Nam Cheong Limited (SGX:1MZ) was in focus on Friday, Dec 26, 2025, as investors weighed a fresh catalyst — a US$20.5 million platform supply vessel (PSV) sale — against a broader offshore-and-marine backdrop shaped by volatile oil prices, fleet renewal dynamics, and renewed attention from broker research. [1]
Nam Cheong share price today: what the market is signalling on Dec 26, 2025
By mid‑afternoon Singapore time (14:09 on Dec 26, 2025), Nam Cheong was quoted at S$0.890, up S$0.015 (+1.71%). [2]
Separate end‑of‑day market data for Dec 26, 2025 shows the stock trading in a S$0.870–S$0.895 range, with a notable jump in volume (about 8.35 million shares). [3]
The takeaway: price action and volume suggest active positioning after the company’s late‑week corporate news cycle — not just a quiet holiday drift. [4]
The headline driver: Nam Cheong to sell a 4,000 DWT PSV for US$20.5 million
The key development in the latest news flow is straightforward — and market-friendly:
- Asset: one 4,000 deadweight ton (DWT) PSV
- Consideration:US$20.5 million
- Buyer: an established Vietnam-based offshore and marine group
- Timing:delivery scheduled for December 2025
- Earnings impact: expected to contribute positively to FY2025 results [5]
Nam Cheong framed the divestment as part of a broader fleet “reprofiling” effort: selling relatively older tonnage at an “opportune” moment, while recycling capital back into areas where it believes it has structural advantages. [6]
Where the money goes next: shipbuilding and potentially fleet expansion
According to the company’s release, net proceeds are intended to be primarily redeployed to support:
- shipbuilding activities (for external sales), and/or
- fleet expansion to grow recurring income — depending on “prevailing opportunities” [7]
That “either/or” matters. In offshore services, capital allocation choices can shift a company’s risk profile quickly: expanding the charter fleet can boost recurring revenue but increases exposure to utilisation and rate cycles; building for sale can boost project profits but is often lumpier. [8]
Why a single vessel sale can move the stock: the fleet age reset theme
A big part of the bull case being repeated across the sector is fleet age.
Nam Cheong argues the global offshore support vessel (OSV) fleet is approaching a renewal point, noting major owners’ fleets average around the mid‑teens in years, and that Southeast Asia’s OSV fleet is even older on average. The implication: tightening safety/efficiency requirements can push older vessels toward retirement or costly upgrades, shifting demand to younger, compliant vessels. [9]
In that context, Nam Cheong positions itself as relatively advantaged, pointing to a younger fleet profile and the ability to build vessels in‑house, giving it optionality across both chartering and shipbuilding. [10]
What the latest financial narrative says: long-term charters, utilisation, and margins
To understand how investors may be valuing the story today, the most relevant operating datapoints are still the company’s latest disclosed quarterly trends.
In its 3Q2025 update (released Nov 14, 2025), Nam Cheong reported:
- Revenue:RM170.8 million (up 6% quarter-on-quarter)
- Gross profit:RM87.5 million (up 3% qoq)
- Gross margin:51.2% (still above 50%)
- Vessel utilisation:70% (up from 68% in 2Q2025)
- Fleet contract mix: about 60% of the fleet under long‑term charters, with a stated aim to reach ~70% for stability [11]
The company also pointed to structural features it believes support rates into 2026, including constrained newbuilding supply and Malaysia’s cabotage rules limiting foreign vessel participation in local waters. [12]
The sector backdrop on Dec 26: oil volatility now, but demand debates shape offshore spending
On Dec 26, 2025, broader market commentary from The Edge Singapore highlighted a mixed oil setup: near-term volatility and softness, but long‑term demand scenarios that still require meaningful upstream investment. [13]
For Nam Cheong specifically, the same piece notes the company now derives significant business leasing OSVs to Petronas via multi‑year contracts, and suggests sustained oil demand (and related capex) could translate into more chartering and newbuild opportunities. [14]
This is the “two clocks” reality of offshore:
- Oil prices can swing weekly, but
- offshore project decisions often play out over years — and fleet renewal cycles can be stubbornly slow until they suddenly aren’t. [15]
