KUALA LUMPUR: Icon Offshore Bhd reported its second straight quarter of strong earnings, boosted by its drilling business that started in April.

       Net profit in the three-month ended Sept 30 surged to RM14.37mil from RM426,000 made a year ago.

       Revenue was up at RM87.3mil from RM52.6mil previously.

       The Group's gross profit increased from RM15.7mil to RM39.4mil primarily due to contribution from Drilling Segment, the company said in a filing today.

       "The outlook of upstream exploration and production activities in Malaysia is expected to be positive this year as compared to last year on the back of recovery of crude oil price," Icon said.