ASL Marine swings to S$6.4m loss in second quarter

SHIPBUILDER ASL Marine swung to a S$6.4 million loss in its second quarter ended Dec 31, weighed down by lower margins, and lower value of shipbuilding work available.

The company also blamed a higher foreign exchange loss and finance costs for the loss, which was partially offset by higher other operating income.

The higher other operating income in Q2 FY2018 and H1 FY2018 was mainly due to higher gain on the disposal of cranes and sale of two vessels under assets classified as held for sale.

Revenue was S$63.54 million, down by 24.1 per cent compared to the year-ago period.

The company's shipbuilding segment suffered the biggest hit, posting revenue of S$5.68 million in Q2 FY2018 compared to S$34.93 million from the previous year, a drop of 83.8 per cent, mainly due to lower progressive recognition from the new shipbuilding projects.

The results translated into a loss per share of 1.02 Singapore cents, compared with earnings per share of 0.19 Singapore cents in the previous year. Net asset value per share was 57.24 Singapore cents, down from 59.68 Singapore cents six months ago.

ASL's counter closed at 9.8 Singapore cents apiece on Wednesday, down 0.3 Singapore cent or 2.97 per cent.