Asia/Pacific News
MISC Profit Down in Q2
Malaysian's MISC Berhad says its profits dropped 20 percent to RM334.9 million ($101.9 million) in the second quarter of 2013, compared with the same period last year, mostly because of high increased costs and lower rates in the petroleum shipping market.
The company said volatile fuel prices and excess shipping capacity are continuing to make 2013 "another challenging year" for the shipping industry.
MISC's revenue fell 3.2 percent to RM2.3 billion ($700 million) as its petroleum business faced softer rates and its heavy engineering business made slow progress on some projects.
The bright spot in the company's finances came from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) business, which benefitted from two floating storage units (FSU) that went into operation last year, and from higher freight rates in its chemical business.
The company said that, despite a difficult market, it expects its long-term contracts in the LNG and offshore businesses to continue to provide stability.
After losing money in some periods over the last couple of years, MISC ended its liner business last year to shift its focus to more profitable sectors.
