KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 10): Scomi Energy Services Bhd said its marine services division has secured more than RM140 million worth of contracts over the last four months.

In a statement today, Scomi Energy said the contracts are for the transportation of coal and provision of offshore vessel services to clients in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The company said the order book of its combined core businesses comprising oilfield services and marine services is currently over US$1.7 billion (RM6.69 billion).

Scomi Energy's marine services president Mukhnizam Mahmud said the company is still focusing on its target market in the Southeast Asian region with Malaysia and Indonesia being the key locations for the company's coal logistics operations.

"We plan to continue bidding for more affreightment contracts to maximise the utilisation rates of our vessels as the region still presents good opportunities for the business," he said.

"Demand for coal from Malaysian coal-powered power plants is expected to increase for the next few years. This is in line with the projected increase in total electricity generated for the country," he added.

For its offshore services unit, which provides vessel services to the oil and gas industry, the company is actively bidding for work in India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East, the statement read.

Scomi Energy said this strategy of expanding geographic footprint is necessary amidst the current weakened demand.

"We will continue to submit bids for both the offshore services and coal logistics contracts while we take measures to rationalise our business," said Mukhnizam.

"With a lean and efficient operations structure in place, we are optimistic of our chances despite stiff competition. As a Malaysian-based company, we are [also] benefitting from the strengthening US dollar as 95% of our revenue is in that currency," he added.

Its announcement today follows the one in mid-June, when Scomi Energy said its oilfield services division had secured US$71.4 million (RM281.08 million) worth of contracts in the first five months of 2015, despite the easing of drilling activities in many markets.

The contracts involved the provision of drilling waste management equipment and services as well as drilling fluids solutions to clients in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Europe, the company said then.

Scomi Energy (fundamental: 1; valuation: 1.1)'s shares closed unchanged at 27.5 sen today, with a market capitalisation of RM632.24 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)