Seaway 7 ASA

OSE:SEAW7

Earnings Call Transcript

[Stian Lysaker, executive]

Welcome, everyone. This is Stian Lysaker, and I'm the Head of Treasury and Investor Relations at Seaway 7 [Operator Instructions]With me on the call today are Stuart Fitzgerald, our CEO; and Mark Hodgkinson, our CFO. The fourth quarter and full year 2022 results press release is available to download on our website, along with the presentation slides that we will be referring to during today's call.May I remind you that this call includes forward-looking statements that reflect our current views and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Similar wording is also included in our press release.I'll now turn the call over to Stuart.

[Stuart Fitzgerald, executive]

Thank you, Stian, and good afternoon all. The agenda for this call is on Slide 3. First, I will talk to the full year 2022 results and associated financial, operational and strategic highlights. This will be followed by a brief update of ongoing operations across our project portfolio and vessel new build program. Before I hand over to Mark, who will run us through the financial performance for Q4 and the full year of 2022. I will then talk to the market outlook and tender pipeline and summarize before we open for Q&A.Before starting the presentation, I refer to this morning's press release from Subsea 7, also republished by Seaway 7 regarding the voluntary exchange offer from Subsea 7 to acquire all outstanding shares in Seaway 7. The specifics of the offer are given in the press release, and we will not be addressing this further on this call.Turning then to Slide 4. Our revenue for the full year 2022 was $1.12 billion with an adjusted EBITDA of $40 million, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 4%. Margin showed gradual improvement year-on-year, but remained well below our expectations.Operating cash outflow for 2022 was $48 million, with a net debt, excluding lease liabilities of $29 million at year-end. Order intake for the year was $723 million, and we closed at $844 million of backlog at year-end with a number of additional pre-backlog positions on other projects.2022 saw the completion of a number of significant work scopes across the portfolio. These include Hollandse Kust Zuid foundations installation as well as cable laying operations, with trenching of these cables finalized during the first month of 2023 and only testing and termination work now ongoing.Completion and commercial closeout on the Formosa 2 pin-piles installation project in Taiwan was also achieved, an important milestone on what has been a challenging project. We finalized Hornsea 2 inner-array trenching as well as the foundation, fabrication and transportation activities on the 114 Seagreen jackets, where the majority of these jackets installed offshore.Heavy transport activities were busy throughout the year and market conditions in this segment strengthened with high utilization and material improvement in the effective time charters compared to the prior year.As has been communicated to the markets in quarterly updates during 2022, our project portfolio has not been without its challenges in both Taiwan and Europe. These more challenging projects, one under different market conditions from what we see today, are progressively being put behind us.Overall fleet utilization in 2022 was 76%, with lower utilization on heavy lift vessels in winter months, offset by higher utilization on cable lay and heavy transportation vessels through the full year.From a strategic perspective, 2022 saw us progress the new build program on the Seaway Alfa Lift and the Seaway Ventus. As has been communicated to the market previously, the Seaway Alfa Lift has seen significant issues during its constructions.Specifically, the design and fabrication of the mission equipment led to an overrun on the vessel construction schedule and budget with a knock-on impact on the Dogger Bank A and B project, for which a provision was taken in 2022.This development contributed, among other factors, to the group being unable to realize its initial objective to increase the free float of Seaway 7 and necessitated recapitalizing Seaway through a combination of debt and equity rights issue, which was completed during the third quarter of 2022.During the year, we added to the fleet within heavy transport with the new build Seaway Swan added on a long-term charter basis, and within cables with the charter of the Maersk Connector for supporting export and inner-array cable projects in Taiwan.Finally, and I will come back to this in later slides, we continue to see a positive bidding environment across each of our segments and for integrated projects. Our clients are focused on securing future capacity in a generally tight market, and