Kuala Lumpur: MISC Bhd’s shares fell in early trade after its net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 (1Q FY2025) dropped year-on-year on the back of lower revenue for the quarter. At 9.44 am, MISC slipped two sen to RM7.51, with 48,900 shares transacted.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, MISC’s net profit decreased to RM705.70 million in 1Q from RM759.90 million a year earlier, while revenue declined to RM2.82 billion against RM3.64 billion. The lower revenue was primarily affected by a 54.0 per cent decline in the marine and heavy engineering segment.

Despite the weaker performance, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) and CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd maintained their buy calls on a positive earnings outlook. HLIB stated that despite a dismal outlook in MISC’s gas segment, it still expects group earnings growth in FY2025 to be driven by the petroleum division and offshore business. ‘Our FY2025/2026 profit forecasts are adjusted slightly by -0.3 per cent/-3.7 per cent. We also introduce FY207 earnings forecast at RM2.49 billion,’ it said in a note today.

CIMB Securities expressed that it anticipates earnings to normalize in the coming quarters, in the absence of the one-time gain from floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel Bunga Kertas. ‘A dividend per share of eight sen was declared, in line with our forecast. We expect the FY2025-FY2027 forecast earnings outlook to be supported by full-year contribution from FPSO Marechal Duque de Caxias and sustained performance from the petroleum segment,’ it said.

CIMB Securities added that MISC is currently trading at an attractive price-to-earnings ratio of 13.6 times, 15 per cent below its 10-year mean, while offering a decent 4.8 per cent yield.