Magseis Fairfield posts quarterly loss

Seabed seismic player Magseis Fairfield has slightly widened its quarterly loss despite major revenue drop against the prior-year quarter.

The Oslo-listed company generated Q1 2020 revenue of $53 million, down from $120 million same time last year.

Revenue was also down from Q4 2019 revenue of $ 74 million.

The decline from the previous quarter reflects finalisation of a large Middle East acquisition project.

The crew demobilised in January and transited to the North Sea for a multi-client project.

First-quarter EBITDA came at $5.8 million, against EBITDA of $10.4 million in Q1 2019 and – $23.6 million in Q4 2019.

The company booked quarterly loss of $ 12 million, versus loss of $ 11 million in the prior-year quarter.

Magseis Fairfield order backlog stood close to $169 million at the end Q1 2020, of which $125 million stands for delivery in 2020.

This compares to backlog of $165 million at the end of 2019.

In April 2020, further measures were announced as a response to the new market environment, resulting in further capex and cost cuts.

These new cost measures will include further headcount reductions, temporary layoffs/furlough, and other related cost reduction initiatives.

Magseis Fairfield has also decided to cancel 2020 salary adjustments and cash bonuses across the company.

Compared to the FY 2019-levels, SG&A costs will be reduced by approximately 60 per cent to around USD 25 million, and capex reduced by approximately 80 per cent to around USD 15 million, excluding investments in multi-client library.