Malaysia's Sapura Energy posts first quarterly profit in six

KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 (Reuters) - Malaysia's largest oil and gas services company Sapura Energy on Monday reported a profit for the fourth quarter on gains from disposal of a subsidiary stake, after five consecutive quarters of losses.

Sapura's declared net profits of 500.4 million ringgit ($123.01 million) for the quarter ended January, it said in a stock exchange filing on Monday, versus a net loss of 2.29 billion ringgit in the same period last year.

Revenue stood at 1.49 billion ringgit from 902.7 million ringgit in the year-ago period, on higher revenue from its engineering and construction business segment.

Sapura said in a statement that new contract wins in 2019 had lifted its orderbook to its highest in two years, and hopes to aggressively pursue new opportunities in the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas.

"In 2020, the Group will remain focused on growing and executing the orderbook as well as delivering strong operational performance," it said.

Austrian energy group OMV agreed to establish a joint venture with Sapura in November, paying $540 million for a 50 percent stake in the Malaysian firm's exploration assets.

($1 = 4.0680 ringgit) (Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Rashmi Aich)