Helix Energy Solutions books lower profit and revenues in 3Q

Oilfield services provider Helix Energy Solutions saw its profit and revenues drop in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year due to lower utilization and activity.

Helix Energy on Wednesday reported a net income of $24.5 million for the third quarter of 2020 compared to $31.7 million for the same period in 2019 and $5.5 million for the second quarter of 2020.

The company’s revenues in the third quarter of 2020 totalled $193.5 million compared to $212.6 million in the same period last year and $199.1 million in the second quarter of 2020.

Well Intervention revenues decreased $29.4 million, or 17 per cent, in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the third quarter 2019 due to lower utilization in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and weaker foreign currency rates in Brazil.

Robotics revenues decreased $2.1 million, or 4 per cent, compared to the third quarter 2019 primarily due to a decrease in trenching and ROV activity, offset in part by increased vessel days due to the ongoing renewables site clearance project in the North Sea during the third quarter 2020.

Production Facilities revenues in 3Q 2020 increased $0.4 million compared to the same quarter in the prior year due to higher oil and gas production revenues.

Owen Kratz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Helix, stated, “Our third-quarter operating results improved sequentially despite lower revenue, as we maintain strict cost control measures during this difficult time. COVID-19 continues to affect us, both in our operations and customer demand for our services, and we expect this to persist until the pandemic is resolved.

Kratz added: “During the third quarter, we enhanced our financial position by reducing our costs and strengthening our balance sheet. We continue to repay maturing debt, and we proactively extended maturities on a portion of our long-term debt, creating a longer liquidity runway and establishing a debt reduction schedule more manageable in the current environment.

“We believe these actions will allow us to continue navigating through this difficult environment and position us for more favourable markets ahead”.