Overall, institutions were net sellers of Singapore stocks for the five sessions ending Jan 12 with S$96 million of net outflow. This brought the month-to-date net institutional outflow to S$66 million.

 

FOR the five trading sessions that spanned Jan 6 to Jan 12, the Straits Times Index (STI) declined 0.8 per cent, with the Hang Seng Index gaining 0.5 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declining 0.5 per cent.

 

Overall, institutions were net sellers of Singapore stocks for the five sessions ending Jan 12 with S$96 million of net outflow. This brought the month-to-date net institutional outflow to S$66 million. UOB : U11 +2.04%, Singtel : Z74 +1.21%, City Developments : C09 +2.33%, ComfortDelGro : C52 -0.85% and Jardine Matheson Holdings : J36 +0.44% led the net institutional outflow for the five sessions.

 

Share buybacks

There were 16 primary-listed companies conducting share buybacks over the five sessions through to Jan 12, with a total consideration of S$11.0 million, up from the S$4.3 million for the preceding four sessions.

 

OCBC : O39 +0.64% led the consideration tally, buying back 500,000 shares at S$12.59 per share. The bank has bought back 0.38 per cent of its issued shares (excluding treasury shares) on the current mandate. HRnetGroup : CHZ 0% also bought back one million shares at an average price of S$0.80 per share.

 

Director and substantial shareholder transactions

The five trading sessions saw fewer than 50 changes to director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for close to 30 primary-listed stocks. This included 11 company director acquisitions with three disposals filed, while substantial shareholders filed one acquisition.

 

Marco Polo Marine, through its Taiwan-based subsidiary, PKR Offshore, has signed a landmark memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Vestas Taiwan.

 

The MOU was signed for the maiden development of PKR Offshore&rsquo s new commissioning service operations vessel (CSOV).

 

The new CSOV will be deployed across various offshore wind farms in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, over a three-year period and based on a minimum utilisation commitment per annum.

 

The new CSOV, which can accommodate up to 110 people, is currently under construction at Marco Polo&rsquo s shipyard in Batam, Indonesia. It will commence operations towards the end of the 1QFY2024.

 

&ldquo Over the past few years, we have worked closely with major offshore wind providers to design a contemporary CSOV that services their most crucial needs. Today, we are very pleased to have secured the maiden deployment for our new CSOV with Vestas, a major offshore turbine manufacturer. This milestone is a testament to our ability to build, own and operate highly-specialised wind vessels that deliver the highest performance, quality and reliability for our customers&rdquo says Sean Lee, CEO of Marco Polo Marine.

 

" With continued growth expected in Taiwan' s offshore wind market, we are delighted to establish this relationship with Marco Polo Marine and collaborate on this vessel newbuild development. We see Marco Polo Marine being well positioned in the Asia-Pacific region and look forward to strengthening our mutually beneficial working relationship in the coming years," says Dennis Mordhorst, Regional Director at Vestas Taiwan Ltd.

 

According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), new offshore wind installations in Asia are likely to exceed 10 GW in 2026 and nearly 15 GW by 2030. By 2050, Asia is projected to achieve a grand total of 613 GW offshore.

 

MPM&rsquo s business has stayed resilient amid the uncertain macro environment, due to higher fleet charter and utilisation rates. The group was awarded more contracts in the shipyard business and higher-value repair projects, as seen in the segment' s +59.2% yoy in revenue.

 

The 220% yoy rise in 2HFY22 revenue in ship chartering biz was driven by the new JV and acq in Taiwan, with ~40% of the group' s OSVs chartered in the market.

 

In 2HFY22, the group completed expansion of its dry docking capacity. It also has plans to build a new CSOV (completion expected in 1QFY24) and is extending its reach to the Japan market, having signed a MoU with K Line Wind Service, a Japan-based vessel services provider in Dec 22.

 

After accounting for higher margin assumptions and improving charter rates, we raise our FY23-24 revenue and net profit estimates by 50/62% and 125/141% respectively.

 

Downgrade to HOLD with a higher target price of S$0.048 (S$0.038 previously). We value MPM at 1.1x FY23F P/B, in line to +2SD of its historical five-year average.

 

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Marco Polo&rsquo Marine has achieved higher average utilisation rates for both its fleets of offshore vessels and the fleet of tugboats and barges. 

INTEGRATED marine logistics company Marco Polo Marine : 5LY +2.33% on Thursday (Nov 24) reported a net profit of S$10.5 million for the second half of the fiscal year ended September, a 19 per cent increase from earnings of S$8.8 million in the year-ago period.

 

No dividend was proposed for the period under review, unchanged from the corresponding year-ago period. The company said it would like to &ldquo conserve cash&rdquo for its capital expenditure requirements in the coming financial year.

 

This took the group&rsquo s profit for the full year to S$21.3 million, some 44 per cent higher than earnings of S$14.8 million in the previous year, according to a bourse filing.

 

Revenue for H2 came in at S$58.5 million, more than double the group&rsquo s topline of S$25 million in the corresponding period last year. Cost of sales for H2 was also up to S$39.2 million from S$18 million, which crimped the group&rsquo s margins. 

 

About 58 per cent of revenue for H2, or S$34.2 million came from the company&rsquo s ship chartering operations. The remaining 42 per cent or S$24.3 million came from ship building and repair operations. 

 

Marco Polo Marine said the revenue from ship chartering operations was mainly due to the consolidation of results of Indonesian shipping agency company PT Pelayaran Nasional Bina Buana Raya (PT BBR) and Taiwan-based PKR Offshore (PKRO) from March and May respectively. 

 

PT BBR contributed a revenue of S$6.9 million, while PKRO contributed a revenue of S$10.4 million from the point of consolidation, said the company. 

 

Marco Polo Marine added that it has also achieved higher average utilisation rates for both its fleets of offshore vessels and the fleet of tugboats and barges. The company has also obtained higher charter rates for its fleet of offshore vessels in the current year, it added. 

 

For shipbuilding and repair operations, the group said there was an increase in volume and contract values of the repair projects during the year. 

 

In its outlook statement, the company said the broader offshore and shipping industries continue to face uncertainties amid challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical situations. 

 

In particular, war-induced commodity price increases and broadening price pressures have led to rising inflation this year, the group noted, which have resulted in an increase in cost of &ldquo doing business&rdquo . 

 

Marco Polo Marine said it will continue to improve operational efficiency and tighten cost control to enhance its competitiveness. 

 

The company is also looking to further extend its reach into segments such as the renewable energy sector. 

 

Its ship chartering business will continue to explore opportunities to support the booming offshore windfarm market. The company will also continue to focus on securing ship repair and maintenance orders by expanding its customer base internationally for its shipyard division. 

 

The company will release &ldquo further updates on its business and operations&rdquo on Dec 6, it said.