we see our strategy and positioning well aligned to customer needs.Moving to Slide 5 in our new build assets. With respect to the Seaway Alfa Lift, at year-end crane welding repairs had been completed. And as of the time of this call, we have the Crane A frame reinstalled and are into commissioning and testing with expected completion in the coming months. Vessel marine systems are being finalized in parallel.As communicated to the market previously, the delivery of mission equipment for the transport, upending and installation of monopiles has faced challenges and delays and remains the critical path to the vessel being ready for monopile installation.During the third quarter of 2022, a revised execution plan for completing the mission equipment was activated, and we have been following that plan since.Mission equipment components were shipped from China at year-end in a partially completed form and are now received at our selected yard in Europe for carryover fabrication and assembly works.As the market is aware, we have taken mitigating actions, and we will deploy alternative vessels towards the execution of Dogger Bank A and B project during 2023.The Seaway Ventus new build jack-up vessel has seen good progress with the vessel being floated early in 2023 and the vessel outfitting continuing. We are entering the more critical phases of the build program now, but expect the vessel to be delivered during the third quarter of 2023.Turning then to Slide 6. On this slide, you will see the usual update of the main projects we have ongoing in Seaway 7. The Seagreen project in the U.K. continued to progress well. Of the 114 foundation jackets all have been fabricated and delivered to the U.K. during 2022.The final foundation jacket was delivered on the 18th of December, completing the long-haul transportation scope of the project, which involved 23 safely performed heavy transportation voyages over a 2-year time span.By year-end, a total of 93 foundation jackets have been installed and the associated inner-array cable installation had completed more than 50% of the scope.In the fourth quarter, the Seaway Strashnov installed 6 foundations for the Dogger Bank A and B project in the U.K., bringing the total foundations installed on the project to 17 as at year-end. This was before Seaway Strashnov departed for a planned winter break and maintenance stop, which will continue through the first quarter of 2023. The vessel is currently on track for recommencing Dogger Bank operations by the beginning of April this year.2 new projects to add to this summary compared to the previous quarters are He Dreiht for EnBW in Germany and Moray West for EDP and ENGIE in the U.K. On both projects, Seaway 7 has EPIC scope, EPIC scope for the inner-array cables with manufacture of these cables now in the start-up phase.Moving to Taiwan. During 2022, Seaway 7 was active on a portfolio of 3 cable lay projects being Yunlin, Changfang and Xidao, and Zhong Neng. Scopes here are for shore crossings, export cables and inner-array cables on a T&I basis, transport and installation basis.2022 saw challenges to plan and progress with delays to our operations caused primarily by client-driven external factors. We have generally agreed the execution scenarios and assets for operations in 2023, and we'll see a busy season in Taiwan, once again.Moving back to Europe and the e Hollandse Kust Zuid project, where our scope has included foundations and inner-array cables. Seaway Aimery and Seaway Moxie continued working on the inner-array cables installation scopes in the fourth quarter. By quarter end, Seaway 7 had installed all 140 cables and after completing in January 2023, with the trenching only test and termination works are ongoing.The heavy transportation fleet has continued to operate in the spot market. We have seen consistently high number of requests for transportation projects with approximately 900 received during 2022, which underpins the high vessel utilization rate in the fleet. The fleet has delivered improved returns and maintained high utilization throughout the year 2022.Turning then to Slide 7. This slide summarizes installations and activity across how different segments and projects. As can be seen during 2022, Seaway 7 delivered a high volume of offshore work. In total, the group delivered the installation of 210 cables, 130 monopile foundations, 107 jacket foundations, 128 pin pile foundations, 61 EPCI fabrication foundations and performed 25 heavy transport voyages.The installation of more than 100 monopiles in dynamic mode -- positioning mode using the Seaways Strashnov strengthens the group's track record in fixed offshore wind projects and our position as one of the market leaders.And with that, I hand over to Mark to run through the financials.

