New fleets help Wintermar grow profits

JAKARTA. Shipping company Wintermar Offshore Marine reported a 53 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in net profits last year, driven by the company’s growing number of vessels for clients as well as the adoption of the cabotage policy.

Wintermar, whose business focuses on serving the offshore marine industry, saw higher demands following the implementation of the cabotage policy requiring all vessels operating in Indonesian waters to be domestically owned. 

According to the company’s full-year financial statement published on Tuesday, Wintermar saw its net profits up by 53.23 percent to US$36.79 million in 2013, compared to the $24.01 million it bagged the year before.

Its revenue went up by 50.43 percent y-o-y to $186.72 million last year. In comparison, the company booked $124.12 million in revenue in 2012.

Wintermar’s investor relations head Pek Swan Layanto said in a written statement that the company’s accelerated fleet expansion in 2013 was behind the significant jump in the company’s income, as it saw its gross profits from its owned vessels rise by about 71 percent y-o-y to $51.4 million.

The company’s gross profits last year stood at $57.78 million, increasing about 65 percent y-o-y.

Owned vessels contributed 88.71 percent of the company’s total gross profits, while its chartering operation made up the remainder.

The company purchased a total of 12 vessels last year, seven of which were delivered in the first half and the remaining five vessels in the second half of the year. The company spent about $90 million of total capital expenditure (capex), nearly double compared to $48 million in the previous year.

The new vessels were one platform supply vessel, one 8000 Boiler Horsepower (BHP) Anchor Handling Towage Supply (AHTS), a unit of 5000 BHP AHTS, one heavy load barge, four fast utility vessels and four anchor handling tugs.

Besides fleet expansion, the cabotage rule especially played a big part in boosting the company’s performance last year. The rules, issued by the Indonesian government in 2011, require all vessels operating within Indonesian waters to be domestically owned.

“Cabotage implementation in 2013 for offshore operations support vessels of 5000 BHP and higher, including platform support vessels and dynamic positioning vessels, means that all our fleet is now fully covered under the Cabotage Law,” Pek Swan said in the statement.