Monday, January 10, 2011

O&G sector to see more M&As?

KUALA LUMPUR: This year is poised to be an exciting one for local oil and gas (O&G) players on the back of improving prospects as crude oil prices continue to rise, with observers saying this could also mean more mergers and acquisitions (M&A) within the sector.Local analysts have been forecasting that this year will see several major trends, including bigger orderbooks and tenders in the pipeline, strategic partnerships being announced and more corporate exercises including mergers, take-overs and capital-raising activities taking place.

News of oil major Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) opening up marginal oilfields to niche players, as well as five new tax incentives to encourage domestic exploration activities created some excitement in the market, with many O&G counters seeing increased investor attention.

The exploration activities are set to benefit hook-up and commissioning (HUC) job players such as SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd, Kencana Petroleum Bhd and Petra Energy Bhd, as well as fabrication yard operators who are also poised for a consolidation, according to UOBKayHian.

“Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd’s (MMHE) yard in Johor is currently operating at full capacity, and additional yard capacity and size would fuel its growth,” it said in its January 2011 strategy report.

“MMHE could be looking into Sime Darby’s assets or even other Petronas-licensed smaller fabrication yards that are less well run, such as Oilcorp Bhd which is facing solvency issues.”

Maybank Investment Bank Research reiterated the view, saying it expected the number of offshore fabricators to contract to two from six at present.

“We think MMHE, 65% held by MISC Bhd and ultimately Petronas, will be an acquirer. Ramunia and Sime Engineering, 100%-owned by Sime Darby are the likely targets,” it said.

“In addition, we foresee new assets/businesses being injected into Ramunia and Scomi Marine, both PN 17 counters (i.e. cash rich, but without a core business).”

The Edge Financial Daily last week reported that Ramunia Holdings Bhd is said to be eyeing Borcos Shipping Sdn Bhd, which provides offshore supply services for the O&G sector, as part of its regularisation plan.

In addition to fabricators, Maybank IB Research also highlighted several marine vessel operators as potential acquisition targets, namely Alam Maritim Resources Bhd, Petra Perdana Bhd and Tanjung Offshore Bhd, as well as private limited offshore support vessel provider Jasa Merin (M) Sdn Bhd, whose parent company is SILK Holdings Bhd.

“These operators have undemanding valuations but stretched balance sheets with high gearing levels, which complicate their growth prospects,” it said in a Jan 7, 2011 note.

The brokerage firm also highlighted that cash-rich SapuraCrest could be keen on acquiring marine vessels as a strategic asset to complement its installation of pipeline and facilities (IPF) operations.

UOBKayHian had also highlighted SapuraCrest’s eligibility as a potential M&A target, due to its ability to fund its expansion plans easily across the entire O&G upstream value chain.

Another possible acquirer could be Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas), as it may be looking to accelerate consolidation among bumiputera marine vessel owners, according to Maybank IB Research, saying it is likely to start with Tanjung Offshore, in which it has a 24% equity interest.

“The key driver of consolidation in this sector by Ekuinas is to create a stronger entity both in terms of size and financials,” an analyst told The Edge Financial Daily. “At present, most vessel players are highly geared with limited room for expansion.”

Meanwhile, market speculation had also recently surfaced that Alam Maritim Resources Bhd could be in the preliminary stages of exploring a working relationship with Coastal Contracts Bhd.

An industry source told The Edge Financial Daily that the partnership could prove promising as there did not appear to be an overlap in their businesses.

Alam Maritim is primarily involved in the supply of offshore supply vessels for the O&G sector as well as underwater services. Meanwhile, Coastal is a Sandakan-based company whose areas of business include vessels manufacturing and chartering.

“Catalysts for cooperation include Coastal’s fabrication shipyard and the Sabah connection, while Alam Maritim has been said to be game for strategic tie-ups,” the source said. “Main issues would be pricing and control of management.”

Maybank IB Research also highlighted upcoming high-impact projects in Sabah, including the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal, Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline, Sipitang O&G Industrial Park as well as Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd’s ammonia and urea plants.

It is worth noting that pilgrim fund Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) is a common shareholder in both Coastal and Alam Maritim, albeit with non-controlling stakes.

LTH has 72.56 million shares in Alam Maritim, representing a 9.29% stake, while it has 18.2 million shares in Coastal, representing a 5.02% equity interest.

Alam Maritim has been seeing heightened buying interest since early December 2010. It ended trade higher last Friday to RM1.09 with 7.53 million shares done, while Coastal closed one sen lower to RM2.37 with 199,800 shares transacted.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 10, 2011.

Read More...

