PETALING JAYA: Lower impairment losses and cost of sales boosted Bumi Armada Bhd’s net profit in the third quarter ended Sept 30, which surged by 79.2% year-on-year (y-o-y).

       In a filing with the stock exchange yesterday, Bumi Armada reported a net profit of RM153.41mil, as compared to RM85.62mil in the previous corresponding quarter.

       Revenue, on the other hand, slipped by 3.32% y-o-y to RM545.7mil in the latest third quarter.

       It was dragged down by the offshore marine services (OMS) segment.

       The group’s revenue has also fallen quarter-on-quarter by over 11%. This was because of lower contribution from the OMS and the floating production and operations (FPO) segments.

       Bumi Armada said the decrease from the FPO segment was mainly due to lower vessel availability arising from an unplanned shutdown of one of the two trains at Armada Kraken FPSO, while the decrease in revenue from the OMS segment was mainly due to fewer operating offshore support vessels (OSVs) as a result of vessel sales.

       Cumulatively, in the first nine months of financial year 2021, Bumi Armada posted a net profit of RM456.07mil on a flattish revenue of RM1.72bil.

       Bumi Armada said four OSVs were sold during the third quarter, in line with the group’s asset monetisation initiatives with respect to the OMS segment.

       “The group recognised a gain on sale of RM5.8mil in respect of these sales and an impairment of RM6.2mil in relation to certain remaining vessels,” it said.

       The group’s order book remained strong at RM14.6bil as at the end of the third quarter of financial year 2021 (Q3’21), with additional optional extensions of up to RM9.6bil.

       Commenting on the results, chief executive officer Gary Christenson said: “Our focus on operational excellence and cost efficiencies underpinned the solid financial performance in Q3’21”

       “This has enabled us to continue to reduce our debt and improve our balance sheet. We will continue to focus on safety, sustainability, operational excellence, and financial discipline,” he said in a statement.

       On its prospects, Bumi Armada expects the FPO business to be relatively stable for the remainder of 2021.

       “The recovery of oil prices augurs well for the oil and gas sector, which may see increasing activities across the entire value chain,” according to the group.