And the stock continues to gather steam as the company has posted strong earnings, and is currently trading at more than RM2.

In addition, the group declared total dividends per share of 13.5 sen between FY2013 and FY2015. If one had bought 10,000 shares at 78 sen apiece, his investment value would have ballooned to RM18,500, plus a dividend of RM1,350 — which is a 154% return over the past three years.

Muhibbah’s earnings have been on an upward trend over the past three years, although crude oil prices remained below US$50 a barrel most of the time.

The group returned to profitability in its financial year ended Dec 31, 2013 (FY2013) with a pre-tax profit of RM132.57 million. It had suffered a pre-tax loss of RM34.9 million in FY2012 due to a provision of RM245 million for the Asia Petroleum Hub project.

The group’s pre-tax profit grew 8.4% to RM143.69 million in FY2014 and expanded nearly 15% to RM165.06 million in FY2015.

While most O&G players have been badly hit by the soft crude oil prices, Muhibbah seems to have weathered the tough conditions well as it benefited from its diversification. Its concession business is providing a good cushion against the impact of the severe slowdown in the O&G industry.

Muhibbah stands out from its peers with its strong order book of RM2.5 billion. In addition, it has an effective stake in Cambodia Airports, which manages three international airports — Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville Airports — in a consortium with Vinci SA, a French conglomerate. These airports are charting double-digit growth in passenger traffic. The concession period for the three international airports ends in 2040.

In FY2015, total passengers for the three airports reached 6.47 million, a 13% increase from 5.73 million in FY2014.

Not many may be aware that Muhibbah also owns 21% equity interest in Roadcare (M) Sdn Bhd, which has a 10-year concession to maintain 7,100km of roads in central Peninsular Malaysia.

The concession business is generating steady recurring income for Muhibbah.

In June, the group unveiled its proposed RM2 billion Kuantan Maritime Hub project. It has entered into an agreement with Pahang State Secretary Corporation to buy 500 acres in Kuantan for RM26.45 million for the project, which is to be developed over 10 years.

Muhibbah managing director Mac Ngan Boon sees the project as a future growth driver. He believes it will help pave the way for Muhibbah to become a major shipbuilder in five years. Revenue from the shipyard division is also expected to double upon the completion of the yard in Kuantan.

Mac believes the Kuantan Maritime Hub is a strategic move that will propel Muhibbah to greater heights in the next 10 years.

However, its 60%-owned subsidiary, Favelle Favco Bhd, is facing headwinds due to the slowdown in the upstream segment of the O&G industry. That said, the company’s earnings have grown in the past three years. Its pre-tax profit grew from RM66.68 million in FY2012 to a record high of RM118.27 million in FY2015.

While raising the contribution from the maintenance of cranes and increasing its exposure to tower cranes to mitigate the decline in demand for offshore cranes that cater for the O&G industry, Favelle Favco is looking at mergers and acquisitions to take the crane business to the next level of growth, says Mac.

Analysts generally believe FY2016 will be another strong year for Muhibbah’s infrastructure division amid expectations of more jobs coming from Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development project in Pengerang, Johor, plus the rollout of public rail transport-related projects, such as the Mass Rapid Transit 2 and Light Rail Transit 3.