What can the Petrobras drillship order do for Sembcorp Marine?

It will obviously provide SMM the initial impetus to establish its foothold in the local Brazilian market - but this is just one benefit.

Here’s more from DBS:

Drillship breakthrough with Petrobras. SMM has secured a contract from Guarapari Drilling BV, Netherlands, a subsidiary of Sete Brasil Participacoes S.A., for the design and construction of a drillship worth US $792.5m. The unit is scheduled for delivery no later than 2Q 2015.

Major breakthrough on several fronts. We believe this contract is significant on several fronts: 1) first order for SMM’s greenfield Brazilian yard, which will provide SMM the initial impetus to establish its foothold in the local Brazilian market; 2) further signs of progress being made on negotiations between Petrobras and the drilling contractors/yards; 3) maiden drillship order for the group, representing its penetration into the newbuild drillship market traditionally dominated by the Korean yards; and 4) testament of the drillship’s high-spec capabilities and innovative design.

Boosting orderbook; FY12F order wins raised to S$6bn. This is SMM’s first order for FY12 and boosts its orderbook to c. S$5.9bn, extending earnings visibility with book-to-bill ratio of 1.4x (prev 1.1x). On the back of a healthy order outlook, we raise our FY12F order wins assumption to S$6bn (prev S$4bn). Hence, FY13F is raised 4%, partially offset by our conservative 6% EBIT margin on the Petrobras rig order (vs. group FY12 EBIT margins of c. 16%) given that this will be SMM’s maiden foray in Brazil using a new drillship design.

Maintain BUY, TP lifted to S$5.75. We raise our SOTP-based TP for SMM to S $5.75, as we roll forward our valuation to blended FY12/13F PE on improved earnings visibility (prev 13x FY12F PE), while raising the valuation peg to 16x (+0.5SD) on potential re-rating catalysts from further Petrobras contracts and the return of semisubmersible orders. Maintain BUY.

Join Singapore Business Review community
A NOTE FROM SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW

If you've been wondering whether SBR could work for your company — yes, probably.

A lot of the companies we partner with started as readers. They'd been following our coverage for a while, saw their own customers and competitors in it, and eventually asked the obvious question: could we do something with you? The answer is usually yes. The shape of it depends on what you're trying to do.


The options are broader than most people assume — thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. Some partners use one channel; most use a mix. We figure out the right combination by starting with your brief, not with our rate card.


So if the question has been on your mind, here's the easy way to ask it.

We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how. It's a better use of everyone's time.