SINGAPORE - Oil and gas support services company Ezion Holdings reported a 36.3 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit to US$28.96 million (S$40.65 million) from US$45.48 million for the year-ago period.

The drop in net profit came on the back of lower revenue and higher costs of sales and servicing.

Revenue for the three months to end-June fell 2.8 per cent to US$90.1 million from the year-ago period, mainly due to the absence of contribution from the marine and offshore logistic support services division.

The cost of sales and servicing for the second quarter rose 29.6 per cent to US$58.7 million year-on-year due to the deployment of additional multi-purpose service rigs.

Ezion's earnings per share fell to US$1.83 cents from US$2.98 cents previously.

In a statement,the company said that the operating environment for the oil and gas sector has remained challenging since the start of the year.

Looking forward, the company expects major oil companies to reduce their spending on exploration and development activities, and instead shift their focus to the extraction and production related activities.

Ezion said it has raised $120 million via a five year bond issue earlier this month, which puts it in a better position to explore further opportunities and better support its clients in future.