The cargo hold from which the coal was discharged onboard the MBC's MV Alam Pintar.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd (Maybulk) fell into a deeper loss attributable to equity holders of RM1.12bil for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2015 from a loss of RM21.78mil a year earlier, dragging the company into its first-ever annual loss.
The company, which operates the country’s largest fleet of international dry bulk shipping vessels, told Bursa Malaysia that for the full year, it incurred RM1.18bil in loss compared with earnings of RM12.15mil in the preceding year. Revenue fell 5.6% to RM241.5mil.
The dry bulk segment reported a loss of RM583.107mil in 2015, a drop of RM550.46mil from RM32.64mil profit previously, mainly due to impairment loss on vessels, provision for onerous contracts, and the non-recurrence of last year’s gain on disposal of vessel.
Excluding these items, net loss was RM104.164mil in 2015 versus RM41.429mil in 2014, it said.
On the impairment provisions, Maybulk said the impairment loss on vessels (including joint ventures) amounted to RM368.12mil, impairment loss on investment in associate was RM495.77mil, and provision for onerous contracts (including joint ventures) totalled RM110.83mil.
In addition, there was negative contribution from associate, PACC Offshore Services Holdings Ltd (POSH), which incurred a loss of RM106.18mil last year versus a profit of RM36.73mil in 2014.
“In view of the drastic drop in oil prices and the weak outlook of the offshore support service sector, the group has completed an impairment test and has booked a US$115.6mil (RM495.77mil) write-down on the value of its investment in POSH,” Maybulk said.
Maybulk had invested S$82.43mil (RM240.15mil) in POSH in 2014 in order to maintain its 21.23% stake in the Singapore-listed company in conjunction with POSH’s initial public offering exercise.
Maybulk’s tanker segment posted a loss of RM4.33mil in 2015, compared with a profit of RM0.66mil in the previous year mostly due to scheduled dockings of the vessels. Tanker rates improved by 9% to US$13,675 per day in 2015.
On its prospects, Maybulk said the dry bulk market had a grim start in 2016 with the Baltic Dry Index sliding to new record lows.
Year-to-date 2016 Panamax daily time charter average fell to US$2,811 from 2015’s average of US$5,560, Supramax to US$3,479 per day (2015: US$6,966) and Handysize US$3,255 (2015: US$5,381).
“Dry bulk trade was static in 2015 largely due to slower Chinese economic growth. Looking forward, China’s seaborne coal imports are expected to decline further in 2016,” Maybulk said.
It added that the increase in demolition activity, reduced drybulk deliveries and increasing lay-ups should help to reduce tonnage overcapacity.
The company concluded that 2016 would be yet another challenging year for dry bulk shipping.
Maybulk had issued a profit warning on Jan 29, saying it expected a substantial loss for the fourth quarter of 2015 and financial year 2015. (Read more)
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