January 17th 2024
Gulf Marine Services PLC
('Gulf Marine Services', 'GMS', 'the Company' or 'the Group')
Revising guidance on the back of stronger utilisation
Gulf Marine Services (GMS), a leading provider of self-propelled and self-elevating support vessels for the offshore oil, gas, and renewables sectors, is pleased to announce it now anticipates adjusted EBITDA to be approx. US$86m (previously: US$83m to US$86m) for the 12 months ended December 2023 and reconfirms its adjusted EBITDA guidance for the 12 months ending December 2024 at US$87m to US$95m. We also target adjusted EBITDA in the range of US$92m to US$100m for 2025.
Mansour Al Alami, GMS Executive Chairman, expressed his enthusiasm, stating:
"Our vessels and services continue to experience robust demand, and we anticipate favourable conditions persisting in the foreseeable future. We achieved a utilization of 94% in 2023, our daily chartered rates averaged at US$30.2k and we ended the year with a backlog of US$315m. As we proceed with our prudent deleveraging efforts to shift value from lenders to shareholders, we are also initiating plans to reward our shareholders. Recently approved by the Board, our residual dividend policy aims to strike a balance between funding growth initiatives and providing returns to shareholders. Management is currently assessing the timing for its implementation, a consideration that was not on the table until recently."
GMS Chief Financial Officer, Alex Aclimandos, added:
"In order to enhance transparency and keep our investors more informed about GMS's actual performance, we will commence quarterly publication of our results starting in the second half of 2024."
"EBITDA growth continues to make a positive contribution to our deleveraging journey. We now expect to end 2023 with a Net Leverage Ratio* in the range of 3.05 to 3.15:1. For 2024, we expect to reach by year end a Net Leverage Ratio* in the range of 2.3 to 2.7:1. For perspective, this compares to a Net Leverage Ratio* of 8.1:1 at the end of 2020, 5.8:1 at the end of 2021 and 4.4:1 at the end of 2022."
(*) Net Leverage Ratio represents the ratio of net bank debt to Adjusted EBITDA (with Adjusted EBITDA being operating profit after adding back depreciation, amortisation, non-operational items and impairment charges.)
-ENDS-
Enquiries: Mansour Al Alami Executive Chairman | Tel: +44 (0)20 7603 1515 |
Celicourt Communications Mark Antelme Philip Dennis Ali AlQahtani | Tel: +44 (0)20 7770 6424 |
Notes to Editors:
Gulf Marine Services PLC, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, was founded in Abu Dhabi in 1977 and has become a world leading provider of advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESVs). The fleet serves the oil, gas and renewable energy industries from its offices in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Group's assets are capable of serving clients' requirements across the globe, including those in the Middle East, South East Asia, West Africa, North America, the Gulf of Mexico and Europe.
The GMS fleet of 13 SESVs is amongst the youngest in the industry. The vessels support GMS's clients in a broad range of offshore oil and gas platform refurbishment and maintenance activities, well intervention work and offshore wind turbine maintenance work (which are opex-led activities), as well as offshore oil and gas platform installation and decommissioning and offshore wind turbine installation (which are capex-led activities).
The SESVs are categorised by size - K-Class (Small), S-Class (Mid) and E-Class (Large) - with these capable of operating in water depths of 45m to 80m depending on leg length. The vessels are four-legged and are self-propelled, which means they do not require tugs or similar support vessels for moves between locations in the field; this makes them significantly more cost-effective and time-efficient than conventional offshore support vessels without self-propulsion. They have a large deck space, crane capacity and accommodation facilities (for up to 300 people) that can be adapted to the requirements of the Group's clients.
Gulf Marine Services PLC's Legal Entity Identifier is 213800IGS2QE89SAJF77
www.gmsplc.com
Disclaimer
All forward-looking statements included in this announcement carry significant risks and actual results can materially differ. Gulf Marine Services PLC assumes no liability whatsoever in relation to confirm these forward-looking statements.
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Accordingly, the actual results, operations, performance or achievements of the Company and its subsidiaries may be materially different from any future results, operations, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, due to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Neither Gulf Marine Services PLC nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. No part of this announcement constitutes, or shall be taken to constitute, an invitation or inducement to invest the Company or any other entity and must not be relied upon in any way in connection with any investment decision. All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or to persons acting on the Company's behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements referred to above.
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