Malaysia's Wah Seong on track for $1 bln revenue

By Yoko Nishikawa

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian energy services firm Wah Seong Corp (WAHE.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), one of the world's top-three pipeline coaters, is on track for total revenue of $1 billion by 2012, Chief Executive Chan Cheu Leong said on Monday.

He also said the slowdown in the U.S. economy provided new business opportunities, and the firm was aiming to expand in Europe and the United States.

"Asia is still our primary focus as it is easy to manage culturally and physically. But down the road, we have to look at Europe," Chan told Reuters in an interview. "Then, of course, the United States would be another area."

The firm also hoped to look at opportunities for major acquisitions, either in Malaysia or overseas, by the end of this year or next year, he said. He declined to elaborate.

The company felt comfortable with achieving its long-term plan to become a global oil and gas energy group with total revenue of $1 billion, 80 percent of which will be from foreign revenues, Chan added.

For 2007, the firm's total revenue rose to 1.96 billion ringgit ($612 million) from 1.62 billion ringgit in 2006.

It also recorded a 130 percent year-on-year jump in net profit to 85.9 million ringgit and its pre-tax profit rose 63 percent from a year earlier to 116.1 million ringgit.

Chan said the slowdown in the United States and the rest of the world presented opportunities.