POSH books slim Q1 profit as operating conditions toughened

The $21,000 profit for the quarter ended 31 March 2015 plummeted from the gain of $36.68m achieved in the same period of last year.

The plunge in profit was attributed to higher costs incurred by the OSV segment, initial costs of newly delivered vessels and losses incurred by its Mexico’s joint ventures of $5.3m.

Revenue for the quarter, however, went up 9% year-on-year to $57.59m driven mainly by contribution from the OSV and offshore accommodation business segments.

Since the start of this year, POSH has secured long term charters worth $140m for the offshore accommodation and OSV segments, which will commence from the second quarter of 2015.

“Like all companies in the offshore marine services sector, our financial performance has been and continues to be affected by headwinds faced by the oil and gas industry,” said Gerald Seow, ceo of POSH.

He added that oil price volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty will continue to feature in the year ahead.

The group does not expect any significant increase in demand from offshore oilfield development activities and this will continue to put pressure on rates and utilisation.