Wintermar Offshore (WINS:JK) Reports FY2020 Results

Wintermar Offshore Marine (WINS:JK) has reported results for the full FY2020, achieving a gross profit of US$1.1 million, turning around from a gross loss of US$1.27 mil in FY2019, as utilization rose to 66% in Q42020. The rise in vessel utilization provided a boost to revenue of US$11.9 million for 4Q2020, and brought the Company back to a gross profit for the full FY2020.

A strong 4th quarter saw high-tier vessel utilization reach 77% as several drilling projects commenced. Although revenue for FY2020 was 23% lower than FY2019, the significant cost control measures in the past year brought total direct expenses down by 26% YOY.

–Owned Vessel Division

As oil prices stabilized, there was a recovery in drilling activity in 4Q2020, particularly benefitting the high tier fleet which saw utilization jump to 77% for the final quarter. This boosted Owned Vessel revenues by 24.4% QOQ to US$9.1million in 4Q2020.

Overall fleet utilization for FY2020 was 63% which was similar to FY2019. Total Owned Vessel revenue for FY2020 was US$33.8 million, a YOY decline of 18% compared to FY2019. However, the fleet streamlining and cost control measures implemented by management for the past year have borne fruit as reflected in a 23% decline in Owned vessel direct expenses at US$ 34.0 million. Vessel sales over the past year and asset impairment contributed to lower depreciation of US$14.8 million in FY2020 compared to US$23.4 million in FY2019. Crew costs were 10% lower YOY at US$9.0 million while fuel costs fell 22% YOY to US$2.3 million. Operational costs, however, increased 21% YOY to US$4.9 million primarily due to COVID-19 related costs and mooring costs when the vessel is idle.

–Chartering and Other Services

Chartering activity was affected by COVID-19 and revenue for this division declined by 34% to US$7.4 million. Gross Profit from Chartering fell to US$0.7 million for FY2020 compared to US$1.2 million in FY2019.

–Indirect Expenses and Operating Loss

Indirect Expenses declined by 23% YOY to US$5.8 million for FY2020, largely contributed by a lower headcount of 141 at the end of December 2020 compared to 172 staff the year before, and a voluntary salary reduction led by the Directors of the Company and supported by the participation of all employees to help the Company through the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff salary was 20% YOY lower at US$3.6 million compared to US$4.5 million in the previous year. Other reductions were seen in Professional fees which fell by 38% to US$0.4 million, marketing and travelling which fell by 68% and 54% respectively due to the travel restrictions imposed for COVID-19. Office depreciation fell by 53% to US$0.14 million as certain equipment was fully depreciated.

The Operating Loss nearly halved to US$4.7 million for FY2020 compared to US$8.8 million in FY2019.

–Other Income, Expenses and Net Attributable profit

As the Company has reduced overall bank debt by US$8.5 million to US$46.1 million by end of December 2020, the interest expenses saw a sharp decline of 26% YOY to US$3.5 million. However, this was offset by a loss from equity in associates of US$1.6 million for the year compared to a profit of US$1 million in FY2019. Profit from sale of fixed assets was US$1 million, arising from the sale of 5 vessels and a building in 2020. This was lower than the profit of US$2.2 million from the sale of 5 vessels in FY2019.

Net loss attributable to shareholders narrowed by 7.4% to US$12.3 million for FY2020, compared to a net loss of US$13.3 million in FY2019.

EBITDA for FY2020 was US$10.3 million, compared to US$14.9 million booked in FY2019.

–Oil & Gas Industry

COVID-19’s disruptive effect on the world in 2020 caused an unprecedented impact on oil demand. Traffic literally came to a standstill in 2Q2020 when most countries restricted travel and movement to stop the transmission of COVID19. As a result, there was demand destruction of 9.9 million bpd of oil in 2020, or about 10% of global output, causing inventory buildup and dampening oil prices.

Investment in upstream oil and gas, which had already seen a multi-year decline, continued to fall further by 20%, in 2020 as seen in the above chart.

Now that most major countries are targeting to reach a 50% vaccination rate by end of 2021, oil demand has picked up as economies started to open up in 2H2020. The global economic recovery resulted in most of the crude oil inventory being drawn down, bringing a balance to the supply and demand for oil again. Oil prices are expected to trend higher as oil demand will benefit from economic recovery in many major world economies in 2H2021 and 2022.

