Deep in red ink, Ezra books impairments and write-offs in Q2

IMPAIRMENT losses and write-offs left offshore services provider Ezra Holdings awash in a sea of red for its second quarter.

The group made a net loss of US$249.93 million for the three months ended Feb 29 this year, a sharp dive from an already dismal US$138,000 net profit a year ago, it said in a Singapore Exchange filing late Thursday night.

Revenue from continuing operations fell 14 per cent to US$111.15 million from the previous year, which Ezra said was mainly due to weakness in its offshore support and production services division.

Its pre-tax loss from continuing operations in the quarter included an impairment loss on fixed assets of US$60.5 million and an impairment loss on investments in joint venture companies of US$38.3 million, it said.

It also booked write-offs of bad debts, net of US$18.9 million, and allowance for doubtful debts, net of US$48.6 million, it added.

Loss per share for the quarter was 10.38 US cents, from earnings per share of 3.25 US cents in the year-ago period. Net asset value was 35.53 US cents as at Feb 29, 2016, down from 46.46 US cents as at Aug 31, 2015.