Marco Polo Marine 1HFY2021 EBITDA More Than Triples to S$3.9 Million

1HFY2021 Financial Highlights

*Excludes foreign exchange losses (mainly unrealised in nature) and one-off gain
arising from the acquisition of debt

Gross profit surged 47% to S$5.0 million in 1HFY2021
from S$3.4 million in 1HFY2020, with gross profit margin increasing to 24% in 1HFY2021
from 18% in 1HFY2020. This was mainly due to the absence of one-off
reactivation costs incurred for its fleet of offshore vessels during the
current period. 

Excluding foreign exchange losses and the one-off
gain from the acquisition of debt, the Group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation
and amortization (EBITDA) increased to S$3.9 million in 1HFY2021, from S$1.1
million in 1HFY2020.

Other operating income increased significantly to S$7.3
million in 1HFY2021 from S$2.4 million in 1HFY2020, following a S$6.2 million gain
from the acquisition of debt (as announced by the Company on 13 October 2020).

The share of losses from jointly controlled
companies decreased to approximately S$20,000 in 1HFY2021 from S$1.0 million in
1HFY2020. The share of losses was attributable to a lower utilisation of the
vessel held by Pelayaran Era Sdn Bhd. The Group has ceased to recognise the
share of results from its joint venture, PT Pelayaran Nasional Bina Buana Raya
Tbk (“PT BBR”) in the current period, since the losses to be recognised have
exceeded the Company’s cost of investment in PT BBR.

Segmental Breakdown

Revenue from the Group’s Ship Chartering Operations fell
by 5% to S$9.4 million in 1HFY2021 from S$9.9 million in 1HFY2020, mainly due
to lower charter rates for the Group’s fleet of tugboats and barges. Average
utilisation rates for both its fleet of tugboats and barges as well as OSVs
have remained comparable to that of the same period last year.

The Group’s Ship Building & Repair Operations
recorded a 34% rise in revenue to S$11.7 million in 1HFY2021 from S$8.7 million
in 1HFY2020, mainly due to increased ship repair jobs during the period. Its Ship
Building division has also commenced new projects in relation to the
construction of two Smart Fish Farms, as announced by the Company on 17 August
2020, which led to the higher revenue.

Moving Forward

The outlook for the offshore marine industry remains
challenging, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to crimp oil demand as well as oil
and gas activities, resulting in a slowdown in the Group’s ship chartering and
shipyard operations. However, positive signs have emerged recently, indicating
that the sector downturn may be bottoming-out gradually. The Group has also
taken steps to capitalise on emerging opportunities in certain segments.

For the Group’s ship chartering business, it will
continue to step up marketing efforts to improve its performance and explore additional
revenue sources by venturing beyond Southeast Asia, in particular, into the
offshore windfarm renewable energy segment. The utilisation of its fleet of
tugboats and barges is also expected to improve as construction activities in
Singapore progressively resume. For the Group’s shipyard division, it will
continue to focus on securing ship repair and maintenance orders from regional
ship owners.

Mr Sean Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Marco Polo
Marine, commented: “Despite the industry’s
challenging backdrop, we were able to register a creditable performance for
1HFY2021, returning to profit from a net loss in the previous period. Our
efforts to diversify into the renewables sector has started to bear fruit, and
the Group will continue to focus on transitioning into green energy. “