KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 29 MAY 2019 – VELESTO ENERGY BERHAD (“VELESTO” or the “Company”) held its 9th Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) today at Menara Kembar Bank Rakyat, in Kuala Lumpur. The Company’s shareholders approved all resolutions put forward including:

1. The re-election of Dato’ Abdul Rahman Ahmad, Dato’ Dayang Fatimah Johari and Rohaizad Darus to the Board of Directors,
2. The payment of Directors’ Fees from the 9th Annual General Meeting until the next Annual General Meeting; and,
3. The re-appointment of Messrs. Ernst & Young as the Company’s Auditors for the ensuing year.

In the 2018 financial year, the Group saw its utilisation rate improved to 73% compared to 70% in the previous year. Together with cost saving initiatives and other efficiency improvements, the core loss after tax (excluding impairment provisions) for 2018 narrowed considerably by 94% to only RM9.1 million from RM147.1 million in 2017.

Velesto was also recently awarded with four (4) contracts by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd with a firm duration of one (1) year plus two (2) extension options of one (1) year each, bringing the total contract period of up to three (3) years.

Rohaizad Darus, President, Velesto Energy Berhad shared, “The continued recovery in the oil and gas industry globally has resulted in increased drilling activities as evidenced by the four (4) longer term contracts recently awarded to Velesto. We are seeing more contracts being awarded globally with increased daily charter rates. The widely higher utilisation of drilling rigs helps to reduce the number of idling rigs. This augurs well for drilling companies such as Velesto, as it results in higher revenue and the opportunity to return to profitability.”

Rohaizad added, “The Company has also implemented various cost optimisation and efficiency improvement initiatives that resulted in RM30.3 million savings in 2018. We will continue to operate at a lower cost structure to be more resilient and improve our margin as well as the group performance going forward. We hope to create better shareholders value as we ride on the industry recovery.”

Looking ahead, the Company will continue to defend its leading position in Malaysia while progressively pursuing opportunities for global expansion, by bidding for domestic and international contracts with an emphasis on the South East Asia region and the Middle East.