Marco Polo Marine H1 profit rises 82% to S$10.8m as operations improve

MARCO Polo Marine : 5LY 0% saw its net profit for the first half ended Mar 31, 2022 rise 82 per cent year on year to S$10.8 million, from S$5.9 million previously.

Earnings per share consequently grew 76 per cent to 0.3 Singapore cent, from 0.17 cent in H1 FY2021. 

In its results filing on Thursday (May 12), the integrated marine logistics company said its bottom line growth was largely due to operational improvements as well as higher gross profit margins.

Revenue for H1 increased 30.9 per cent to S$27.6 million compared to S$21.1 million in H1 FY2021, as both the group’s ship chartering and shipbuilding & repair operations improved from the previous year.

Higher gross profit margins and a 46 per cent rise in revenue in the shipyard segment to S$17.1 million contributed to the bulk of the group’s improved financial performance, as the demand and contract value of ship repair jobs rose over the latest half-year period. 

Ship chartering revenue also rose 12 per cent to S$10.5 million from S$9.4 million previously, mainly driven by higher charter rates for the group’s fleet of offshore vessels as well as higher average utilisation rates for the group’s fleet of offshore vessels, tugboats and barges.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Excluding one-off gains from non-recurring items, the group recovered from a loss to achieve a H1 FY2022 adjusted net profit of S$1.2 million.

Coupled with an expansion in gross margins to 29.6 per cent from 23.8 per cent in H1 FY2021, Marco Polo’s gross profit surged 63 per cent to S$8.2 million from S$5 million the previous year.

In the near term, the group believes its ship chartering business will continue to benefit from the increase in oil prices, while the utilisation of the group’s fleet of tugboats and barges is expected to remain stable as construction activities in Singapore resumes to pre-Covid levels.

As for the shipyard business, Marco Polo said it will continue to focus on securing ship repair and maintenance orders from regional shipowners.

It expects its recently completed extension works on dry dock 1 to boost the group’s ship repairs capacity going forward.

“While the impact of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine gives rise to caution about the future, we are still very much determined to pursue our goals for expansion in the renewable energy sector,” said Sean Lee, chief executive of the group.

Shares of Marco Polo closed S$0.001 or 3.6 per cent higher at S$0.029 on Wednesday.