KUALA LUMPUR: MISC Bhd
, which recorded an earnings jump in the fourth quarter of its 2022 financial year, is seeing a promising outlook in its operating segments.
In the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2022, the maritime solutions group said its net profit climbed 39.7% to RM645mil, representing an earnings per share of 14.4 sen.
The group reported revenue of RM4.17bil, which was 35.26% higher than in the previous corresponding quarter, on the back of improved contribution from various segments.
Over the entire financial year, the group's net profit came to RM1.82bil, which was comparable to RM1.83bil in FY21, while revenue rose to RM13.87bil from RM10.67bil.
The group declared an interim dividend of 12 sen per share, which brings the full-year payout to 33 sen per share.
"MISC delivered a positive financial performance for this quarter, driven by the resilience of our businesses across the Group.
"We, as a team will remain focused and committed to exploring new prospects, synergistic partnerships, and innovative solutions," said MISC president and group CEO Rajalingam Subramaniam in a statement.
On outlook, MISC said spot rates in the LNG shipping market continue to be supported by increasing European demand, China's demand recovery and tight vessel availability coupled with LNG infrastructure reaching investment decisions.
However, the group noted that operating income for the gas assets and solutions segment is expected to remain strong, underwritten by its long-term charters.
As for petroleum shipping, the group said the outlook remains positive as average tanker earnings remain relatively high.
The group said it continues to focus on building long-term secure income as the recent Opec+ production curbs are expected to keep oil supply tight in 2023.
Meanwhile, the outlook for the upstream oil and gas sector remains promising given the high oil prices, increased capex spending and improve global oil demand with China's reopening.
"FPSOs demand is expected to continue growing favorably, with the increase in planned projects over the next few years mainly coming from the South American region with Brazil leading the bulk of FPSO growth market, followed by the West Africa region," it said.
The offshore segment meanwhile will remain focused in the execution of the current project in hand while undertaking significant mitigation efforts to minimise cost and schedule pressures.
MISC said the segment's financial performance will continue to be supported by the existing portfolio of long-term contracts.
The group added that the marine and heavy engineering segment remains cautiously optimistic on the outlook of its heavy engineering sub-segment for the year.
It said the group aims to grow its order book by seeking opportunities in various geographical markets and renewable energy space.
It will also continue to focus on schedule project execution and delivery via optimal resource utilisation and deployment of latest technology while maximising digitalisation and automation of operations.
Meanwhile, MISC said the marine sub-segment is expected to remain challenging owing to the prevailing manpower shortage while China's Covid-19 restrictions could create stiffer competition among shipyard for the limited dry-docking prospects.
