Singapore rigbuilders strengthen position as Chinese rival yards stumble

Chinese competition plagued by financing woes.

According to Maybank Kim Eng, Singapore rigbuilders will receive a windfall from the deteriorating prospects for Chinese yards.

Singapore rigbuilders compete heavily with Chinese yards for offshore orders, but the latter now face a possible shakeout -- China's largest private shipbuilder China Rongsheng has recently sought financial aid from the government, for example -- which will only serve to lower the competitive pressure on Singapore rigbuilders like Keppel Corporation and Sembcorp Marine.

Here's more from Maybank:

Reiterate preference for Singapore rigbuilders. Recent industry developments reinforce our positive views on Singapore rigbuilders. Central to our argument is that Chinese and Korean competition would not bring down average rig prices and lead to future margin decline. We see stable earnings outlook for the Singapore rigbuilders (Keppel Corp & Sembcorp Marine) ahead of 2Q13 results season, but flag possible downside risks for the Chinese shipbuilders (Cosco & Yangzijiang).

Chinese yards facing crunch time. In our last sector update on 10 June 13, we mentioned that loose financing terms offered by Chinese shipyards in order to secure shipbuilding or offshore jobs are not sustainable and could accelerate the fall of the yards. China’s largest private shipbuilder, China Rongsheng recently sought financial aid from the government after facing difficulties paying suppliers and had to cut its workforce by 40%. Rongsheng’s woes reflect the difficult times Chinese shipbuilders are facing with a drought in shipbuilding orders. For many, the aggressive move into the offshore sector was taken out of desperation. We see 2 possible repercussions if this exacerbates to other yards: (1) Customers may become less willing to award orders for fear that yards cannot deliver, (2) Rapid flushing out of excess capacities, accelerating sector recovery. Either way, this would ease competition for offshore orders.

Hyundai Heavy plans to raise shipbuilding prices. Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy indicated their intention to raise shipbuilding prices and expects orders this year to exceed its target. This is a stark contrast to the situation for Chinese shipyards. The more technologically advanced Korean yards could do so because the new demand trend is for larger and more fuel-efficient vessels, LNG vessels and drillships which most Chinese yards do not yet have the capabilities to build. We highlighted in our last sector update that competition would be less intense in the offshore sector when shipbuilding orders return to the Korean shipyards.

Reiterate Buy on Keppel Corp (KEP SP, TP SGD12.10) and Sembcorp Marine (SMM SP, TP SGD5.20). TPs are adjusted lower marginally for market values of SOTP components and higher risk-free rates (3%) for DCF valuations. For the Chinese shipbuilders, we see downside earnings risks and further sector de-ratings. We lower TP for Cosco (COS SP, TP SGD0.65) with Sell rating maintained. No change in Yangzijiang’s (YZJ SP, TP SGD0.93) TP and Hold rating.