Marco Polo Marine CEO Sean Lee has on Dec 4 bought 2 million shares at 5.3 cents, bringing his direct interest to nearly 12.6 million shares.
In addition to his deemed interest of more than 166.6 million shares, Lee now has a total interest of 4.78% in the company, up from 4.72%.
Lee's buying came one day after another insider Darren Teo had also increased his stake.
On Dec 3, Teo paid 5.2 cents for 800,000 shares, bringing his direct stake to 7.3 million. He has a deemed interest of another 607.1 million shares via his family office.
In total Teo, who sits on Marco Polo Marine 's board as a non-executive director, has an interest in 614.4 million shares, equivalent to 16.36%.
The company had on Nov 28 reported earnings down to 42% y-o-y to $10.7 million for its 2HFY2024 ended Sept. This brings its full year earnings to $21.7 million, down 4%.
See also: AEM Holdings' second and third largest shareholders in active trades
Total FY2024 revenue was down slightly by 3% y-o-y to $123.5 million.
Despite the lower earnings, Jarick Seet of Maybank Securities remains upbeat on this stock.
In his Dec 3 note, Seet says Marco Polo is set to have a better utilisation rate for its repair and maintenance facilities.
See also: Yangzijiang Financial Holding resumes share buybacks after one-month break
In addition, the company will start to generate meaningful revenue from this coming onwards from chartering an offshore support vessel.
“FY2025 should be a good year for Marco Polo Marine as all engines will start firing. "We think this is a good time to accumulate Marco Polo Marine with the outlook clear ahead,” says Seet, who has maintained his target price of 8 cents along with his "buy" call.
Marco Polo Marine shares closed at 5.4 cents on Dec 4, unchanged for the day and up 8% year to date.
