Brightoil Bunker Revenues Down as Group Swings to Profit

Brightoil bought stakes in two Chinese offshore oilfields last year

Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Ltd (Brightoil Group) yesterday announced its financial results for the year ended June 30, 2014, showing a decline in revenues from bunkering activities but a huge surge in profitability overall.

The group achieved a profit of HK$579 million (U.S.$74.7 million) against the HK$716 million (U.S.$92.3 million) loss it declared last year.

"Our Fuel Oil trade, the Group's traditional business, continued to develop at a steady pace," the group said.

"Overall sales volume of fuel oil increased by 14.4% compared to the previous year with further growth of gross profit margin," it added, noting that the operating profit of its International Trading and Bunkering division was up 251.1 percent year-on-year.

However, the figures presented show that revenue from provision of marine bunkering services slid 22.5 percent year-on-year from HK$22.8 billion (U.S.$2.9 billion) to HK$17.7 billion (U.S.$2.3 billion).

In addition, its relative contribution to the company's overall revenue generating activities declined from 41 percent in 2013 to 21 percent in 2014.

Brightoil Group said it had closed its offices in Geneva, Rotterdam, and Japan as it refocused its bunkering business on Chinese and Singaporean markets.

The group said during the year it had fitted mass flow meters as part of its bunkering operations and reiterated it would be adding two new company-owned bunker tankers in Singapore, bringing its total there to three.

Marine Transportation revenues and profit were up over the period partly as a result of growth in the group's tanker fleet, the company said.

In July, Brightoil Group founder, Sit Kwong Lam stepped down as CEO.