OMS Energy Technologies’ fundamentals strong despite volatile Nasdaq debut: CEO

SINGAPORE - After a challenging two-year push towards a Nasdaq listing and a lacklustre debut in May 2025, OMS Energy Technologies (OMSE) is refocusing its attention from market volatility to execution and growth, chief executive How Meng Hock said.

OMSE’s experience challenges the perception that a listing on the premier Nasdaq board is smooth sailing and automatically delivers stronger valuations and liquidity.

Mr How, who is also OMSE’s executive director and chairman, told The Straits Times that the decision to list OMSE on Nasdaq rather than the Singapore Exchange was not to raise funds. The company was cash-rich, and still is.  

Instead, it was driven by a desire to boost the company’s brand name after the tough period the global oil and gas sector had gone through, and to diversify the firm’s investor base.

OMSE makes surface wellhead systems and oil country tubular goods – components that are critical in oil and gas well construction. They keep oil wells sealed, stable and safe as operators drill thousands of metres into the earth under high-pressure and corrosive conditions.

When the company began exploring an initial public offering (IPO) in 2023, the Singapore market was dull and lacked liquidity.

Mr How was convinced that companies listed in the United States benefit from deep liquidity, increased prestige and enhanced visibility among global institutional investors.  

The debt-free company

listed 3.7 million shares at US$9 each on May 13, 2025, for its Nasdaq IPO

, valuing it at US$348 million (S$442.5 million). 

But on its debut in May 2025, OMSE’s share price fell from US$9 to close at US$7.51, before sliding to a low of US$3.31 in October.

While it is unclear what caused the plunge, steep price drops on a stock’s debut day could mean that it was overpriced to begin with. Other factors, including market volatility, could also have played a part.

“The Nasdaq IPO taught me many painful lessons,” said Mr How, who holds a 61.78 per cent stake in OMSE.

Liquidity may be deep, but firms, especially foreign ones, have to work hard to get investors to buy and trade their shares, he said.

OMSE’s road to Wall Street was strewn with challenges. These included tedious financial audits; challenging legal reviews given that OMSE operates in six different jurisdictions, each with its own regulatory requirements; and heavy preparation work with investment bankers. 

The whole IPO process started from October 2023 and took two years to complete, often requiring balancing costs, meeting regulatory requirements and IPO thresholds, and, at times, aligning interests. 

While the IPO saga continues to hurt, Mr How wants to move on and focus on strengthening the company’s fundamentals.

For the six months to Sept 30, 2025, OMSE’s net profit was US$14.6 million, compared with US$30.7 million a year earlier. Total revenue fell to US$82.8 million from US$129.2 million over the same period. 

Mr How reckoned that in a stable state, OMSE could deliver a 15 per cent to 20 per cent return on net income over revenue; a 30 per cent growth in gross profit and a 25 per cent to 28 per cent growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. No specific timeframe was given.

To achieve this, he is actively looking to grow the company’s geographical reach and diversify its customer base.

Armed with US$128.7 million in cash, including the US$29 million in net proceeds from the company’s IPO, he is open to mergers and acquisitions as well as strategic joint ventures.

Target growth markets include Pakistan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and the US. 

These are in addition to the six countries in which OMSE already has a presence, namely: Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, where its headquarters and manufacturing facility for South-east Asia are located.

OMSE wants to grow its sales in other markets to reduce dependency on any one customer. Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, alone contributed 67 per cent of total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2025. 

OMSE entered into a 10-year supply agreement with Aramco in January 2024. The deal is estimated to generate revenue of around US$200 million a year.

While it is unrealistic to expect a complete switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy, OMSE is nevertheless exploring opportunities in adjacent industries such as renewable energy infrastructure and industrial manufacturing.

Founded in 1972, the company became a division of Sumitomo Corporation in 2010 when the Japanese conglomerate acquired it. Mr How joined the team in 2012 from General Electric, and helped manage the business in 2014.

Shortly after, oil prices collapsed as US shale production became commercially viable.

As profitability came under pressure, Sumitomo wanted to exit the business. That meant retrenching the 600 people working in 11 facilities across the globe, Mr How said.

Believing that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, he made a bold move and offered to buy the business to save the 600 jobs.

Mr How acquired the business for US$2 million in 2023, and embarked on “Project Ironman” – inspired by the resilient and innovative Marvel maverick – to restructure, cut costs and adopt new technologies to turn the company around while saving 600 jobs from liquidation.