Swiber's 3Q gross profit surges 79.9% to US$26.5m

The offshore construction services provider reported a 27.5% increase in revenue to US$122.4, taking into consideration the contributions arising from the projects awarded to the company since November 2009.

The projects were concentrated in South East Asia and South Asia.

Gross profit correspondingly surged 79.9% to US$26.5 million in 3QFY2010 from US$14.8 million in the same corresponding period in FY2009 (“3QFY2009”). Gross profit margin was up 6.3% to 21.7% in 3QFY2010 as compared to 15.4% in FY2009.

Net profit however declined 51.3% to US$8.0 million mainly due to fair value accounting, forex losses and finance costs. Business expansion efforts also contributed to higher administrative expenses.

Raymond Goh, Executive Chairman of Swiber, said,“We remain confident with the opportunities in the offshore oil and gas sector and we will continue to expand our presence in key markets such as Middle East and Indo China. We have been investing actively in various countries over the last five years including Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand, and soon, Indonesia. We certainly look forward to further investment opportunities in exciting and growing markets.”

Francis Wong, Group CEO and President of Swiber, said, “Asia and Middle East remains exciting and we recently launched Swiber PJW3000, one of the largest Derrick Pipe-lay Barges in the Asia-Pacific region, to help strengthen our market share in this region. This represents one of our most significant assets and we intend to deploy Swiber PJW3000 to perform EPIC work in South East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East.”

“Going forward, we will continuously explore new opportunities to leverage on our strong track record and strategic partnerships whilst prudently managing our business operations and cost efficiencies,” Wong added.