PETALING JAYA: Uzma Bhd
’s earnings growth is expected to pick up in financial year 2027 (FY27), supported by recovering seismic vessel utilisation, recently secured projects and an expanding tender book.
In a note, Phillip Capital Research said it came away from the energy and technology group’s fourth quarter (4Q26) post-results briefing constructive on its FY27 outlook.
“We expect earnings growth to resume in 2Q27, with seismic vessel utilisation set to recover to above 90% following the completion of dry-docking, alongside a gradual pick-up in upstream oil and gas (O&G) activity following Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s portfolio optimisation and operatorship realignment in 1Q27,” it said.
Looking beyond the near-term recovery, the research house sees multiple drivers underpinning Uzma’s growth momentum in FY27.
These include full-year contributions from Johnson Pump (M) Sdn Bhd, which the group acquired in December 2025, as well as from the third-party access (TPA) pipeline gas supply secured in 3Q26.
The group is also expected to record higher contributions from its new energy segment, driven by newly secured net energy metering projects, with power generation capacity set to expand to 150MWp in FY27, from about 100MWp in FY26.
The commissioning of Uzma’s Sara water injection facility (WIF) 2.0, which was 85% complete as at August 2026, is also expected to contribute from 3Q27, the research house said.
Meanwhile, tender activity is increasing across both O&G and non-O&G segments, with the group’s tender book rising by 81% quarter-on-quarter to RM5.6bil as atJune 2026, up from RM3.1bil in 3Q26.
Phillip Capital Research added that the tender book is split at 67:33 between non-O&G and O&G.
“As a top three bumiputra solar player in Malaysia, Uzma is well-positioned to participate in large-scale solar 6 Package 2, which comprises 300MW of solar and 150MW of battery energy storage systems capacity,” it said.
It also noted that growing energy security concerns amid ongoing Middle East tensions are driving increased tender activity for well services projects across Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. The brokerage said successful contract wins could provide upside to its FY27 earnings estimates.
Phillip Capital Research maintained its “buy” call on Uzma, with an unchanged target price of 76 sen, based on an unchanged six times price-to-earnings (PE) multiple on FY27 earnings per share.
“At current levels, Uzma is trading at circa three times estimated FY27 PE ratio, which we view as undemanding given its strengthening earnings outlook,” it said.
The research house listed lower-than-expected customer work orders, unforeseen project delays and rising execution costs as key risks to its call.