Analyst forecasts: DBS target around S$1.25, but coverage is thin
A notable feature of the Nam Cheong forecast landscape right now is that coverage appears limited — many platforms show just one analyst driving consensus. That doesn’t make the forecast wrong, but it does mean investors should treat “consensus” as less robust than it sounds. [16]
Here’s what major market-tracking platforms are reporting as of late December 2025:
- DBS Research view (reported by The Edge Singapore): described Nam Cheong as an “undervalued OSV gem” with a S$1.25 target price. [17]
- TradingView: price target S$1.25 (max/min the same), implying a single-source target. [18]
- TipRanks:1‑year price target S$1.25, “Moderate Buy,” 1 analyst covering (and lists an upside calculation versus its referenced price). [19]
- Investing.com: “Buy” consensus based on 1 analyst, with an average target around 1.256. [20]
- Stockopedia: consensus target price shown around S$1.26 (also referencing an implied upside versus its last-close reference point). [21]
What that target means in plain English
With the stock trading around S$0.89 on Dec 26, a S$1.25–S$1.26 target implies roughly ~40%+ potential upside from that level — if the thesis plays out and the market rerates the stock accordingly. [22]
But two big caveats apply:
- Single‑analyst consensus risk: one forecast can dominate the “average.” [23]
- Cyclicality risk: offshore utilisation, charter rates, and oil-driven capex can shift faster than shipyards can. [24]
Near-term catalysts investors are watching
1) Closing and delivery of the PSV sale (December 2025)
The market will want confirmation that the vessel sale completes on schedule and that proceeds are deployed as intended (shipbuilding pipeline and/or fleet growth). [25]
2) Capital allocation signals: build-for-sale vs expand-for-recurring
Management has explicitly left both doors open. Any announcement that clarifies which path is prioritised could matter as much as the sale itself. [26]
3) Next results window: FY2025 / Q4 timing expectations
Market calendars flag late‑February 2026 as the projected window for the next major earnings event (timing can vary by source). [27]
The big risks (the stuff that bites when nobody’s looking)
Even with upbeat headlines, Nam Cheong remains exposed to classic offshore-and-marine fault lines:
- Oil price and capex sensitivity: weak oil can pressure upstream spending and OSV demand, even if the long-term story stays intact. [28]
- Utilisation and operational downtime: vessel maintenance and scheduling can swing near-term profitability and margins. [29]
- Counterparty / contract dynamics: long-term charters help stabilise revenue, but contract changes and disputes can still occur in the sector. [30]
- Execution risk in shipbuilding: building vessels (whether for sale or internal fleet) is capital-intensive and timing-sensitive. [31]
Bottom line on Dec 26, 2025
As of Dec 26, 2025, the market narrative around Nam Cheong Limited (SGX:1MZ) is being powered by a clean, easy-to-understand catalyst — the US$20.5 million PSV sale — layered on top of a broader thesis that the OSV market is entering a renewal phase and that Nam Cheong’s younger-fleet profile and shipbuilding capabilities offer leverage to that cycle. [32]
Analyst tracking across multiple platforms clusters around a S$1.25–S$1.26 target, but investors should note that the visible consensus appears to be driven by very limited analyst coverage. [33]
References
1. repository.shareinvestor.com, 2. sginvestors.io, 3. www.investing.com, 4. www.investing.com, 5. repository.shareinvestor.com, 6. repository.shareinvestor.com, 7. repository.shareinvestor.com, 8. repository.shareinvestor.com, 9. repository.shareinvestor.com, 10. repository.shareinvestor.com, 11. links.sgx.com, 12. links.sgx.com, 13. www.theedgesingapore.com, 14. www.theedgesingapore.com, 15. www.theedgesingapore.com, 16. www.investing.com, 17. www.theedgesingapore.com, 18. www.tradingview.com, 19. www.tipranks.com, 20. www.investing.com, 21. www.stockopedia.com, 22. sginvestors.io, 23. www.investing.com, 24. www.theedgesingapore.com, 25. repository.shareinvestor.com, 26. repository.shareinvestor.com, 27. www.marketscreener.com, 28. www.theedgesingapore.com, 29. links.sgx.com, 30. links.sgx.com, 31. repository.shareinvestor.com, 32. repository.shareinvestor.com, 33. www.investing.com
