ESS Profits Driven by Focus on Green Energy Market

Ecosse Subsea Systems (ESS) has recorded profit of £3.4 million and generated revenue of £15.6 million, according to its latest published accounts.

According to the Aberdeenshire-based subsea engineering specialist, revenue increased by 88% due to the ESS’ diversification from its traditional oil and gas market into renewables and interconnectors.

The drivers for ESS’ most successful trading year to date was a £5.4 million contract on the Baltic 2 windfarm offshore Germany and a multi-million pound cable-lay contract on behalf of an European utilities provider in the Humber Estuary.

Last month ESS also announced it had signed a Letter of Intent with ABB to provide seabed clearing and trenching services on the 100-mile £1.2 billion Caithness-Moray electricity transmission link project, which could end up as the company’s largest ever contract award.

ESS managing director, Mike Wilson, said: “The results are extremely encouraging and confirm that our technologies are equally suited to and easily transferable between the oil and gas sector, which is where we cut our teeth, and the green energy market. Added to that, we have just won our first contract in the interconnector sector and we hope success on the Caithness-Moray project will lead the way to further awards in this field.”

Wilson said other parts of the business, including its engineering consultancy and personnel recruitment arms, had enjoyed a successful year and added significantly to the bottom line, while continued investment in new technologies was now bearing fruit.

He added: “We benefited greatly from research and development in our technologies starting to come through, and recognition from clients that we have developed a suite of tools which deliver measurable time and cost savings.

“Diversification is paying off for us as can be seen in these latest financial results and we will continue to look for new opportunities in other markets, including oil and gas and interconnector projects in Arctic waters where we have already received some interest.”

Wilson noted that ESS had already suffered from the effects of a low oil price with the cancellation of a number of oil and gas projects and said that while 2015 turnover would increase on the previous year, that margins would be tighter.

He added: “With a healthy balance sheet and debt-free status, we are in a strong position to counter the challenges facing the oil and gas industry while capitalising on new opportunities in other markets.”