[Mark Hodgkinson, executive]

Thank you, Stuart. And welcome, everyone. If I turn to Slide 8 then. Slide 8 here we show our income statement highlights for the fourth quarter and the full year 2022.Fourth quarter revenue was $218 million, which is 40% lower than the comparable period in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 2022 was $21 million, which is down from the $30 million adjusted EBITDA earned in the same quarter of 2021. This Q4 result represents an adjusted EBITDA margin of 10%, which is similar to the 9% adjusted EBITDA margin recorded in Q4 2021.During the quarter, we conducted an assessment of asset values for potential impairments, and we concluded that no impairment was justified. The net loss was $5 million for the quarter, equivalent to a diluted earnings per share of $0.01. The full year revenue in 2022 was $1.12 billion, similar to the $1.26 billion earned in the same period last year.Adjusted EBITDA was $40 million for the full year, which equates to an adjusted EBITDA margin for the year of 4%, up from the 2% adjusted EBITDA margin earned in 2021. The net loss for the year was $81 million, equivalent to a diluted loss per share of $0.14.On Slide 9, here we highlight the year-end balance sheet of Seaway 7. Noncurrent assets totaled $1.15 billion, of which property, plant and equipment totaled $943 million, and the majority of which reflects our vessel values.Cash held at year-end totaled $9 million, while total borrowings at the end of the year was $38 million. Current assets of $220 million includes trade and other receivables of $63 million and unbilled work under construction contracts totaling a $132 million.Total equity rose $123 million, and this reflects the net $200 million raised through the rights issue concluded in November 2022, offset by the net loss for the year.Current liabilities are $255 million, including trade and other current liabilities of $122 million and noncurrent liabilities are $96 million and are comprised largely of lease liabilities associated with vessel charters, which totaled $74 million.So with that, I will now pass you back to Stuart.

[Stuart Fitzgerald, executive]

Thank you, Mark, and then on to Slide 10. During the fourth quarter of 2022, we added $202 million of new awards and $239 million of project escalations, which included reservation agreements for the Maersk Connector, where the vessel has been charted based on back-to-back commitments from end clients.Backlog at the year-end was $0.8 billion with 3 projects in the pre-backlog, which remains subject to contract finalization and client FID. Subsequent to the quarter end, we have announced the Hai Long contract award, and this will come into the backlog during Q1.Although, we see some slowing in the pace of project sanctions in a number of regions, primarily due to more challenged project economics for developers, the tender pipeline generally remains strong, with clients looking to secure critical capacity beyond 2025. We are also seeing a number of shorter-term opportunities, both with our peer companies and end clients in order to mitigate delays or improve schedules on existing projects.Moving to Slide 11. And here, you see the largest projects in the tender pipeline. The U.K. and Europe dominate and represent our primary markets. We continue to be selective in Asia and also in the U.S. with a strong focus on ensuring acceptable contract models and risk profiles as the markets in these emerging regions evolve.Moving to Slide 12. As announced last week in a separate release in order to complement Seaway 7's strategic positioning in the offshore fixed wind market, we have entered into a commercial agreement with Saipem, building on the strong collaboration and delivery seen on the Seagreen project for SSE and its joint venture partners.The agreement is for joint tendering and execution of certain target projects within fixed offshore wind and will leverage both group's capabilities in project management and engineering, jacket fabrication as well as key complementary enabling assets. The collaboration is expected to focus on larger integrated or EPCI projects.As projects in offshore fixed wind become larger and more complex, water depth and foundation sizes increase and supply chains become increasingly global, we believe the collaboration with Saipem will offer a unique value proposition for certain project profiles and client buying strategies.Moving then finally to Slide 13 and a summary of this presentation. In 2022, margin showed a gradual improvement year-on-year but remained below expectations due mainly to challenges on certain projects in the North Sea and Taiwan.The key priority for the business is to achieve an appropriate risk and reward balance in Seaway 7's future contracts, and this has been a feature of the work we have secured during 2022.Seaway Alfa Lift and Seaway Ventus new build programs continued with a revised execution plan adopted to address the significant cost and schedule challenges seen with the Alpha Lift build project during 2022.Last year was a busy one for Seaway 7 with significant operational delivery across the project portfolio. Backlog strengthened in the last quarter of 2022, and we ended the year at $844 million, with a net order intake for the year of $723. This excludes pre-backlog positions and with -- including Hai Long which has been converted to a contract during the first quarter, but not included in the 2022 order intake numbers.For 2023, Seaway 7 anticipates reduced revenues compared to 2022, but with a higher absolute and percentage adjusted EBITDA margin. CapEx is estimated to be $470 million, driven primarily by the Seaway Alfa Lift and Seaway Ventus newbuilds, which also reflect the deferral on some milestone payments on both vessels from 2022 into 2023.With that, I will end the presentation. Thank you for your time and interest, and we will now move to the Q&A.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] The first question will be from the line of Mark Wilson from Jefferies.

