CGG Sees Revenues Slide

French seismic contractor, CGG, has booked a drop in revenues for the quarter, ended March 31 2015, due to the impact of the fleet reduction and to deteriorating market conditions.

In the first quarter 2015, CGG generated revenues of $570 million, down 29 per cent compared to Q1 2014 and down 37 per cent quarter-to-quarter.

Jean-Georges Malcor, CGG CEO, said: “Our clients’ adjustment to a low oil-price environment and the reduction and delays in their investments, continue to impact our market environment. In this context, our lower revenue reflected, on the one hand, the change in our Group’s perimeter and, on the other, the pressure on prices and volumes.”

The company recognised net loss of $55 million in the quarter versus $39 million net loss year-over-year.

After minority interests, net income attributable to the owners of CGG was a loss of $56 million (€48 million). This comes down to negative EPS of $(0.31) or €(0.27).

The transformation plan CGG launched at the end of 2013 and accelerated in 2014, has led to a close to 12% reduction in the company’s headcount at the end of Q4 2014.

Furthermore, the company has downsized its fleet to 11 vessels and announced an additional $50 million cut in full-year total Capex.

“With low visibility for the coming quarters, and in anticipation of a still difficult context, we remain focused on rigorous implementation of our Transformation Plan and active management of both our cash and our balance sheet,” Malcor said.

CGG reported backlog at $0.9bn as of 31 March 2015, marine fleet coverage at 87% in Q2 2015 and 68% in Q3 2015.