MMA flags profit plunge
Shares in MMA Offshore have fallen after the oil and gas marine services provider reported a plunge in fleet use and the loss of about 90 jobs.
MMA said it was making about 65 Australian employees redundant and 23 Singaporeans on top of cutting casual and contract labour as part of efforts to reduce overheads by $15 million.
The company said utilisation of its Australian and international fleet in the March quarter sank to about 60 per cent.
Utilisation in the first half was 82 per cent in Australia and 72 per cent overseas.
MMA expects the lower rate to remain for the rest of this half.
Day rates had been slashed by 10 to 15 per cent because of increased competition and renegotiation by clients.
Monthly wharf visits to MMA's Dampier supply base in the quarter fell 30 per cent from the first half, while the Dampier slipway was relatively strong.
MMA said it expected underlying earnings to be similar to the previous year. Last year's earnings before interest and tax were $80 million.
The stock was down 4.5 cents, or 6 per cent, to 68 cents at 11.00am.
