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BOURBON Press Release 2009 4th Quarter and 2009 Annual Revenues

February 10, 2010
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PARIS, February 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ –

– Group Annual Revenues up by 3.1% at 960.5 Million Euros

– Offshore Division Posts Annual Growth of 20.5% at 809.9 Million Euros

– 4th Quarter Revenues Impacted by the Global Context of the Offshore Oil
and Gas Activity

Commenting on the results, Jacques de Chateauvieux, Chairman & Chief
Executive Officer of BOURBON said: “With 71 new units coming into the fleet
in 2009, annual revenues from BOURBON-owned Offshore vessels alone saw growth
of 27%, while the need for chartering was substantially reduced in a context
of cost-cutting by the oil and gas companies. This trend, which was
particularly marked at the end of last year, is likely to continue to
influence activity in the early part of this year. We are starting to see a
recovery in capital expenditure but the effects will not show through until
the second half of 2010.”

                                 4th quarter                12 months

     (in millions of euros)
                          Q4    Q4    Change  2009  2008   Change   Change
                         2009  2008     at                   at       at
                                     current              current  constant
                                     exchange             exchange exchange
                                      rates                rates    rates
    Offshore Division   194.6 209.1    -6.9% 809.9 672.1   +20.5%   +14.8%
    of which Marine
    Services            155.7 170.6    -8.7% 661.5 539.6   +22.6%
    of which Subsea
    Services             38.9  38.5    +1.0% 148.4 132.5   +12.0%
    Bulk Division        28.3  44.0   -35.5% 119.3 234.8   -49.2%   -51.8%
    Other                 8.6   5.1   +69.5%  31.3  24.5   +28.0%   +30.7%
    BOURBON TOTAL       231.5 258.2   -10.3% 960.5 931.3    +3.1%    -1.6%

Revenues for 2009 amounted to 960.5 million euros, up 3.1% compared with
the previous year (down 1.6% at constant exchange rates).

Year-on-year growth for the Offshore Division (which represents over 84%
of the Group’s activity) amounted to 20.5% with revenues of 809.9 million
euros
, while the Bulk Division saw its revenues reduced to 119.3 million
euros
(down 49.2% compared with 2008) due to the decrease in charter rates.

The share of Offshore revenues from chartered vessels declined over the
year.

4th quarter revenues came to 231.5 million euros, down 10.3% compared
with the 4th quarter of 2008, mainly due to the oil and gas companies’
decline in activity and the impact on the Offshore Division.

    - OFFSHORE DIVISION

                               4th quarter                12 months

    (in millions of euros)
                              Q4  Q4    Change  2009  2008   Change Change at
                            2009 2008     at                   at    constant
                                       current              current  exchange
                                       exchange             exchange   rates
                                        rates                rates
      Offshore Division    194.6 209.1  -6.9%   809.9 672.1   +20.5%   +14.8%

Activity in 2009

The Offshore Division recorded revenues of 809.9 million euros in 2009, a
20.5% increase (up 14.8% at constant exchange rates), in a globally declining
market.

BOURBON’s good results are mainly due to a policy of long-term contracts
and the commissioning of new high-performance vessels.

BOURBON took delivery of 71 new Offshore vessels, including 20 Bourbon
Liberty which are proving to be very much appreciated by clients, and sold 2
older vessels.

The owned-vessel activity grew at an annual rate of 27.1%, reaching a
total of 739.3 million euros.

The share of revenues from chartered vessels declined over the year.

4th quarter 2009 activity

4th quarter activity for the Offshore Division was down 7.0% compared
with the last quarter of 2008. However, the decline in revenues for BOURBON
owned vessels was limited to 1.3%.

Reduced expenditure by the oil and gas companies, particularly marked in
the second half of the year, led to a significant deterioration of market
conditions, and to a lesser extent, impacted the vessels’ utilization rate.
The transit of vessels from their construction site in China to their
operating area is no longer integrated in client contracts, which accordingly
reduced the utilization rates and revenues from the newly commissioned units.

It should be noted that, in accordance with the Division’s strategy, the
chartered vessel activity is in decline; in the 4th quarter of 2009 it was
down by 3.7 million euros from the previous quarter and by 12.1 million euros
from the 4th quarter of 2008. Revenues from chartered vessels thus only
represented 5.9% of the revenues for the entire BOURBON fleet in operation
during the last quarter.

