TAS Offshore lifts off to new highs, hopes for continued uptrend

TAS Offshore Bhd hit a multi-year high of 80 sen last week and it is looking good for further uptrend.

The counter succumbed to some profit taking activities closing at 74 sen on May 2 giving room for investors have a go at this stock.

It may trend higher after it broke above the 70 sen resistance while the upward momentum is likely to pick up further.

The upside, near-term resistance level is seen at 85 sen followed by 90 sen.

Those who bought the stock at its 52-week low of 19 sen would be happy to see a huge jump in its share price.

Investors are probably excited with TAS Offshore’s prospects as the oil and gas service provider is benefitting from the strong SGD/MYR.

The company is also capitalising on the booming tugboats market driven by increasing maritime transportation demand and vibrant coal mining activities in Indonesia.

The approval of a coal production quota of 922.14m tonnes for 2024 (up 30%), reflects anticipated high demand from major export partners India and China, as well as the increasing number of nickel smelting plants coming onstream.

Also, TAS Offshore can leverage opportunities given Indonesia's status as the largest miner and refiner of nickel, driven by increasing global demand for refined nickel in EV batteries,

The International Nickel Study Group forecasts a 9% growth in nickel demand in 2024, with Indonesia nickel production expected to grow at a 4% CAGR between 2022 and 2026.

Since 2018, TAS Offshore has pivoted its focus from constructing offshore support vessels to prioritising the construction of tugboats.

Recently, it clinched a 10-year record high shipbuilding orders of more than RM200 million for the construction of tugboats for its Indonesia, Singapore and China customers.

Currently, the group’s shipbuilding yards in Sibu are running at full capacity, producing 14 tugboats per year and will be kept busy until 2025.

The company can expect higher revenue and earnings moving forward, factoring in higher average selling prices that has increased by 8% as a higher horsepower is needed for the tugboats.

Investors may want to start accumulating now that it has come off new highs but exudes much excitement moving forward.