Ezra Holdings posts US$53.7m Q1 net loss

SINGAPORE - Offshore marine and subsea group Ezra Holdings posted a net loss of US$53.7 million for the first quarter ended Nov 30 as it continued to battle volatile and sinking oil prices.

This was a reversal of the US$54.4 million net profit for the year-ago period and is Ezra's first net loss since its listing.

Said Ezra's group CEO and managing director Lionel Lee: "The global oil & gas industry continues to be challenging for the offshore marine and subsea companies. The volatility of the oil price and the depressed state of the oil and gas industry has led to reduced activity and uncertainty in new contract awards."

"FY2016 will be a tough year for the Group. As we strive to work amidst the extremely challenging operating conditions, the Group will focus on improving vessel utilisation."

The group's marine services division saw an increase of US$45.4 million in revenue for the quarter compared to a year ago. The increase was mainly due to higher contribution from the Triyards Group as there were more selfelevating units and vessels under construction, as well as higher contribution from engineering design work.

The group's offshore support and production services division, predominately Emas Offshore Ltd, saw a decline in revenue of US$19.3 million. The decrease in revenue was mainly due to general weakness in the offshore industry in addition to

seasonal fluctuation as a result of monsoon in Asia.

he shallow water platform support vessels segment continues to remain weak.

Due to softness within the offshore support vessel segments, gross profit margin for the group sank to 10 per cent from 22 per cent for the year-ago quarter.

Loss after tax came in at US$53.7 million which included a realised hedging loss of US$13.9 million.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.