Viking Supply Ships AB (publ) Interim report Jan-Dec 2015
Press release
29 February 2016
FOURTH QUARTER
•Total revenue was MSEK 457 (794)
• EBITDA was MSEK 86 (260)
• Result after tax was MSEK -123 (108)
• Result after tax per share was SEK -0.7 (0.6)
YEAR TO DATE 2015
• Total revenue was MSEK 1,977 (3,190)
• EBITDA was MSEK 268 (695)
• Result after tax was MSEK -440 (200)
• Result after tax per share was SEK -2.5 (1.2)
SUMMARY OF EVENTS IN Q4
• EBITDA for Q4 was MSEK 86 (260).
• The average fixture rate in Q4 was NOK 515,000 (497,000) for the AHTS fleet and GBP 4,330 (7,620) for the PSV fleet. The average utilization in Q4 excluding laid-up vessels was 68% (73) for the AHTS fleet and 70% (49) for the PSV fleet.
• In December, an early termination of the contract for the AHTS Brage Viking was received, but the vessel will remain on-hire to mid-August 2016. The termination represents a loss of income during the remaining firm period of the contract of MUSD 33 in 2016 and 2017.
• Towards the end of the quarter, Tor Viking completed its contract with Shell US. On its way back to the North Sea, the vessel transited the Northern Sea Route unassisted, which has never been performed this late in the season before.
• The deteriorated market conditions within the global oil and gas market have continued to negatively impact the earnings and financial position of the Group. The Group’s liquidity position is strained and in the current market, the Group is unable to fulfil existing covenant undertakings in its loan agreements. A solution with the Group’s lenders is necessary and accordingly, the Group, during Q4, initiated a dialogue with its lenders, with an ambition to secure a long term stable financing solution within the end of Q1 2016.
• The AHTS vessel Odin Viking was laid up during Q4.
• Due to the challenging market conditions, VSS A/S has recognized an additional impairment loss during Q4 of MSEK 77 related to the PSV fleet.
• The sales of TransAtlantic Container AB and the ship management operations were concluded during Q4 and resulted in a positive book gain of MSEK 35.
• TransFighter’s earlier freight contract, which expired at the end of Q4, was not renewed due to declining volumes. The vessel is open in the market and new contract opportunities are under evaluation.
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
• Calculations of contract coverage and loan-to-value ratios as at 31 December 2015 showed a requirement for the Group to deposit cash or provide additional security during Q1 2016. No such payments have been made and the Group remains in constructive dialogue with its lenders to find a viable long term financing solution for the Group. As part of this dialogue, VSS AB’s majority shareholder, Kistefos AS, has informed the banks of its intention to support an equity issue of MUSD 15 of which Kistefos AS intends to guarantee for its pro-rata share. As the company currently is in breach with loan to value clauses and contract coverage clauses all borrowings are classified as short-term, even though the company has entered into a standstill agreement with the banks.
• VSS A/S and the lenders have in February 2016 entered into a standstill agreement, running up to and including 20 March 2016, where lenders have committed not to request early repayment of loans and the Group is given extra time to find a long-term solution.
• After the end of the quarter, Magne Viking was certified according to the IMO Polar Code. The vessel, which is the first vessel globally to comply with the code, was approved by DNV GL.
• Due to family reasons, Christian W. Berg will take temporary leave from the position as CEO of Viking Supply Ships A/S. Mr. Berg will remain CEO of the parent company Viking Supply Ships AB, but to reduce his workload, Mr. Tord Ytterdahl will temporarily take over the responsibilities as CEO of Viking Supply Ships A/S.
• At expiration and redelivery of two bareboat chartered vessels in TA AB there is a residual value guarantee commitment for the Group in favour of the financing bank. The commitment amounts to a total of MSEK 63 and is due for payment. Negotiations with the bank are ongoing in order to postpone this payment.
• In a loan agreement regarding one of the vessels within TA AB there is a loan-to-value clause. The bank has invoked this clause and has requested an instalment of MSEK 47. The Group does not agree with the bank’s market value assessment of the pledged assets and has initiated discussions with the bank regarding the accuracy in this request.
Earnings call
In conjunction with the publication of this interim report, an earnings call will take place on February 29th, 2015 at 10.00 am (CET) with Viking Supply Ships AB’s CFO, Ulrik Hegelund and IR & Treasury Director Morten G. Aggvin. In connection with the conference, a presentation will be available on the company’s website, www.vikingsupply.com. Please see Investor Relations/reportingcenter.
Phone: +46 (0) 8 50520424
Password: Viking
Please dial in 5-10 minutes before the call starts.
For further information please contact:
Ulrik Hegelund, CFO, ph. +45 41 77 83 97, e-mail ulrik.hegelund@vikingsupply.com
Morten G. Aggvin, IR & Treasury Director, ph. +47 41 04 71 25, e-mail ir@vikingsupply.com
Viking Supply Ships AB (publ) is a Swedish company with headquarter in Gothenburg, Sweden. Viking Supply Ships A/S is a subsidiary of Viking Supply Ships AB (publ). In addition Viking Supply Ships AB (publ) has the subsidiary TransAtlantic AB. The operations are focused on offshore and icebreaking primarily in Arctic and subarctic areas as well as on Shipping services mainly between the Baltic Sea and the Continent. The company has in total about 500 employees and the turnover in 2015 was MSEK 1,977. The company’s B-shares are listed on the NASDAQ Stockholm, Small Cap segment. For further information, please visit: www.vikingsupply.com
Viking Supply Ships AB is obliged to make this information public according to the Financial Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act (Sw: lagen om värdepappersmarknaden and lagen om handel med finansiella instrument). The information was submitted for publication on 29 February 2016 at 08:30 am.