    - Revenues by activity

                          Q4 2009 Q4 2008 Change % 12 months    12   Change %
                                                     2009     months
       (in millions of                                         2008
           euros)
    Marine Services         155.7   170.6    -8.7%     661.5    539.6  +22.6%
    Subsea Services          38.9    38.5    +1.0%     148.4    132.5  +12.0%
    TOTAL                   194.6   209.1    -6.9%     809.9    672.1  +20.5%
                Of which:

          BOURBON vessels   183.0   185.4    -1.3%     739.3    581.5  +27.1%
        Chartered vessels    11.6    23.7   -51.0%      70.6     90.6  -22.1%

Marine Services

Annual revenues for the Marine Services activity were up 22.6% at 661.5
million euros
. This growth was driven by BOURBON-owned vessels, with revenues
from chartered vessels recording a decrease of 18.8 million euros compared
with 2008.

4th quarter revenues came to 155.7 million euros, down 8.7% compared with
the 4th quarter of 2008. Activity in the final quarter was particularly
impacted by the unfavorable market conditions, and the systematic reduction
in the share of chartered vessels was accelerated. The activity of new
vessels commissioned in the 4th quarter did not totally offset the impact of
the fall in chartering and the decline in the vessel utilization rate.

Subsea Services

Annual revenues for the Subsea Services activity came to 148.4 million
euros
, up 12.0% compared with the previous year.

4th quarter revenues were up 38.9 million euros, representing 1.0%
compared with the 4th quarter of 2008. Despite good performance from the IMR
fleet over the quarter, a new vessel joining the fleet in the first half and
new contracts operated by chartered ROVs, activity in the quarter was
adversely affected by unfavorable market conditions.

    - Revenues by geographical region

                                         4th quarter           12 months
        (in millions of euros)        Q4     Q4   Change  2009   2008  Change
                                     2009   2008     %                    %
    Offshore Division                194.6  209.1   -6.9% 809.9  672.1 +20.5%
                             Africa  125.3  134.7   -7.0% 531.3  448.5 +18.5%
           Europe & Mediterranean /   33.6   38.0  -11.5% 136.6  124.6  +9.6%
                        Middle East
                               Asia   19.7   22.4  -12.2%  85.0   51.9 +63.6%
                 American continent   16.0   14.0  +14.4%  57.1   47.1 +21.2%

Over the full year 2009, West Africa, a region in which BOURBON made 66%
of its sales, in particular in Nigeria, Angola and the Congo, continued to
post strong growth.

Strong growth in BOURBON’s activity in the Far East and Asia (up 63.6%),
especially in India, reflects the success of the Group’s development strategy
in this region, which now accounts for over 10% of the Division’s revenues.

In the 4th quarter, the sharp deterioration of market conditions affected
all regions, and the American continent was alone in posting growth over the
final quarter of 2008.

    - BULK DIVISION

                                4th quarter                12 months

    (in millions of euros)
                             Q4    Q4    Change  2009  2008  Change   Change
                            2009  2008     at                  at       at
                                        current             current  constant
                                        exchange            exchange exchange
                                         rates               rates    rates
    Bulk Division            28.3  44.0  -35.5% 119.3 234.8  -49.2%   -51.8%

Annual revenues for the Bulk Division amounted to 119.3 million euros,
down 49.2% compared with 2008, notably because of lower charter rates. The
Baltic Supramax Index (BSI) averaged out at $17,300 per day in 2009 compared
with $41,550 per day in 2008, down 41.6%.

The BSI improved steadily during the year in 2009.

At the end of 2009, BOURBON owned a fleet of 12 bulk carriers, compared
with 5 at the end of December 2008.

4th quarter revenues amounted to 28.3 million euros, down 35.5% compared
with the 4th quarter of 2008.

This decline was due to a negative base effect as the 4th quarter of 2008
had benefited from long-term contracts which have since come to an end and
which had been signed at previous historically high rates.

As regards the owned fleet, BOURBON took delivery at the end of November
of a new Supramax-type bulk carrier (58,000 tonnes), and has been led to
cancel the order for a Panamax-type bulk carrier in India, due to a serious
delay in construction.

The Baltic Supramax Index (BSI) continued to rise at the end of the year,
averaging $22,150 per day in the 4th quarter of 2009 compared with an average
of $19,782 per day in the previous quarter.

– OUTLOOK

Offshore Division

Given the expected increase in demand for oil, the faster pace of decline
in production in existing fields, and the necessity in the medium term to
reconstitute reserves, an upturn in oil and gas activity is expected in 2010.
Production maintenance activities should be the first to benefit, followed in
the second half of 2010, by drilling activities.

In parallel with this forecast recovery in demand, the offer of offshore
vessels is likely to continue to be affected by the demolition of old vessels.

