KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MHB) has returned to the black in the fourth quarter ended December 2017 with a net profit of RM48.13 million from a net loss of RM119.57 million in the same period a year ago.
For the full-year, the group achieved a revenue of RM956.4 million with a net profit of RM32.4 million from a net loss of RM134.3 million in the preceding year.
The company’s board of directors has approved a tax exempt dividend of 3 sen per share in respect of financial year 2017 amounting to RM48 million.
The proposed dividend will be paid on March 8 to shareholders registered at the close of business on February 23.
The heavy engineering business unit recorded a revenue of RM591.3 million against RM746.6 million in the prior year.
MHB said several offshore projects were completed in the first half of this year while revenue from new projects will be mainly recognised in 2018 onwards.
The segment posted a lower operating loss of RM36.7 million from RM107.7 million loss in the prior year, mainly from recognition of change orders and finalisation of completed projects in the current year.
The marine business unit registered a lower revenue of RM365.1 million compared to RM444.6 million in the prior year, mainly due to lower value and number of LNG carrier drydocking repairs carried out in the year.
The segment reported operating profit of RM52.8 million against RM88.5 million in the previous year.
Managing director and chief executive officer Wan Mashitah Wan Abdullah Sani said there has been a steady rise in the oil price in recent months, consistent with the tightening global oil production and escalating geopolitical risks.
However, she added that sustainability of the price will depend on oil producers remaining committed to the oil production cut.
“We remain cautious on the outlook for the industry in the near term. There is still uncertainty as to the industry’s capital spending.
“We had during the year secured a number of offshore fabrication projects which are expected to contribute positively to the group's revenue in 2018 and beyond”, Wan Mashitah said.