[Mark Wilson, analyst]

Could you talk to the work that will be done on the Seaway Alpha Lift with the equipment in Europe or has to be done from equipment that's been shipped over to China and when the vessel joins it, just the process to get it offshore by 2Q '24.

[Stuart Fitzgerald, executive]

Yes. So vessel and crane, excluding mission equipment are expected to be complete in the coming months with the crane repairs having been welding repairs complete, wires, loft, et cetera, and essentially the crane in a commissioning stage now.The mission equipment, which was to be fabricated in China was shipped in a partially completed stage at the end of 2022. Meaningful progress but not completed. It was shipped to a European yard where the remaining carryover fabrication work on that equipment is to be carried out and where the equipment will be assembled.As we get to later this year, the plan is to then begin the mobilization of that equipment on board the Alpha Lift and then have the vessel going into operations during Q2 of 2024. So that's the sequence of event

[Mark Wilson, analyst]

My follow-up question is, I was looking at the progress on Dogger Bank so far with the bolstered by vessel and the Strashnov and the 17 foundations last year. Could you just speak to the time line there? Because it just intrigues me times from, I think, September to start of December for the Strashnov 6 foundations in the third party during the rest of 17.From a start-up in April, how many foundations would you expect to get through if I used a similar time frame through -- until you get the Alpha Lift out there?

[Stuart Fitzgerald, executive]

What you need to take into account is the seasonality of operations. When we are working in the winter months, if we choose to work in the winter months, progress is substantially slower and uptime significantly lower in the winter months compared to operations in the summer months. So we would move by comparison with maybe having close to 90% to a 100% uptime on a vessel during summer months to that falling to a much less level during the winter months.So your progress through September and October when it was important to do a number of monopiles with the Strashnov to test and validate methods is not comparable to what you will see in the summer months.On the Hollandse Kust project, we did more than a 100 monopiles on the Strashnov through last summer, transit distances are longer when we look at the Dogger Bank field, but we would expect through the summer to get productivities, which would be comparable, if you like, offshore when we're on site to what we saw on Hollandse Kust.The second element to consider -- if I can just finish -- is the vessel used for transition piece installation. When we have done the work during 2022, we have done both monopiles and transition pieces from the primary asset being either the innovation when we use that vessel or the Strashnov. When we go into the campaigns next year, we will have a similar strategy as we have had on HKZ, which is to use a second vessel supporting with transition piece installation, which means your actual duration for each location is halved.

[Mark Wilson, analyst]

Okay. Got it. So similar efficiencies to HZK (sic) [ HKZ ], okay. And could you just remind us what the difference is between the monopiles, HZK and Dogger Bank or if there is one?

[Stuart Fitzgerald, executive]

The Dogger Bank monopiles are larger, I guess, by maybe 30% when compared to the HKZ monopiles but they are all within the capacity of the Strashnov with the equipment that is currently on board and was verified in the first monopiles installed during September and October. So productivity will not be very different.

[Operator]

The next question is from the line of [indiscernible] from Clarkson Securities.

[Unknown Analyst]

First one, so Subsea 7 has proposed a dividend of NOK 4 per share, will Seaway 7 shareholders who choose to convert be eligible to get that dividend?

[Stuart Fitzgerald, executive]

That's something you would need to check with Subsea 7.

[Unknown Analyst]

Okay. And then some on -- one question on the market. So can you give some color on how you're seeing the supply-demand balance for WTIV [indiscernible] moment? And are you seeing much attention for the Seaway Ventus beyond sort of the Gode Wind 3 commitments by the time?

[Stuart Fitzgerald, executive]

We're seeing requests and interests in the Ventus both before and after Gode Wind. So bidding is active on that vessel.We have lot of background noise. I'm not sure where that's coming from. Okay.So as I said, on the Ventus, we have some prospects ahead of Gode Wind. We're being cautious still with those prospects just to make sure that the vessel is available and we are being cautious in terms of the level of commitment we make as the vessel nears completion. But we see a number of bids also after, so no real concerns about the ability to get the Ventus to work, I would say.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] As there are no more questions, I will hand it back to the speakers for any closing remarks.

[Stuart Fitzgerald, executive]

No further remarks from myself. So thank you very much, everyone, for joining today. Goodbye.