KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13): Practice Note 17 (PN17)-classified Sapura Energy Bhd has been thrown a lifeline, as at least 75% of the financiers of its approximately RM10.3 billion multi-currency financing facilities have provided the requisite approval-in-principle for a proposed debt restructuring scheme.
In a statement on Wednesday, the oil and gas service provider said it had received written confirmation from the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee, marking a significant milestone for the group to address its unsustainable level of debt and amounts owed to trade creditors, particularly Malaysian vendors who are small and medium enterprises.
The exercise involves approximately RM1.5 billion in claims from vendors.
In a separate filing with Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, the group reported that its net profit trebled to RM30.89 million or 0.19 sen per share in the third quarter ended October 31, 2023 (3QFY2024) from RM10.18 million or 0.06 sen per share a year ago. The better performance was mainly due to lower depreciation, higher share of profit from joint venture and associate, as well as favourable foreign exchange gain from the appreciation of the US dollar against the ringgit.
However, its quarterly revenue dropped by 13.42% to RM1.1 billion, from RM1.28 billion in 3QFY2022, due to lower revenue recognised from the engineering & construction (E&C) business segment arising from slower project progress.
For the nine months of 2023 (9MFY2023), the group's net profit more than doubled to RM219.78 million from RM99.53 million year-on-year, while revenue slipped by 4.06% to RM3.2 billion from RM3.33 billion in 9MFY2022.
Sapura Energy attributed the topline contraction to lower revenue posted by its E&C division following slower progress of its projects.
Sapura Energy group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib said with the approval-in-principle, the group is quite confident towards approaching the last few milestones of its journey in exiting the status as a PN17 company.
Earlier, the group reported that it had applied with Bursa Securities for an additional six-month extension to submit its regularisation plan to exit from PN17 status, stretching from Nov 30, 2023 to May 31, 2024, pending a decision by Bursa Securities.
“Given the hurdles we faced, it’s understandable that not everyone could give us their backing. Hence, we are immensely grateful to the valued partners who have consistently demonstrated their unwavering support,” Anuar Taib said.
Sapura Energy shares closed half a sen or 11.11% up at 5 sen on Wednesday’s close, with 9.61 million shares changing hands. Its market capitalisation stood at RM798.95 million.