SINGAPORE - Losses from discontinued operations in the subsea services business has dragged Ezra Holdings into the red in the fourth quarter.

The offshore services firm posted a net loss of US$7.8 million (S$10.8 million) in the three months ended Aug 31, down from a restated net profit of US$11.0 million a year ago, it said on Friday (Oct 23).

In August, Chiyoda Corporation agreed to invest in Ezra's subsea services business, EMAS AMC, to form a 50:50 joint venture. As a result, the performance of the subsea services business was no longer consolidated as part of Ezra's results this year.

Ezra posted a US$16.7 million loss from discontinued operations in the fourth quarter, down from a restated profit of US$18.2 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, the group's fourth quarter profit from continuing operations was US$8.9 million, from a restated loss of US$7.1 million a year ago. This was due to higher revenues from the group's marine services division, though it was partially offset by lower revenues from the offshore support and production services arm.

Revenue from continuing operations in the three months to Aug 31 rose 22 per cent from a year ago to US$147.4 million.

Earnings for the full year ended Aug 31 was US$43.7 million, down 3 per cent from a year ago.

Ezra's backlog stands at about US$2.0 billion, the majority of which is expected to be executed over the next 12 to 18 months, it said in its filing to the Singapore Exchange.

Full year earnings per share stood at 2.29 US cents, down from 2.70 US cents a year earlier.

Net asset value per share was US$0.4646 as at Aug 31, down from a restated US$1.17 as at Aug 31 last year.

The results were announced before market open. The counter traded 0.2 cent down at $0.127 as at 11.30am on Friday.