CH Offshore profit plunges 19% in Q2 FY15

CH Offshore's net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2014 fell 19 per cent to US$5.44 million as contributions from its associated companies fell while administrative expenses gained.

Over the same period, revenue dipped 4.2 per cent to US$8.79 million. One vessel was off-hired for its mandatory overhaul in early-September 2014 and resumed its operation on Dec 1, 2014. As a result, the fleet's utilisation for Q2 FY15 was lower than Q2 FY14, the company said.

Administrative expenses for Q2 FY15 surged 27.7 per cent to US$1.25 million. This was primarily due to higher advisory and legal fees incurred in the quarter, which together amounted to about US$0.3 million.

Half year net profit plunged 21.9 per cent to US$11 million while revenue jumped 4.6 per cent to US$17.86 million.

The company, which is the subject of a takeover offer, acknowledged that the current offshore support vessel market continues to be challenging and highly competitive due to the sharp decline in global oil price in the recent months.

"In light of this, we expect the charter rates to remain weak," it said.

"Taking into consideration those vessels which are due for their mandatory major overhaul and barring unforeseen circumstances, we should expect the group's remaining fleet utilisation to be stable," it added.

For the three months ended Dec 31, 2014, earnings per share stood at 1.56 US cents while net asset value per share was 32.41 US cents.

No dividend was declared for the quarter, versus 0.5 Singapore cents per share that was issued in the previous corresponding period.

On Friday, CH Offshore's counter closed trading at S$0.50.