Polarcus 4Q Revenues Up 34 Pct

Polarcus Reports Increased Day Rates in 4Q 2012 (UAE)

Polarcus Limited, the UAE-based seismic survey specialist, announces the release of its fourth quarter and preliminary full year 2012 financial statements.

The Company reported revenues of USD 140.4 million, up 34% from Q4 11; EBITDA of USD 56.6 million, up 82% from Q4 11; EBIT of USD 27.6 million, up 116% from Q4 11; Net Cash Flow from operating activities of USD 36.0 million, up 1019% from Q4 11; Fleet backlog with an estimated total value of USD 265 million and Vessel utilization at 79%, comprising Contract 63% and Multi-Client 16%.

In Q4 2012 Polarcus started to deliver on its investment strategy into the Multi-Client business as the Catcher project generated in excess of USD 15 million in Late Sales following the UK 27th licensing round awards. With improved financial flexibility, the Company is now increasingly well positioned to profit from both contract and Multi-Client opportunities going forward.

2012 marked a coming-of-age for Polarcus when the Company took delivery of two high specification ice-class seismic vessels, Polarcus Amani and Polarcus Adira. Their addition to the fleet has enabled the company to realize its ambition of operating a global footprint from Pole to Pole.

2012 was also the year that Polarcus delivered on its Arctic strategy, successfully completing an extensive true Arctic program in the highly ice-infested waters of Greenland’s Baffin Bay. This logistically challenging and highly complex operations involved three Polarcus ice-class 3D seismic vessels, 9 support vessels, and over 200 crew members working together as unified teams for two major clients. One of those clients further embraced the Company’s First Pass(TM) technique for highly efficient 3D data acquisition, a clear confirmation that this offering is gaining acceptance in the marketplace.

Rolf Ronningen, CEO Polarcus, commenting on the results said: “The timely addition of two additional vessels in the first half of 2012 allowed us to take full advantage of the strengthening market and through intelligent bidding to realize a significant increase in day rates. Furthermore the performance of our operations team in the highly complex Arctic program clearly demonstrates the depth of experience we have established in a short time at Polarcus. I’m also very pleased with the progress of our young multi-client business that hit a home run in the fourth quarter with strong late sales from the UK Catcher multi-client project; a result that bodes well for the future growth of this important business line.”

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Press Release, February 12, 2013