Ramunia sees RM330m earnings from order book
New Straits Times
27 April 2006

About half of Ramunia Holdings Bhd’s estimated RM600 million order book should translate into earnings this year, managing director Arshad Ahmad said.

Ramunia makes steel offshore platforms for oil and gas companies which include heavyweights like Petronas and Shell.

The first quarter to January 31 2006, saw Ramunia earning a RM1.2 million net profit against the RM36.4 million net loss a year ago. Revenue, meanwhile, more than tripled to RM32.7 million from RM9.8 million.

“We expect to recognize about RM330 million in fiscal 2006,” Arshad told reporters at the company’s annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Bursa Malaysia second board entity Ramunia went public early last year after taking over the listing status of Sabah Shipyard Bhd.

Ramunia, which owns the approximately 36ha Teluk Ramunia Yard in Johor, competes against names like Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Sdn Bhd and Sime SembCorp Engineering Sdn Bhd.

Based on Ramunia’s projects in hand to date, the company should account for about a third of the local market, Arshad said.

At present, the group has bid for RM3.3 billion worth of jobs of which 15 per cent are foreign-based.

The company recently signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s Sam Kang Industries Co. Ltd to build a steel tubular factory. The plant requires an initial investment of about US$10 million (RM36.4 million).

These tubulars which form the underwater support for offshore platforms are targeted at buyers in South-East Asia.

For a start, the factory, to be built on a 4ha site at the Teluk Ramunia Yard, can make up to 30,000 tonnes of tubulars a year.

Arshad said the plant should start running by the first quarter of fiscal 2007.