Singapore’s Sembcorp Marine, a company building offshore drilling rigs has reported a drop in its quarterly revenue.
The company’s revenue in the fourth quarter of $1.4 billion was 15% lower when compared with $1.7 billion for the same period in 2013.
Net profit in 4Q 2014 declined 5% year-on-year to $174 million compared with $182 million in 4Q 2013 which saw a write-back of tax mainly attributable to recognition of tax incentives.
As for the outlook for the year, Sembcorp Marine cited the steep decline in oil prices in the second half of 2014, which has forced major oil and gas companies to cut spending and postpone some of their planned projects.
Sembcorp has said that it continues to face tough competition in upcoming tenders for new projects in the offshore exploration and production sectors.
“Demand for the Group’s big docks remains strong as alliance and long-term customers continue to provide a stable and steady base-load which would help cushion the impact of weaker demand in the offshore rig-building segment,” Sembcorp has said.
It added that for the ship repair sector, there is continued demand for repair, upgrading and life extension work, in particular in the niche segments of LNG carriers, passenger/cruise vessels and offshore vessels.