Loss widens for DOF Subsea

Oslo-listed DOF Subsea has seen its fourth-quarter 2020 loss widened on higher depreciation and impairment charges and lower operating revenue compared to same time last year.

The company reported NOK 115 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2020, versus NOK 30 million in Q4 2019.

Operating revenue was NOK 872 million, against NOK 990 million in the prior year comparable period.

Operating profit before depreciation and impairment (EBITDA) was NOK 360 million, up form NOK 333 million in Q4 2019.

The operating profit after depreciation and impairment (EBIT) was negative NOK 329 million.

During Q4 2020, the Group recognised impairment and depreciation of tangible assets of NOK 688 million. For comparison, it had NOK 242 million same time last year.

According to DOF Subsea, this was due to the continued weak market for vessel services and the low demand visibility for its services going forward.

The average vessel utilisation in the Subsea/IMR projects segment was 68 per cent for the quarter, down from 76 per cent in Q4 2019.

The utilisation of the vessels within long-term charter segment was 95 per cent. For the fleet in total, the utilisation was 78 per cent.

For the twelve months of 2020 the Group generated revenue of close to NOK 4 billion and loss NOK 2.23 billion

This compares to NOK 3.94 billion in revenue and loss of NOK 1.13 billion in 2019.

The impact of the covid-19 virus and the weak oil price have led to postponement and cancellation of offshore projects and tenders.

The market conditions have become more challenging, with continued oversupply of services and subsea vessels, however with regional variances.

The visibility of the demand for the Groups services is low and the medium-to-long-term impact on the liquidity and solidity is difficult to address.

At the end of the Q4, the DOF Subsea’s cash and cash equivalents were NOK 1.3 billion (NOK 934 million). The Group has standstill agreements with majority of the lenders and no interest and instalments have been paid during the standstill period. As a result of this, cash and cash equivalents has increased during 2020.

The Group’s interest-bearing debt at the end of December was NOK 9.26 billion (NOK 3.42 billion in 2019.)

The number of subsea employees at the end of Q4 2020 was 1,218.

DOF Subsea fleet comprised of 24 owned vessels, 1 chartered-in vessels and 70 ROVs.

At the end of fourth quarter, the firm contract backlog amounted to NOK 11.4 billion. NOK 5.4 billion is DOF Subsea Group and NOK 5.8 million is share of joint venture vessels.