Malaysia’s Nam Cheong has warned investors of a loss for its fourth quarter ended 31 December 2015, but the company is expected to stay profitable for the full year 2015.

Singapore-listed Nam Cheong said the profit warning is based on the preliminary assessment of the group’s unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter, and it will announce the results on or before 29 February.

With plummeting crude oil prices, offshore exploration and activities have been significantly reduced, leading to lower utilisation for oil rigs and OSVs, hitting the sales of OSV builder Nam Cheong.

For Nam Cheong’s third quarter results, it managed to scrap a profit attributable to owners of the parent of MYR6,000 ($1,370) as the quarterly revenue plunged 69% year-on-year.

This year to-date, the OSV yard has sold only two OSVs – one accommodation work barge and one AHTS vessel – compared to 27 OSVs sold in 2014 and 24 in 2013.