However, its revenue jumped 164.58% to RM1.06 billion from RM400.63 million a year ago, driven by strong performance in the heavy engineering sector in which revenue surged to RM990.9 million from RM309.9 million previously.

In a bourse filing today, the Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) subsidiary declared a loss per share of 24.30 sen compared with earnings per share of 1.40 sen a year earlier.

For the first half ended June 30, 2023, the net loss amounted to RM385.16 million compared with a net profit of RM24.69 million a year earlier. However, revenue grew by 89.7% to RM1.55 billion from RM818.41 million.

The oil and gas services provider acknowledged the challenges in maintaining initial budgeted margins for ongoing projects due to rising raw material costs and global supply chain disruptions.

Despite this, the company aims to collaborate with clients to mitigate the impacts and recover from the inflationary effects.

“Clients awarded these projects on a lump sum EPCIC (engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning) basis a few years ago. The group will continue to pursue reimbursement for these inflationary and schedule impacts from clients,” it stated.

Anticipating heightened demand for dry-docking services, MHB foresees increased seaborne trade requirements in the latter half of the year. However, it notes that competition among shipyards remains intense, especially with the reopening of China’s borders.

MHB also stated its strategic focus includes exploring opportunities in both domestic and foreign markets, particularly in decarbonisation and renewable energy programmes.

To manage future project risks associated with global inflation, the group is evaluating updated contracting tactics with clients, such as adopting the alliance concept or a cost-plus basis.

MHB’s shares fell 10 sen or 17.39% to 48 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM760 million.