Malaysia's Sapura Energy posts Q4 net loss on impairments, asset acquisition

[KUALA LUMPUR] Sapura Energy Berhad , Malaysia's largest oil and gas services company, posted a fourth-quarter net loss of 172.3 million ringgit (S$54.43 million) on Friday, hurt by impairments on property, plants and equipment.

Net losses for the quarter ended January were also attributed to a deposit in oil and gas assets acquisition, the company said in a statement to the local bourse.

The company, formerly known as SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd, posted a net loss of 1.29 billion ringgit in the year-ago period.

Quarterly revenue stood at 1.81 billion ringgit, down from 2.2 billion ringgit last year.

"While crude oil prices have improved in the recent months, the outlook remains uncertain. The trend of prolonged low levels of capital spending is expected to continue and poses significant challenges to the industry," said the company, adding it anticipated the challenging environment to persist in the short and medium term.

Sapura Energy shares were up 1.1 per cent at the midday break on Friday, outperforming a 0.3 per cent decline on the benchmark stock index.

REUTERS