Saipem Beats Guidance But Sinks Deeper on Writedowns

Italian oilfield services player Saipem has reported loss in 2018 of €472 million ($538 million), on revenues of €8.5 billion ($9.7 billion).

This result compares to net loss of €328 million ($374 million) on revenues of €9 billion ($10.3 billion) for the twelve months of 2017.

Revenues in the Q4 2018 were close to €2.5 billion ($2.85 billion). Full-year 2018 revenues are said to be better than expected from €8 billion forecast.

Adjusted result was net profit of €25 million, against €46 million in 2017, with profit of €8 million in the fourth quarter. The company recognised write-downs and reorganisation expenses of €497 million in 2018.

Saipem reported EBITDA of €848 million (€862 million in 2017), of which €206 million in the fourth quarter.

The company’s net debt decreased since December 31, 2017 from €1.29 billion at €1.16 billion. Net dept decreased more than previously expected to be at €1.3 billion.

New contracts secured in 2018 are valued at €8.7 billion, versus €7.4 billion in 2017, of which €2.6 billion in the fourth quarter 2018.

Reported backlog stands at €12.6 billion, against €12.4 billion at December 31, 2017, which does not include backlog of joint-venture contracts of €1.8 billion.

Saipem said it expects revenues of €9 billion in 2019.

Stefano Cao, Saipem CEO, said: “The results for 2018 are beyond expectations: the guidance is fully confirmed, EBITDA is higher than expected and, thanks to cash generation, net debt is falling. We have been awarded a consistent number of new contracts in all business sectors, especially in Offshore E&C and Onshore E&C, while pursuing a path towards attaining a balance between oil and non-oil price related projects. Finally, we are in a promising phase of negotiations with South Stream BV aimed at obtaining an amicable settlement of the dispute, which could be reached as early as the end of March 2019.”

Subsea World News Staff