Subsea 7 Profits Fall; Expects to Bounce Back in 2020

Engineering and construction specialist Subsea 7 has seen its profit slip in the quarter ended September 30, 2019 as activity drop continues in renewables and heavy lift business units.

The Oslo-listed firm posted quarterly profit of $42 million, or $15 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $951 million, versus profit of $76 million, or $23 cents per diluted share on revenue of approximately 1.1 billion same time last year.

The company reported adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter of $181 million and 19 percent respectively, against $217 million and 20 percent in Q3 2018.

Total vessel utilization was 78 percent, down seven percentage points from the prior-year period.

SURF and Conventional revenue for Q3 2019 was $826 million, down 5 percent from Q3 2018.

Revenue for the Renewables and Heavy Lifting division was cut from $152 million in Q3 2018 at $55 million. This division recognized net operating loss of $8 million in Q3 2019 compared to a net operating profit of $17 million in Q3 2018, reflecting lower activity levels.

Order backlog was $4.9 billion, with order intake totaling $1.4 billion.

For the nine months of 2019, Subsea 7 generated net profit of $47 million on revenue of $2.8 billion, against profit of $133 million on revenue of close to $3.1 billion compared to the equivalent period in 2018.

Revenue guidance has updated and the company now expects revenue to decrease slightly compared to the full year 2018.

Subsea 7 reminded that 2019 is expected to represent the low point in the cycle for the Group’s profitability and that revenue and adjusted EBITDA are both expected to be higher in 2020.

Subsea World News Staff