KS Energy earnings will take time to rise

Remains in recovery mode.

According to OCBC, KS Energy is on the right track by trying to focus on achoring its business in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries and executing larger-scale projects. But with these projects having only smaller margins and the general growth trend of its nascent businesses, it could take time for earnings to spike.

Here's more from OCBC:

Still recovering. KS Energy (KSE) reported a 29.4% YoY rise in revenue to S$196.2m and a net profit of S$1.6m in 2Q13 vs. S$0.7m in 2Q12, such that 1H13 revenue and net profit accounted for 54% and 42% of our full year estimates, respectively. Gross profit margin was lower at 22.8% in 2Q13 compared to 27.5% in 2Q12 and 23.3% in 1Q13, and this is because the distribution division had executed more larger-scale projects that had comparatively lower margins.

Update on assets. After the disposal of KS Titan 2 in 1Q13, KSE currently has three offshore jack-up rigs, seven land rigs and four workover rigs. In addition, it has two jack-ups under construction at Cosco and another jack-up rig under construction (announced 4 Jun 2013, delivery 1Q14). Work for the Atlantic Rotterdam will continue till end Sep or early Oct this year.

Distribution remains the mainstay. Looking ahead, management believes that the distribution business will continue to be an important contributor the group’s overall performance this year. Indeed, besides undertaking maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) work, the group is executing projects which are larger in scale. This division contributed to 78.7% of total revenue in 1H13. For next year, drilling should contribute more to the group’s earnings as more jack-up rigs join the fleet. No charter contracts have been announced for these assets yet.

Maintain HOLD. We are positive on KSE’s strategy to focus on anchoring its business in Indonesia and other parts of SE Asia, from where it can continue to grow to the rest of Asia. However, the group remains in a mode of recovery and time will be needed for more significant leaps in earnings.Maintain HOLD with S$0.50 fair value estimate, based on 0.85x FY13/14F NTA.