–Offshore Vessels

COVID-19’s disruptive effect on the world in 2020 caused an unprecedented impact to oil demand. Traffic literally came to a standstill in 2Q2020 when most countries restricted travel and movement to stop the transmission of COVID-19. As a result, there was demand destruction of 9.9 million bpd of oil in 2020, or about 10% of global output, causing inventory buildup and dampening oil prices.

Investment in upstream oil and gas, which had already seen a multi-year decline, continued to fall further by 20%, in 2020 as seen in the above chart.

Now that most major countries are targeting to reach a 50% vaccination rate by end of 2021, oil demand has picked up as economies started to open up in 2H2020. The global economic recovery resulted in most of the crude oil inventory being drawn down, bringing a balance to the supply and demand for oil again. Oil prices are expected to trend higher as oil demand will benefit from economic recovery in many major world economies in 2H2021 and 2022.

–Offshore Vessels

Last year at this time, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the seeds of optimism in the offshore vessel industry and caused suspension and even terminations in drilling projects. As the outlook for oil prices improves, the demand for offshore vessels is also starting to recover, with more tenders and projects in the pipeline. Rystad Energy is projecting a recovery in offshore capex starting in 2022 as seen in the chart below. This would bode well for the OSV industry which is starting to benefit from more work, albeit still relatively short term. With stronger oil prices, there is already a recovery in offshore drilling so far in 2021 with more demand for higher tier vessels in various markets. Some high tier vessels which had been seized by banks are being transacted in the first quarter of 2021, signalling optimism in the OSV industry after many years of downturn.

–Strategy and Outlook

There are more signs of OSV industry recovery, not just due to a turnaround in the oil and gas sector, but also due to increased investment in offshore windfarms. There have been several drilling projects due to start in Indonesia which were delayed due to various factors like rig repair or inability to secure suitable vessels, proving that specific vessel segments are already seeing good demand. Although 2021 is likely to see some volatility and charter rates are still low, the trend for OSV demand looks positive. Management is optimistic that 2022 will be a better year and are positioning to tender for contracts in several markets. The Company has also started to work in the offshore wind industry for the first time with a short contract to transport monopiles for wind turbine construction.

The streamlining of the Company’s fleet by selling out of low tier vessels has led to a lower cost structure as the focus is now on mid and high tier vessels which comprise 73% and 22% of our fleet at the end of 2020. Other initiatives to digitalise our internal HR and Logistics procedures through digital processes were accelerated by the pandemic last year. This has already resulted in operational efficiencies and a reduction of paper use, and lower travelling costs as virtual meetings and vessel inspections became the new normal.

After paying down US$8.5 million of debt over the past year, the Company ends 2020 with a healthy balance sheet with low net debt/equity of 35%. Management has successfully negotiated to extend loan maturities until 2025, which provides a comfortable cash flow profile for the coming years. With the emphasis on keeping up the quality of services and fleet, Wintermar is poised to take a strong position in the coming industry recovery.

Contracts on hand as of the end of February 2021 amount to US$66 million.

About Wintermar Offshore Marine Group

Wintermar Offshore Marine Group (WINS.JK), developed over nearly 50 years with a track record of quality that is both a source of pride and responsibility that we are dedicated to upholding, and sails a fleet of more than 48 Offshore Support Vessels ready for long term as well as spot charters. All vessels are operated by an experienced Indonesian crew, tracked by satellite systems and monitored in real-time by shore-based Vessel Teams.

Wintermar is the first shipping company in Indonesia to be certified with an Integrated Management System by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance, and is currently certified with ISO 9001:2015 (Quality), ISO14001:2015 (Environment) and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety). For more information, please visit www.wintermar.com.

Ms. Pek Swan Layanto, CFA
Investor Relations
PT Wintermar Offshore Marine Tbk
Tel +62-21 530 5201 Ext 401
Email: investor_relations@wintermar.com

Tech and Government Leaders Unite to Drive the Future of AI in Indonesia at World AI Show

Indonesia played host to the most content-rich virtual conference on artificial intelligence last Thursday. The Jakarta edition of World AI Show convened over 450 online attendees from the major stakeholders of the Indonesian AI ecosystem. The conference was supported by Kominfo and Jakarta Smart City to explore and drive more digital business opportunities in Indonesia’s budding AI market.

