APFT (5194) - APFT to bid for RM1b Pengerang projects
(Graphic by Dayang Norazhar/TMR)
APFT Bhd sees brighter prospects for 2015 as its new business model intends to raise recurring income from its aviation training business while the new oil and gas (O&G) venture will drive growth.
Executive chairman Datuk Faruk Othman said APFT will bid for at least RM1 billion worth of projects in Pengerang, Johor.
“We are looking at the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) jobs. We are looking to secure about RM1 billion worth of contracts from the available tenders.
“There are many jobs there and we are confident we can get at least some of it as we are registered with Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Bhd) and we have the necessary experience,” Faruk told The Malaysia Reserve.
APFT diversified into the O&G sector last year upon acquiring 51% stake in an O&G services company called PT Technic (M) Sdn Bhd.
PT Technic is a Petronas licence holder and has completed close to 60 projects over its 20 years of operations, including EPCC projects for a jet fuel storage terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Terminal and a waste water treatment facility in Sudan.
“We have a profit guarantee from PT Technic for last year. For this year, it is a continuation of last year’s projects which are completing this year. So the profit should be similar to that of last year’s.
“Our orderbook to date stands at RM111 million, with RM51 million yet to be billed. The new orderbook will include what we get from the Pengerang projects,” said Faruk.
For its bread and butter business of providing training, education and services in civil aviation, Faruk said APFT is confident of minimising its losses for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, as the model of its business has been changed to one of recurring income.
“We have a seven-year contract with the Ministry of Education, which we started a couple of years ago, in which they pass on 50 students a year to us for them to obtain a diploma in maintenance training.
“We also have a three-year contract with Bomba (Fire & Rescue Department) of which we have seven cadets sent to us last year and 15 more cadets this year,” said Faruk.
Faruk said APFT currently has three helicopters and 39 aircraft to accommodate the training and will increase the fleet as demand picks up.
APFT will also start offering charter services now and is looking at providing connecting flights to highly visited areas such as Langkawi Island, Tioman Island and Redang Island.
“We received the approval from the Department of Civil Aviation two weeks ago. We have one aircraft for now for the charter services, but we will increase the fleet as demand picks up. We are also using our own pilots,” said Faruk.
For the third-quarter of financial year 2014 (3QFY14), APFT reduced its loss by 41.4% to RM3.85 million, from a loss of RM6.57 million in 3Q13.
The company also posted a 450.94% jump in revenue to RM17.52 million in the 3Q14, from a revenue of RM3.18 million a year ago.
APFT also recently issued a private placement of 118 million shares, representing a 30% equity interest in the company.
Faruk said the move is driven by its need to improve cashflow as the group is involved in capital intensive businesses but this will not lead to new shareholders. He said the company also expects financing to improve as the company gains more recurring income.
Looking forward, APFT is also expecting to deliver dividends. For the current financial year, APFT intends to reserve about RM6 million to RM8 million for capital expenditure.
http://themalaysianreserve.com
APFT Bhd sees brighter prospects for 2015 as its new business model intends to raise recurring income from its aviation training business while the new oil and gas (O&G) venture will drive growth.
Executive chairman Datuk Faruk Othman said APFT will bid for at least RM1 billion worth of projects in Pengerang, Johor.
“We are looking at the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) jobs. We are looking to secure about RM1 billion worth of contracts from the available tenders.
“There are many jobs there and we are confident we can get at least some of it as we are registered with Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Bhd) and we have the necessary experience,” Faruk told The Malaysia Reserve.
APFT diversified into the O&G sector last year upon acquiring 51% stake in an O&G services company called PT Technic (M) Sdn Bhd.
PT Technic is a Petronas licence holder and has completed close to 60 projects over its 20 years of operations, including EPCC projects for a jet fuel storage terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Terminal and a waste water treatment facility in Sudan.
“We have a profit guarantee from PT Technic for last year. For this year, it is a continuation of last year’s projects which are completing this year. So the profit should be similar to that of last year’s.
“Our orderbook to date stands at RM111 million, with RM51 million yet to be billed. The new orderbook will include what we get from the Pengerang projects,” said Faruk.
For its bread and butter business of providing training, education and services in civil aviation, Faruk said APFT is confident of minimising its losses for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, as the model of its business has been changed to one of recurring income.
“We have a seven-year contract with the Ministry of Education, which we started a couple of years ago, in which they pass on 50 students a year to us for them to obtain a diploma in maintenance training.
“We also have a three-year contract with Bomba (Fire & Rescue Department) of which we have seven cadets sent to us last year and 15 more cadets this year,” said Faruk.
Faruk said APFT currently has three helicopters and 39 aircraft to accommodate the training and will increase the fleet as demand picks up.
APFT will also start offering charter services now and is looking at providing connecting flights to highly visited areas such as Langkawi Island, Tioman Island and Redang Island.
“We received the approval from the Department of Civil Aviation two weeks ago. We have one aircraft for now for the charter services, but we will increase the fleet as demand picks up. We are also using our own pilots,” said Faruk.
For the third-quarter of financial year 2014 (3QFY14), APFT reduced its loss by 41.4% to RM3.85 million, from a loss of RM6.57 million in 3Q13.
The company also posted a 450.94% jump in revenue to RM17.52 million in the 3Q14, from a revenue of RM3.18 million a year ago.
APFT also recently issued a private placement of 118 million shares, representing a 30% equity interest in the company.
Faruk said the move is driven by its need to improve cashflow as the group is involved in capital intensive businesses but this will not lead to new shareholders. He said the company also expects financing to improve as the company gains more recurring income.
Looking forward, APFT is also expecting to deliver dividends. For the current financial year, APFT intends to reserve about RM6 million to RM8 million for capital expenditure.
http://themalaysianreserve.com
