After the end of the third quarter, contracts have been completed for all vessels in GC Rieber Shipping's portfolio. Order backlog has been increased by half a billion, compared with the previous quarterly reporting. - This gives us an excellent starting point for the future in a turbulent period, says CEO Irene W. Basili and continues: - We will have low market risk and expect increasing income over the next quarters, and a solid cash position gives us good room for manoeuvre.
Operations in the quarter was good; as operating revenue was 21 percent higher than corresponding quarter in 2010, and operating profit (EBITDA) increased by 47 percent.
GC Rieber Shipping's operating revenues in 3rd quarter was NOK 170.7 million compared with NOK 141.7 in 3rd quarter of 2010. Operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) in the 3rd quarter of 2011 was NOK 83.3 million, up from NOK 56.6 million in 2010. This gives an operating margin (EBITDA) of 49% compared with 40% in the 3rd quarter of 2010. The contract for "Protector" from the Ministry of Defence and the full revenue impact of new buildings "Polar King" and "Polar Duke" explains the good financial performance.
However, the most important events since the last quarterly report are that all the vessels in the fleet are chartered. "Polar Explorer" had renewed the contract with Dolphin Geophysical, while new buildings "Polar Queen" and "Polar Duchess" were chartered by Mexican company Oceanografia and Dolphin Geophysical respectively.
- It's exciting for us that we now have our first contract in the Gulf of Mexico, says Basili, adding that the company has made it well with the fleet renewal program. - With a balanced contract portfolio of NOK 2.3 billion and a cash position of nearly half a billion, we have considerable flexibility going forward, she concludes.
Key financial figures for the 3rd quarter 2011:
For further information, please contact:
CEO Irene Waage Basili, phone +47 55 60 68 67, or +47 90 09 86 88
CFO (acting) Einar Ytredal, phone +47 55 60 68 54, or +47 97 52 01 84
About GC Rieber Shipping:
GC Rieber Shipping's business within offshore/shipping includes ownership in specialized vessels, high quality marine ship management, project development and industrial portfolio management within the segments subsea, ice/support and marine seismic. The group has a unique competence in offshore operations in harsh environments as well as design, development and maritime operation of seismic vessels.
GC Rieber Shipping currently owns nine and operates ten advanced, multifunctional special purpose vessels for defined markets within the subsea, ice/support and marine seismic segments. GC Rieber Shipping also owns 65 % of Armada Seismic, which owns one high-capacity seismic vessel and has one newbuilding with estimated completion in the first quarter 2012.
The company has its registered office and headquarter in Bergen with ship management companies in Sevenoaks (UK), Singapore and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Russia), which provides international presence. The company is listed on Oslo Børs with ticker RISH. Further information is available on the company's website www.gcrieber-shipping.no