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Bintulu Port seen to sustain earnings rise

Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd (BPHB) is projected to sustain growth in earnings on the back of its liquified natural gas (LNG) business, profits from its subsidiary – Samalaju Industrial Port Sdn Bhd – and its crude palm oil (CPO) bulking services in Sarawak.

Kenanga Research said the marine cargo handling company’s earnings are underpinned by a long-term PETRONAS supply contract and support from industrial investors.

It was also noted that the group had government-linked shareholdings support as an inter-connected port operator.

In a report yesterday, Kenanga stated the group was looking to diversify its customer base to reduce reliance on the LNG business with no further capacity expansion plans.

“The group’s core business will still be spearheaded by the LNG business (49% of group revenue), with future growth to come from Samalaju Industrial Port (20%), and the balance driven by various non-LNG cargo and container and CPO bulking services (6%),” it said.

Under its LNG segment, BPHB’s three plants which have an 80% utilisation rate now possess a total capacity of 29.3 million tonnes.

This is fuelled by long-term contracts from PETRONAS across the span of 20 years.

“The contracts outlined the supply of LNG to Taiwanese, Japanese and South Korean utilities companies. PETRONAS is expanding through an alternative distribution channel using LNG ISO tanks through a partnership with Tiger Gas Group (China),” said Kenanga.

Samalaju Industrial Port is expected to see break-even levels by 2025 with its growth driven by an influx of investments.

In addition to its six existing investors, the group welcomed a new investor, Wenan Steel (M) Sdn Bhd, which is set to become a major steel manufacturer in the Asean region.

“Furthermore, Samalaju Industrial Port has an unutilised RM1bil in Investment Tax Allowance that could bring its effective tax rate lower and further grow its earnings beyond the current level,” said Kenanga.

Other than that, BPHB is also banking on bulking services on Sarawak’s palm oil industry to boost its growth.

Kenanga Research has a “buy” call with an “outperform” rating on BPHB with a target price of RM5.95 – which is nearly 13% higher than the counter’s market price of RM5.20.
Source: The Star

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