Ezion Holdings net profit more than doubles to $36.3m

Delivers "steady" performance in 3Q13.

According to PhillipCapital, Ezion Holdings (Ezion) delivered steady net profit in 3Q13, excluding exceptional items, of $36.3m, which was 130.2% higher than 3Q12 and 5.9% higher than the previous 2Q13.

With management is expecting 3 vessels to be deployed in 4Q13 -- 1 unit in Caspian Sea, 1 in South Asia and 1 in Arabian Gulf -- the research firm predicts earnings momentum should continue into FY14E, with a 61% increase in earnings from FY13E.

But as 3Q13 net gearing rose to 1.05x from 1.01x in 2Q13 (0.83x in 1Q13), PhillipCapital said Ezion could slow down its rate of project wins in an effort to control its gearing levels.

"We expect net gearing to hit 1.1x by end-FY13E, before easing to 0.8x in FY14E on improve free cash flow generation from more vessels contribution," said PhillipCapital.

But the research firm raised its FY13E/14E earnings forecast for Ezion to factor in new contracts, higher margins and updated SEUs deployment schedule.