This has been driven by the pick-up in oil and gas (O&G) activities especially for brownfield sites, although the upside has been offset by continuing depressed charter rates on oversupply of vessels.
“Whilst market sentiment is more positive amid signs of increased investment and Capex in offshore oil field development, the oversupply of OSV vessels continues to exert pressure on both utilisation and charter rates,” POSH said in a press release.
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The OA segment did especially well for the offshore marine services provider, with revenue rising 3.5 times to $45.4m as both its SSAVs were fully employed in the second quarter and the other OA vessels also reported higher average daily rates and utilisation. The two SSAVs will also stay employed in their current charters for the Chevron Big Foot and Shell Prelude projects respectively till the third quarter, while the POSH Xanadu has already secured a new firm eight-plus-eight months optional extension charter with Petrobras which is set to commence in December 2018.
Nevertheless, POSH still turned in a $5.8m loss for the second quarter, although this was halved from the $11m recorded in the previous corresponding quarter in 2017.
POSH remains one of the few companies in the sector that have emerged from the O&G market crash relatively unscathed and has positioned itself well for further growth ahead. It is in the process of setting up overseas offices in Angola and Brunei and strengthening existing offices in Saudi Arabia and Mexico to widen market reach and improve client servicing in key markets.
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Meanwhile the group is also moving into other segments. It has recently set up unit POSH Subsea, to enter into subsea construction, installation, SURF, IMR related services, as well made inroads into the Taiwan Offshore Renewables market through a joint venture with Kerry TJ Logistics.
POSH ceo Gerald Seow said: “We are encouraged by our sustained performance over the past quarter. Even as market conditions remain challenging, we continued to make headway in improving overall performance and securing new contracts. We have also expanded into new growth areas including subsea and offshore renewables.”
He added: “POSH will continue to build on our differentiated position to capture more opportunities by further expanding our global footprint, exploring new growth pockets and investing in our people and core competencies.”
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