SINGAPORE - Mainboard-listed EMAS Offshore Ltd announced on Tiesday that net profit for the second quarter ended Feb 28, 2015, more than doubled to US$9.7 million from US$4 million for the year-ago period on the back of foreign exchange gains and a gain on the disposal of an anchor handling tug (AHT).

The offshore marine company said revenue fell 10 per cent year on year to US$60.9 million from US$67.6 million a year ago due to weakness in both the shallow water anchor handling, towing and supply vessels (AHTS) and shallow water platform support vessels (PSV) segments.

EMAS Offshore was formed after Ezra Holdings injected its offshore support services division, EMAS Marine, into its Norwegian associate company EOC as part of a restructuring. EMAS Offshore got a secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in October last year.

Said EMAS Offshore chief executive Jon Dunstan: "The enlarged entity of EMAS Offshore has definitely positioned us to better ride out oil price volatility. While revenues and utilisation rates have declined due to market conditions, we have realised cost benefits and operational efficiencies from the business combination.

He added: "Under the current circumstance we are taking a more cautious view for the ensuing quarters. However, we have taken steps to maintain our operational performance, which include exercising and implementing ongoing cost-optimisation initiatives, and focusing on operational excellence. These strategies will serve to protect our bottom line."