Berita Saham

Saag adalah yang paling aktif dengan 99 juta saham dilakukan, naik 1.5 sen hingga 12 sen. Ini diumumkan semasa berehat tengah hari bahawa anak syarikatnya telah mendapatkan US $ 78 juta (RM239.54 juta) kontrak dari Mrails Tram (Melaka) Sdn Bhd untuk merancang dan membina 40 km dari trem di Melaka.KUALA LUMPUR: Ramunia Holdings Bhd, yang tanpa perniagaan teras, sedang dalam perbincangan untuk mendapatkan Syarikat Borcos Pengiriman Sdn Bhd, sumber akrab dengan masalah tersebut kepada The Edge Financial Daily.

Dikatakan bahawa rundingan telah bermula, namun tidak diketahui bagaimana pengambilalihan akan disimpulkan - melalui kas, saham atau kedua-duanya.

Menurut Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (CCM), peziarah dana Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) ketika ini pemegang saham terbesar Borcos Pengiriman, memegang 24.750.000 saham atau saham 84%, sementara pemegang saham lain AWH Ekuiti Holdings Sdn Bhd yang telah 9 % pemilikan saham atau 2.7 juta lembar saham, Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd (6% atau 1.8 juta saham) dan Vida Partners Sdn Bhd dengan 0,8% atau 250.000 saham.

Dayang Enterprise dicadangkan bulan lalu untuk membuang kepentingannya di Borcos Pengiriman ke AWH untuk beberapa RM135 juta. Dayang mengakuisisi saham di Borcos Pengiriman pada bulan September 2009, Forking keluar RM132.1 juta untuk 1.8 juta saham.

Pengiriman Borcos dahulu satu unit yang dimiliki seluruhnya oleh AWH, tetapi dengan LTH memiliki sekitar 25 juta saham keutamaan boleh diperbaiki penukaran (ICPs) dalam syarikat. LTH hanya menjadi pemegang saham pengendali selepas menukarkan ICPs menjadi saham biasa dalam Borcos Pengiriman.

Perhatikan LTH yang juga merupakan pemegang saham pengendali Ramunia dengan saham 25.17%.

Menurut CCM, AWH adalah majoriti dikendalikan oleh Datuk Wan Wan Ariff Hamzah yang mempunyai pemilikan saham 70% dan Sidqi Ahmad Said Ahmad yang memiliki saham 30% di AWH.

Untuk FY09 yang berakhir 31 Disember, Borcos Pengiriman berdaftar keuntungan selepas cukai sebanyak RM21 juta daripada RM182.58 juta dalam jualan. Borcos Pengiriman juga mempunyai RM194.61 juta dalam cadangan.

Ramunia Sementara itu, sebuah Nota Amalan 17 syarikat, dan pengumuman pada hari Isnin, menyatakan bahawa ia mempunyai dua bulan untuk datang dengan rencana regularisasi, dan menyampaikannya kepada pihak berkuasa.

Pada bulan April tahun lalu, Ramunia menjual aset utama, fabrikasi laman dan mesin yang terletak di Teluk Ramunia, Johor untuk Sime Darby Bhd untuk RM515 juta.Ramunia ini pergi tanpa perniagaan teras, tetapi dengan dana yang cukup untuk menjelaskan hutang dan memperoleh perniagaan teras baru.

Setelah menjual laman fabrikasi nya, Ramunia menandatangani kesepakatan dengan Pleasant Engineering Sdn Bhd untuk memanfaatkan halaman terakhir.

Pleasant Engineering adalah unit yang dimiliki sepenuhnya oleh Pesisir Kontrak Bhd

Selain perjanjian dengan Pesisir Kontrak, Ramunia juga mempunyai dasi-up dengan pengeluar crane Korea Selatan Dongnam Marine Crane Co Ltd

Menurut situsnya, Borcos Pengiriman telah andalan dalam penyediaan perkhidmatan bekalan lepas pantai untuk sektor minyak dan gas dan tongkang. Syarikat mempunyai armada 35 kapal dan dua dengan tempahan.

Untuk FY10 yang berakhir pada 31 Okt Ramunia mencatat keuntungan bersih sebanyak RM67.98 juta dari RM34.86 juta dalam jualan. Untuk FY09, Ramunia menderita rugi bersih sebanyak RM52.72 juta dari RM296.67 juta pada pendapatan.

Dalam nota yang accompaning kewangan syarikat, Ramunia berkata, kenaikan keuntungan ini disebabkan pendapatan dari diskaun yang diterima daripada kreditur.

Volume perdagangan pada Ramunia telah berat akhir-akhir ini, dengan saham syarikat memperoleh 42% sejak awal Disember 2010. Saham ditutup pada 59.5 sen terakhir.

Read More...

Newer Posts Older Posts Home