TGS CEO: The most severe quarter of this down cycle

TGS, a marine seismic data acquisition specialist, expects net revenues for the first quarter of 2016 to be approximately $64 million.

With operational investments of approximately $53 million and good cash collections in the quarter, the cash balance increased to around $210 million, TGS said.

The $210 million amount is in addition to the undrawn revolving credit facility of $75 million.

The financial guidance released on 7 January, 2016 remains unchanged, with TGS expecting multi-client investments of approximately $220 million for the full year 2016. Multi-client investments are expected to be prefunded 45 to 50%

“This last quarter has arguably been the most severe of this down cycle with many customers focusing on cost and headcount reduction resulting in a significant pull back from exploration spending. TGS will continue our strong focus on cost control, cash flow and maintaining a healthy balance sheet in this challenging market”, said Kristian Johansen, CEO, TGS.

To remind, in its January update TGS said its 2016 operational multi-client investments would be reduced by more than 50% compared to 2015, due to a lower cost of acquiring seismic data as average vessel day rates will be substantially lower than in 2015. Furthermore, TGS said the activity level would be reduced as oil companies have become less willing to prefund new surveys.

Offshore Energy Today Staff