KUALA LUMPUR: Scomi Group Bhd has recorded its third consecutive quarter in the red, with a net loss of RM6.17 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2017 on falling revenue and profit.
The company was in the red mainly due to the almost 90 per cent reduction in profit from its oilfied services segment, compared to the RM5.7 million net profit it recorded in the same quarter last year.
Its quarterly revenue was also down 40 per cent year-on-year at RM224.6 million compared to RM374 million as the oilfield services segment's revenue halved on lesser drilling activities in Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Middle-East and West Africa.
"Customers have also been cautious in their drilling plans due to low oil prices, resulting in activities being deferred or delayed," it said.
The segment's profit came in at RM3.1 million compared to RM21.5 million previously.
For the cumulative nine months ended December 31 2016, the company registered a net loss of RM39.5 million, compared to a net profit of RM20.5 million in last year’s corresponding period, as revenue shrank about 42 per cent to RM638.2 million from RM1.09 billion.
“The last nine months' financial performance has been below expectations. However, the oil price has been trending higher in the last couple of months which should encourage our customers to invest in drilling.
“We continue to bid for new contracts in this challenging environment, especially bringing new products such as production chemicals and green-based chemicals to our existing and new markets.
“Competitive pricing and a mutually beneficial value proposition with the customers would be the key to growing our revenue,” the group said.
Looking ahead to 2017, the group said it remains cautious on its performance for this year.
Scomi’s shares closed down half a sen or 2.78 per cent lower to settle at 18 sen yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM323.5 million.