Sembmarine warns of deeper-than-expected losses for H1

Singapore

OFFSHORE and marine (O&M) giant Sembcorp Marine on Monday warned of record first-half-year losses of over S$500 million as a result of manpower and supply-constraint woes, taking analysts aback with its worse-than-expected guidance.

Spiralling costs over the next six to 18 months, mainly to do with manpower issues, have pushed the firm into tapping "non-traditional sources" of labour, which cost twice as much, given prevailing labour shortages. These cost overruns have hurt the pandemic-beaten firm and delayed most of its projects by at least 12 months.