In accordance with its Horizon 2012 plan and its strategy of “investing
to reduce client costs”, BOURBON will continue to take delivery of new modern
high-productivity vessels, such as the Bourbon Liberty vessels, which provide
the offshore continental market with replacement vessels that transport more,
consume less and have the maneuverability of vessels operating in deepwater
offshore.

BOURBON is now well placed to withstand the impact of the current excess
capacity of high-tonnage vessels (particularly those destined for deepwater
offshore) to respond to the demand in continental offshore, and to reap the
full benefit of the impact of the recovery in the coming years.

Bulk Division

Charter prices on the market will continue to depend on the global
economic recovery, the number of new vessels actually delivered in 2010, and
the level of demolition which may well continue at the historically high rate
seen in 2009.

Echoing the Offshore Division, although on a lesser scale, the Bulk
Division will continue to expand its fleet of owned bulk carriers and will
take delivery of six 58,000-tonne Supramax vessels in 2010; however, there
continues to be some uncertainty on the delivery dates of the Panamax ordered
in India.

Having sold two 49,000-tonne vessels in January 2010, generating a
capital gain of 23 million dollars, the Bulk Division owned fleet is expected
to consist of a minimum of 16 vessels by the end of 2010.

    - FINANCIAL CALENDAR

    - Presentation of 2009 annual results March 17, 2010
    - 1st quarter 2010 financial results May 5, 2010
    - Combined Annual and Special Shareholders' Meeting June 9, 2010
    - 2nd quarter and 1st half 2010 financial results August 9, 2010
    - Presentation of 1st half 2010 results August 25, 2010

    APPENDICES
    - BOURBON QUARTERLY DATA

                                     2009                     2008
    (in millions of euros)  Q4     Q3    Q2    Q1     Q4    Q3    Q2    Q1
    Offshore Division
    Marine Services        155.7 167.5  171.6 166.7  170.6 140.2 116.1 112.5
    Subsea Services         38.9  40.1   34.1  35.3   38.5  37.7  32.1  24.2
    Offshore TOTAL         194.6 207.6  205.7 202.0  209.1 178.0 148.2 136.8
    from owned vessels     183.0 192.5  184.5 179.3  185.4 153.2 125.3 117.6

    from chartered vessels  11.6  15.1   21.2  22.7   23.7  24.8  23.0  19.1
    Bulk Division           28.3  30.5   30.6  29.9   44.0  57.4  67.8  65.6
    Other                    8.6   8.8    7.2   6.7    5.1   4.1   6.0   9.3
    BOURBON TOTAL          231.5 246.8  243.5 238.7  258.2 239.5 222.0 211.7

    - KEY INDICATORS

                                                               Q4      Q4
                                                              2009    2008
    Average USD exchange rate for the quarter (in EUR)        1.48    1.32
    USD exchange rate at closing (in EUR)                     1.44    1.39
    Average price of Brent for the quarter (in $/b)             73      56
    Average Baltic Supramax Index for the quarter (in $/day) 22,150  8,725

The average euro/dollar exchange rate in 2009 was $1.39 compared with
$1.47 in 2008.

The Baltic Supramax Index (BSI) averaged $17,300 per day in 2009 versus
$41,550 per day in 2008.

The price of Brent averaged $61 per barrel for the year 2009 compared
with $97 per barrel for the year 2008.

About BOURBON

BOURBON offers a broad range of offshore oil and gas marine services.
Under its strategic plan BOURBON intends to become the leader in modern
offshore oil and gas marine services by offering the most demanding clients
worldwide, a full line of innovative, high performance and new-generation
vessels and a modular offer of Inspection, Maintenance and Repair services,
with the launch of its new “Subsea Services” Activity.

BOURBON also specializes in bulk transport and protects the French
coastline for the French Navy.

Classified by ICB (Industry Classification Benchmark) in the “Oil
Services” sector, BOURBON is listed for trading on Euronext Paris,
Compartment A, and is included in the Deferred Settlement Service SRD and in
the SBF 120 and Dow Jones Stoxx 600 indices.

    Contacts

    Publicis Consultants / Press Relations

    Elodie Woillez +33(0)1-57-32-86-97
    elodie.woillez@consultants.publicis.fr

    Stephane Chery +33(0)1-57-32-85-63
    stephane.chery@consultants.publicis.fr

    BOURBON

    Investors - Analysts - Shareholders Relations

    Patrick Mangaud +33(0)1-40-13-86-09
    patrick.mangaud@bourbon-online.com

    Communications Department

    Christa Roqueblave +33(0)1-40-13-86-06
    christa.roqueblave@bourbon-online.com

http://www.bourbon-online.com

SOURCE BOURBON


Source: newswire