Maybank IB said it believes OSV charter rates could likely experience a mild decline in the first half of financial year 2026.
PETALING JAYA: Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB) is maintaining a “neutral” stance on the oil and gas (O&G) sector while expecting the offshore support vessel (OSV) sub-segment to face persistent headwinds in the near term.
Following a recent visit to Keyfield International Bhd
’s Wisdom and Grace OSVs that were docked in Labuan, Sabah, the research house noted that more jobless vessels were noticeable at the site in January this year as compared with the same period last year.
After conversations and ground checks with multiple OSV owners and operators, Maybank IB said it believes OSV charter rates could likely experience a mild decline in the first half of financial year 2026 but are likely to be capped below 10%.
“However, one positive factor is that we believe most OSV companies will still be profitable, as this small downcycle in daily charter rates (DCRs) in 2025 to 2026 will not be as severe as those in 2014 or 2020,” the research house said in a report yesterday.
Meanwhile, Maybank IB said it is still unable to ascertain full-year utilisation rates for OSV companies such as Keyfield, Perdana Petroleum Bhd and Nam Cheong Ltd in 2025 pending their respective fourth quarter of the financial year 2025 (4Q25) results this February.
“Our ground checks have indicated that most of the OSV companies are expecting flattish utilisation rates in 2026 with slightly lower charter rates. We believe this reflects an ongoing competitive tendering environment due to low-medium offshore activity levels,” it pointed out.
Despite the downcycle, both Keyfield and Perdana at end-3Q25 are sitting on net cash positions of RM24.4mil and RM143.3mil respectively. With such a cash war chest, the OSV sector could weather short-term contract delays, absorb charter rate normalisation, and fund essential maintenance capital expenditure without seeking additional funding.