The event succeeded in connecting Indonesia’s top government officials, technologists and global AI players such as Microsoft, Dataiku and more.

World AI Show was hosted on the newly launched virtual events platform, Vmeets that provided an immersive digital experience for participants to engage in keynotes, panel discussions, Q&A sessions, technology use-cases, industry solutions, applied AI showcases and the latest go-to-market innovations.

Some of the top speakers who joined the conference included Asril Jarin, Coordinator of Artificial Intelligence Department – PTIK, Agency of Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) Government; Dwi Elfrida Simanungkalit, Sub Coordinator of Development of e-Services for Local government Department of Communications and Informatics, Kemkominfo; Juan Intan Kanggrawan, Head of Data Analytics, Jakarta Smart City; Dr Lukas, Co-founder and Chairperson, Indonesia AI Society; Alex Hubert RVP Sales Engineering Dataiku, APAC; Karthikeyan Rajashekaran, Senior Director, Data and AI Solution Sales, Microsoft; Alex Hoehl, Senior Director, Partner Channel Sales & Business Development, Denodo, APAC Indonesia to name a few.

Highlights and key takeaways from World AI Show

Asril Jarin, Coordinator of Artificial Intelligence Department – PTIK, Agency of Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) Government, Indonesia said, “I believe the successful implementation of national AI strategy will be able to help the digital transformation in all sectors, both public and private in Indonesia.”

Karthikeyan Rajashekaran, Senior Director at Microsoft, Indonesia, stated, “Technology has always been a force multiplier for change especially in challenging times. AI is at the forefront of helping organizations navigate the new reality and thrive.”

The event also featured a panel discussion on combining to create Smart and high-performance Governments that covered key areas such as ‘How AI can help governments and policymakers to make data-driven decisions deal with pandemics?’

Alex Hubert, RVP, Sales Engineering for Dataiku, APAC gave a tech talk on ‘Scaling AI in Banking’, and spoke at length regarding challenges the banking world in Indonesia has ahead of them.

World AI Show also featured an insightful session on How Cloud Technologies, AI, Ml are helping us deal with the pandemic.

The Jakarta edition of World AI Show Jakarta was officially sponsored by Platinum Sponsor – Tech Data and Dataiku; Gold Sponsors – Microsoft and Denodo; Silver Sponsors – ManageEngine, Sinergi Wahana Gemilang and Intetics and supported by Kominfo and Jakarta Smart City.

About World AI Show

World AI Show is a thought-leadership-driven, business-focused, global series of events taking place in strategic locations across the world. It connects top AI experts, enterprises, government representatives, data scientists, technology leaders, startups, investors, researchers, academicians, and global AI innovators – to discuss the impact of AI on commercial applications and the revolutionary ways it can transform businesses and government functions.

For more information visit: tresconglobal.com/conferences/ai

For further details about the announcement, please contact:
Genevive D’souza
Corporate Communications Manager
marketing@tresconglobal.com

New piracy sites filling the hole left by IndoXXI

Site blocking is effective, but is it enough to deter organised crime groups operating these sites?

The Indonesia based IndoXXI group, which controls a large number of illegal piracy websites and applications, has “claimed” that it had officially closed its operations as of January 1st. The Minister of Communications and Information (KOMINFO), Mr. Johnny Plate, continues to be vocal in the media, encouraging both consumers and piracy site operators to do the right thing, commenting, “[IndoXXI] took the initiative not to show pirated content. That’s a good initiative.”

However, since this announced closure, many other piracy sites, including some obvious copycat clones of IndoXXI, have become available. These new piracy sites were quickly identified by the Video Coalition of Indonesia (VCI) and immediately referred to KOMINFO to be blocked. In the last 7 days, over 200 new piracy sites have been identified and referred to KOMINFO.

But is site blocking by itelf enough to deter this profitable online crime? Following the December release of an AVIA commissioned YouGov survey which found that 63% of Indonesians access piracy streaming websites, the Indonesian government vowed to identify and prosecute those operating the IndoXXI piracy websites unless they cease their operations. The sudden increase in new piracy sites would suggest the operators are not listening to the government’s warning.

