SINGAPORE |
SINGAPORE Feb 14 (Reuters) – Quarterly profit at
Singapore-listed offshore vessel builder STX OSV Holdings Ltd
more than doubled on higher orders and strong margins.
The company reported net profit of 638 million Norwegian
krones ($112 million) for the three months ended December, up
from 294 million krones a year ago. It also recommended a final
dividend of 10 Singapore cents per share for its 2011 fiscal
year.
“Despite ongoing economic headwinds, we have observed robust
activity in the deepwater offshore oil and gas exploration and
production sector, which we believe will continue to underpin
healthy demand for our proprietary designs and vessels,” STX OSV
Chief Executive Officer Roy Reite said in a statement.
STX OSV’s shares surged as much as 9.6 percent on Tuesday on
expectations its results would top market estimates. The stock
closed 5.8 percent higher at S$1.54, with nearly 40 million
shares traded, about five times the volume traded over the past
30 days.
The company said its order intake for 2011 fiscal year was
11.1 billion krones, of which 6.03 billion krones came in the
fourth quarter.
Last month, South Korea’s STX Group said it had chosen JP
Morgan and Standard Chartered to manage the
sale of its 50.75 percent stake in STX OSV amid ongoing
fundraising efforts. On Tuesday, STX OSV did not provide any
update on the parent firm’s stake sale.
STX OSV’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortisation (EBITDA) margin for 2011 rose to a record 19
percent from 11.2 percent a year ago.
($1 = 5.7138 Norwegian krones)
(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Anshuman Daga)