankers, and shipping LNG from American and Canadian producers to Europe.

It was reported that MISC, which transported about 7% of the world's LNG in 2018, is also trying to expand its offshore business in Brazil.

"MISC's (2018) revenue is RM8.78 billion, and operating profit in 2018 stood at RM1.47 billion. Neither sales nor profit have seen significant growth in the past five years, making it a matter of urgency for the company to expand into new areas," Nikkei Asian Review reported.

At Bursa Malaysia today, KLCI stock MISC's share price fell two sen or 0.24% to RM8.41 for a market capitalisation of RM37.51 billion. The counter traded between RM8.41 and RM8.47 so far today.