THE CONTEXT

• Marco Polo Marine has a star performer in its fleet of vessels -- t
he MP Wind Archer which was completed in late 2024.

• A Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV), it has a 3-year charter contract starting in late 2025 from Vestas, a leading Danish wind turbine manufacturer, for deployment in Northeast Asian wind farms.

The charter provides not only long-term revenue visibility but also premium pricing for the specialized vessel.


FY2024 results

• Wind Archer started operating in mid-April 2025 with a 5-month charter to Siemens Gamesa for an offshore wind project in Taiwan.

Wind Archer was constructed over FY23-FY25, taking up capacity and resources at Marco Polo's shipyard in Batam, limiting the yard's ability to accept third party shipbuilding and repair jobs.  

• Post 9MFY25 (ended June) bullish reports from analysts 
forecast 20-45% growth for FY26-27 net profit
 

Broker

Call

Target Price (SGD)

Previous Target Price (SGD)

UOB Kay Hian

BUY (Maintained)

0.076

0.066

CGS Int'l

ADD (no change)

0.08

0.06

Maybank

BUY (Maintained)

0.090

0.070

Lim & Tan Securities

BUY (Maintained)

 0.082  0.080

 


CTV at the wind turbinePhoto: Marco PoloLooking ahead, things are shaping up nicely for Marco Polo.

• The CSOV and three newly acquired crew transfer vessels (CTVs) in Taiwan are expected to contribute meaningfully from 4QFY25.

And a new and fourth dry dock in Marco Polo's Batam shipyard has just clinched initial deals for ship repair.

• R
ead CGS's latest take on Marco Polo below ....

 

Excerpts from CGS report
Analysts: Meghana KANDE & LIM Siew Khee

Marco Polo Marine (MPM SP) 

Fleet expansion on the line
■ At its analyst briefing, Marco Polo said its CSOV is contributing well, with minimal setup issues. A second CSOV could be announced soon, we think. 

MARCO POLO 

Share price: 
6.5 c

Target: 
8.0 c

■ We believe an easing bank financing landscape for OSV players could drive further fleet additions for MPM.

■ Management noted a pickup in yard enquiries for repairs. However, we think revenue contribution could be subdued due to lack of newbuild order visibility.

■ Reiterate Add with a higher TP of S$0.08 on the industry’s upward re-rating.



9MFY9/25: CSOV revenue pick-up was the key highlight


Marco Polo Marine (MPM) earned S$11m from the addition of new offshore wind vessels in 9MFY9/25.

 

We estimate c.S$6m-7m of this came from its new commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV), deployed since mid-Apr 25.


Group 9MFY25 revenue formed 66% of our and Bloomberg consensus’ FY25F estimates, lower than our expected c.70%.

Adjusted for the impact of new vessels and the lack of Taiwan recharter income earned in 2024, we think revenue from vessels chartered to the oil & gas industry fell yoy due to:
1) lower utilisation rates yoy, and
2) sale of 2 tugs in 3QFY25.

In its analyst briefing, management noted that some vessels were sent for drydocking due to delays in projects, which could pick up from 1QFY26F.

3QFY25 GM was up 2% pts yoy to 44% on sales mix shift towards ship repair work and away from low-value third-party charters.

 

 Vessel additions could be on the line

 

Following the successful execution of MPM’s first newbuild CSOV and its active talks with clients, we expect a contract for a second CSOV to come through in 2HCY25F.

We estimate construction time of about 2 years, with contribution likely to start from endCY27F. MPM has been divesting its older vessels (such as tugs) to redeploy capital into the offshore wind sector.

In addition, we think the easing bank financing landscape bodes well for players such as MPM, with its strong net cash balance and chartered fleet.

We see upside to our FY26F revenue forecasts if MPM is able to add new vessels to its fleet.

 Still waiting for a better yard outlook

 
Yard utilisation improved sequentially to 88% in 3QFY25 vs. 73% in 2QFY25.

But the 19% yoy drop in 3QFY25 yard revenue was due to lack of shipbuilding activity.

MPM noted a pickup in enquiries for ship repairs but newbuild orders could stay subdued.

We cut our FY25F EPS by 12% to account for weaker yard revenues and lower fleet utilisation, partly offset by gross margin expansion from high-margin repairs and CSOV contribution.

Reiterate Add, with a higher TP on better valuation


Meghana Kande 12.24Meghana Kande, analystWe reiterate our Add call as we see potential uplift to net profit from new vessels in FY26F.

Our TP rises to S$0.08, based on 10x FY26F P/E (from 7x previously), in line with peers.

Key re-rating catalysts: contract wins for second CSOV, announcement of vessel additions, and higher-than-expected fleet utilisation.

Downside risks: lower-than-expected yard utilisation, and delays in offshore wind projects affecting vessel demand.



The 9MFY25 PowerPoint deck is here


Full CGS report here 

You may also be interested in:


 

We have 2202 guests and no members online

rss_2 NextInsight - Latest News