Mermaid Maritime Public Company (DU4) Q1 2024 TU earnings summary

Executive summary

• 1Q24 service revenue rose 101.8% YoY to $88.0m; net profit was $0.5m versus a $4.9m loss, and EBITDA reached $11.5m.

• Order book stood at $735m at 31 Mar 2024, with awards across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Sea and Western Sub Sahara through FY2026.

Financial highlights

• Total revenue was $89.2m, up 101.4% YoY; total income was $89.3m, up $45.0m YoY and $4.0m QoQ.

• Operating profit was $2.3m versus a $5.6m loss YoY; profit before tax was $1.0m versus a $5.2m loss, and net profit included $1.2m of associate and JV losses.

• Gross profit improved to $8.6m from $0.3m; EBITDA excluding JV and associate earnings was $11.5m versus $1.8m YoY.

• Basic EPS was $0.0002 versus a loss of $0.0034 in Q1 2023.

• Service costs rose to $79.4m from $43.3m YoY; finance costs increased 77.5% YoY to $2.3m, mainly from higher interest on parent-company borrowings.

Outlook and guidance

• Target utilization was achieved across owned, jointly owned and chartered-in fleets; utilization is expected to remain very high through 2024–2026.

• Priorities include expanding Middle East subsea work, pursuing P&A and North Sea decommissioning and diving, and building African subsea activity and cable capacity.

• Planned investment in people, plant and equipment will support P&A and decommissioning opportunities, including Thailand's Chevron field and marginal fields in Africa.

• Higher near-term energy prices were expected to support respectable short- and intermediate-term profits; Brent forecasts were $88/b for 2024 and $85/b for 2025.