KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 2) : Offshore support services provider Alam Maritim Resources Bhd's share price increased five sen or 7.35% to 73 sen on active trading of 9.87 million shares as at 3.33 pm today.

The stock has been on an upward trend since reaching its 12-month low of 49.5 sen on Aug 13, 2012. Since then, the stock has increased 47.5%.

The group recorded a profit of RM39 million in the nine months ended Sept 30, 2012 -- an increase of RM25.3 million, which was more than double the RM13.6 million in the previous corresponding period.

Despite making a big profit, Alam Maritim did not declare any dividends for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2012 (FY12). The last time it had done so was in FY09, with a 3.8 sen per share dividend.

Analysts expect Alam Maritim's board of directors to declare a dividend of up to six sen per share this year.

The company's recovery from losses in 2010 was due to improvements in its offshore support vessel (OSV) business, while its offshore installation and construction (OIC) division continued to turn around, the analysts said.

"Revenue grew 53.3% y-o-y, underpinned by stronger contributions from its OIC business (supported by the company’s current OIC contracts with Sabah Oil & Gas Terminal and Samsung Engineering Malaysia).

"Meanwhile, net profit soared 185.7% y-o-y, mainly due to improving charter rates and an increase in the share of profits from its associates and jointly controlled entities," noted Danny Chan, an analyst with OSK Research.