KUALA LUMPUR (April 17): Keyfield International Bhd, an oil and gas services firm en route to Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market, reported a 72.43% surge in its fourth-quarter net profit, driven by higher vessel utilisation and charter rates.
Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2023 (4Q2023) totalled RM22.12 million, compared to RM12.83 million in the same period a year earlier, Keyfield said in an exchange filing. Revenue grew 76.82% year-on-year to RM119.53 million from RM67.6 million.
Looking ahead, Keyfield expects supply conditions for offshore vessels, particularly accommodation workboats which the group specialises in, to remain tight in 2024 due to a shortage of suitable vessels to support offshore activities.
“We are cautiously optimistic of our prospects,” the company said. Its current orderbook consists of contracted charters to-date amounting to RM662.6 million, of which RM356.9 million is in respect of FY2024.
Keyfield‘s trading debut is scheduled for April 22, after the company raised RM188 million from the second Main Market initial public offering so far this year, following Prolintas Infra Business Trust's debut on March 25.
The IPO was oversubscribed nearly 10 times by the Malaysian public. At an IPO price of 90 sen per share, Keyfield is valued at RM720 million.
The number of chartered days for its own vessels rose to 665 in the quarter, up from 447 days the previous year, resulting in a higher utilisation rate of 72.3%, primarily driven by the Keyfield Lestari, Blooming Wisdom, and Keyfield Helms 1.
The average daily charter rate for the company’s own vessels in 4QFY2023 increased by 16.6% compared to 4QFY2022, attributed to improved market conditions in the vessel chartering business.
Meanwhile, the number of chartered days for third party vessels rose to 540 from 331. Average DCR also increased by 6.2% compared to a year earlier. The company chartered a total of eight third-party vessels in 4Q2023 as compared to five in 4Q2022.
For the full FY2023, Keyfield’s net profit more than doubled to RM105.48 million from RM48.88 million. Revenue soared by 82.24% to RM430.45 million from RM236.2 million.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to manage our fleet and operations in a prudent and careful manner, remaining vigilant to the challenges of the ever-changing business environment which we operate in and beyond,” Keyfield explained.
Currently, Keyfield’s fleet consists of 11 of its own vessels, namely two smaller-sized accommodation vessels, eight accommodation workboats and one accommodation work barge.