Wednesday, 16 January 2013

Alam Maritim - Lands Third Contract - The Big One


Alam  Maritim  Resources  (Alam)  reported  on  Bursa  Malaysia  yesterday  that  its wholly-owned  subsidiary,  Alam  Maritim  (M)  SB,  received  a  letter  of  award  from Petronas Carigali for the provision of six units of marine vessels for a total sum of approximately  RM576m  (value  includes  extension  of  option,  if  exercised)  for  five years with a one-year extension option.

Positive  but  no  changes  to  earnings  estimate.  The  six  units  of  marine  vessels highlighted  in  the  announcement  was  for  six  anchor  handling  tug  and  supply  vessels (AHTS) – four units of the 5,000 series and two units of the 10,000 series. We understand from management that of all the vessels chartered, three are joint-venture vessels, one is a wholly-owned vessel and two are third-party chartered vessels. The contract is effective 1 Jan 2013 to 31 Dec 2017. Based on the contract values and tenures, we understand that the  average  charter  rates  secured  in  this  contract  has  improved  by  15%-20%  overall compared to last year, which we think is positive.  

Contract momentum expected to pick up. Based on our records, contract awards in the offshore support vessel (OSV) segment has surpassed RM1bn in the last  two weeks, with charter rates improving from a low of USD1.0 per bhp in 2010-11 to USD1.8-USD2.2 per bhp  in  2012-13. We  believe  that  more  contracts  are  to  be  awarded  in  the  OSV  business soon  and  the  main  catalyst  will come  from  hook-up,  construction  and  commissioning (HUCC) jobs due to be awarded for Pan Malaysia jobs along Malaysian shores.

Risk remains with its OIC and subsea business. While we are positive on Alam’s OSV business,  key  risk  for  the  stock,  in  our  view,  lies  with  the  lack  of  contract  awards  for  its offshore, installation and construction (OIC) and subsea division, which will run out of jobs in April. As the losses are estimated at RM3m-RM4m per month (assuming if there are no jobs), the losses will offset the earnings growth from its OSV business.  

Maintain  BUY.  While we have been right to highlight a BUY since the stock’s low of RM0.50 last year, we do anticipate a series of earnings downgrade from consensus if there is  still  no  contract  award  for  its  OIC  and  subsea  business  by  end-2Q13.  That  said,  in anticipation of more OSV contracts to come, we see a short-term trading opportunity with Alam as the stock is merely trading at 8.8x FY13 EPS, which is relatively cheap compared to  Perdana  Petroleum  (NEUTRAL  FV  RM1.27),  which  is  currently  trading  at  12.6x  FY13 EPS. We value the stock at RM1.25, pegged to 13x FY13 EPS. Maintain BUY.
Source: OSK

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