Subsea 7 Axes 3600 Jobs in 2015

Oil services company Subsea 7 has recorded a loss at the end of fourth quarter on high impairments and lower fleet activity.

Nevertheless, the net loss for the quarter decreased some 57 per cent to $421 million, compared to a net loss of $977 million in the prior-year quarter, considering the Q4 2014 impairments of $1.18 billion.

In the fourth quarter 2015, the Oslo-listed firm booked impairment charge of $521 million relating to goodwill and $136 million relating to vessels and equipment. This affected the company’s 2015 bottom line and left Subsea 7 in $37-million net loss for the 2015. This results compares with net loss of $381 million in 2014, narrowing it some 90 per cent year-over-year.

The company generated revenue for the quarter of $1.0 billion, down $370 million or 27 per cent versus Q4 2014. According to Subsea 7, the decrease was mainly due to lower activity levels in the Northern Hemisphere and Life of Field Business Unit. Full-year revenue was $4.8 billion compared with $6.9 billion in 2014.

Backlog was $6.1 billion at 31 December 2015, a decrease of $0.6 billion compared with 30 September 2015.

In addition, in May last year, Subsea 7 announced reduction in the global workforce of approximately 2,500 and axing the fleet by 11 ships. However, the company reported workforce of around 9,800 people at the end of 2015, down from approximately 13,400 a year earlier. This brings the total number of workforce reduction to 3600.

Furthermore, the company reported that as at the end of February, 13 vessels have been removed from the active fleet, with an additional chartered vessel due to be returned to its owner before the end of the first quarter 2016.

Subsea World News Staff