The Video Coalition of Indonesia (VCI), although appreciative of the site blocking, implore the government to criminally prosecute those operators behind the piracy websites who are stealing content and illegally monetising movies and TV shows.

Mira Lesmana, one of indonesia’s most prominent producer, commented, “The Indonesian content industry finance, create and distribute the movies and TV shows that our people love. However piracy websites allow criminals to make money from our hard work. How is this fair? We need to be able to recoup our financial investments to fund new creative content. We encourage the government to track down and prosecute those Indonesian-based operators who are behind these networks of piracy sites.”

Neil Gane, the General Manager of AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) stated, “Society does not accept blatant theft from retail malls and neither should it be accepted on the internet. Unfortunately online piracy is an easy form of theft. It is also organised crime, pure and simple, with crime syndicates such as IndoXXI, LK21, Bioskoperen making substantial illicit profit from operating piracy streaming websites. Many syndicates and individuals associated with the piracy ecosystem are involved in other criminal endeavours including illicit online gambling, and there is a likelihood that part of the illegal proceeds are used to finance these other crimes.”

The financial damage that online piracy does to Indonesia’s creative industries is without dispute. However, the damage done to consumers themselves, because of the nexus between content piracy and malware, is only beginning to be understood. Accessing piracy streaming websites like IndoXXI is fraught with risks. Unfortunately the appetite for ‘free’ blinkers some consumers from the real risks of malware infection. The type of malware embedded within advertisements or content files can include particularly harmful malware such as ransomware or remote access trojans which allows the hacker to activate and record from the device’s webcam without the victim being aware.

Members of the VCI include AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP), APFI, APROFI, GPBSI, Emtek Group, MNC Group, Viva Group, Telkom Indonesia, Cinema 21 Group, CGV, Cinemaxx, HOOQ, iflix, Viu, GoPlay, Rewind, SuperSoccerTV and Catchplay.

About the Asia Video Industry Association

The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) is the trade association for the video industry and ecosystem in Asia Pacific. It serves as the interlocutor for the industry with governments across the region, leads the fight against video piracy and provides insight into the video industry through reports and conferences aimed to support a vibrant video industry.

For media enquiries and additional background please contact:
Charmaine Kwan
Head of Marketing and Communications
Email: charmaine@avia.org
Website: https://avia.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/asiavideoia
Twitter: @AsiaVideoIA

Mighty Earth Complaint to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for dissociation of Korindo dismissed by FSC

Mighty Earth, a US NGO, filed a complaint to FSC that the Korindo Group should be dissociated from FSC.

On November 1, 2017, FSC initiated an investigation on alleged violations of the Policy for the Association of Organizations with FSC.

It should be underscored that there can be only two outcomes of the FSC investigation, dissociation if proven guilty of the charge or maintaining association if proven innocent. Nothing else, nothing in between.

On July 15, 2019, the FSC Board of Directors announced that the Korindo Group is not to be dissociated from FSC, and is to remain associated with FSC.

FSC investigated all of ME claims, rejected its key allegations as unfounded, including the one that Korindo used fires. FSC’s investigation concluded that Korindo did not set fires, and that Korindo was not involved in illegal activities by use of fire. This was the FSC conclusion that was released to the public on July 23, 2019.

Mighty Earth has been spinning the FSC decision by avoiding the facts, and distorting the cause and outcome of the investigation itself for those who are not familiar with the FSC mechanism and process.

Korindo social programmes include having built, managing and funding a state of the art full-service hospital (voted as the Best Primary Clinical Hospital in Papua and West Papua by the Indonesian National Health Insurance), 19 medical clinics, 28 schools along with school buses and some 200 teachers, 66 mosques/churches, providing infrastructure of free power supply and several hundred kilometers of roads, vocational training of chicken and vegetable farming, and has begun, inter alia, introducing clean cookstoves and compost toilets.

Korindo will not let allegations, which already have been fully investigated and rejected, and harm Korindo and some 100,000 Indonesians who work with Korindo, be repeated.

For media enquiries:
Public Relations Department, Korindo Group
Email: corpcom@korindo.co.id
www.korindo.co.id