Trelleborg gets rid of UK offshore oil & gas operation

Swedish provider of engineered polymer solutions Trelleborg has reduced its exposure to the offshore oil & gas segment after signing an agreement and finalizing the divestment of its offshore operation in Skelmersdale, England.

The company is part of the overall offshore operation in the Businesses Under Development reporting segment.

The buyers are individuals holding senior positions in the UK offshore business being sold. The divestment is part of Trelleborg’s strategy to focus on selected market segments, the company explained on Tuesday.

The divested company had annual sales of approximately SEK 580 million ($68.5 million) in 2020 and it was deconsolidated on 1 March 2021. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on the group’s net profit.

The company develops and manufactures products ranging from subsea buoyancy modules, which are used for offshore installations, to bend stiffeners, cable protection and bend restrictors, used to secure, guide and protect subsea cables from excessive movement.

The vast majority of its sales are to the offshore oil & gas segment.

Through this divestment, Trelleborg said it is reducing its exposure to the offshore oil & gas segment to approximately 3 per cent of its total net sales.

Fredrik Nilsson, Chief Financial Officer with overall responsibility for the Businesses Under Development reporting segment, said: “We are delighted to announce this transaction. It is well known that offshore oil & gas has faced a challenging market situation for some time.

“After evaluating the various strategic alternatives for this company, we came to the conclusion that divestment was the best option. Following this divestment, we will be further intensifying our focus on our core operations”.

Other offshore operations in the Businesses Under Development reporting segment are not affected by this divestment.

Trelleborg, however, said it is very hopeful that it will be able to end the strategic overview of the remaining parts of these offshore operations in the relatively near future.