Red numbers for Aker Solutions; Loss also expected in 2021

Norwegian energy services player Aker Solutions has seen its loss widened in the fourth quarter 2020 on impairments and lower activity, which led to some 30 per cent revenue drop.

The Oslo-listed company recognised quarterly net loss of NOK 844 million, versus net loss of NOK 129 million in Q4 2019.

Revenue for the Q4 2020 was down at NOK 6.87 billion, against NOK 10 billion same time last year.

For the full year 2020, Aker Solutions booked net loss of NOK 1.5 billion, compared to profit of NOK 282 million in 2019.

Full-year revenue dropped 25 per cent from NOK 38.2 billion a year earlier at NOK 28.5 billion.

The company also took 2020 impairment charges of approximately NOK 1 billion. These mainly related to right-of-use assets, subsea technology- and assets, and goodwill.

The order intake in 2020 grew 31 per cent compared to 2019 despite market volatility and the challenging COVID-19 pandemic.

The share of renewable energy and low-carbon projects also increased compared to the previous year.

Orders in the quarter were NOK 6.8 billion, bringing the backlog at NOK 38.0 billion. 25 per cent of the awards were related to energy transition, including contracts for carbon capture and storage facilities.

When it comes to tenders, the company is currently in play for about NOK 76 billion. One third of this relates to offshore wind, electrification, carbon capture, subsea gas compression and hydrogen.

Aker Solutions said it sees its overall 2021 revenue somewhat lower than last year’s level.

The underlying EBITDA margin for the year overall is seen at around the 5.5% to 6.0% level. This will result in an EBIT level slightly above break-even and a negative EBT.

“This is not at a satisfactory level and the main priority for the company going forward is to improve margins and cash generation to build financial robustness and improve value creation,” Aker Solutions said in its quarterly and full-year report