Pioneer Heat eyes Sarawak growth after securing Petros vendor licence

KUALA LUMPUR: Pioneer Heat Holdings Bhd is looking to Sarawak's oil and gas and petrochemical sectors as key growth areas following its listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia today.

Chief executive officer and executive director Wong Wei Ken said the group sees significant opportunities in the state after securing a registered vendor licence from Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros).

"The Petros licence can help us enter the Sarawak market.

"In the future, we can deal directly with Petroleum Sarawak as a main contractor," he told reporters at a virtual media briefing today.

Wong said the company was actively exploring and bidding for several oil and gas and petrochemical projects.

"We are targeting several projects that we hope to secure in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

"In terms of order book, our unbilled order book has reached about RM50 million. We are actively bidding for tenders over the next two quarters and hope these will contribute to revenue growth," he said.

Pioneer Heat made a steady debut on the ACE Market today, opening at 25.5 sen, 0.5 sen or two per cent above its initial public offering (IPO) price of 25 sen.

The stock subsequently climbed as high as 31.5 sen, up 6.5 sen or 26 per cent. At 9.17am, it was trading at 31 sen, up six sen or 24 per cent, making it the most actively traded counter on Bursa Malaysia with 38.32 million shares changing hands.

This followed robust demand for the engineering firm's IPO, with its public portion oversubscribed by 47.80 times.

Pioneer Heat's IPO comprised 86.70 million new shares and an offer for sale of 17.35 million existing shares.

The company raised RM21.68 million from the public issue, of which RM7.90 million was earmarked for working capital and RM4.01 million for machinery and equipment.

Another RM4 million will be used to establish a new headquarters in Sendayan, Negri Sembilan, while RM2.07 million will fund a new office in Sarawak. The remaining RM3.70 million is for listing expenses.

The listing valued Pioneer Heat at about RM86.73 million, based on its enlarged share capital of 346.90 million shares.

Wong said the group's opening performance reflected investor confidence in its fundamentals and growth prospects, with revenue expected to increase as it expands its operational capacity.

"Pioneer Heat has nearly 29 years of experience in the industry, in addition to in-house technical expertise in mechanical engineering services.

"Our mechanical engineering services cover the entire plant life cycle, not only initial construction projects but also maintenance and modification works," he said.

Pioneer Heat provides mechanical engineering services, including piping system engineering, heat treatment, flange management and non-destructive testing, mainly for the oil and gas, petrochemical, utilities and manufacturing industries.

Wong said the group would continue expanding its operational capabilities and presence in East Malaysia.

"At this point, Pioneer Heat does not see any slowdown in projects arising from geopolitical tensions in Middle East.

"Pioneer Heat is committed to leveraging its nearly three decades of industry experience to achieve sustainable growth and create long-term value for shareholders," he said.