GC Rieber Shipping has maintained stable and good operations in the fourth quarter, and had a full utilisation of its fleet in the period. The Board of Directors propose a dividend of NOK 0.5 per share, corresponding to NOK 21.8 million.
The group's operating revenues for the fourth quarter 2014 amounted to NOK 258.5 million, up from NOK 175.6 million in the fourth quarter 2013. The increase is primarily due to more vessels in operations, as the newbuild "Polar Onyx" started operations in the first quarter 2014 and "Polar Marquis" was being rebuilt large parts of the fourth quarter last year. EBITDA ended at NOK 130.2 million, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 50.4 percent. EBITDA for fourth quarter 2013 was NOK 72.4 million, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 41.3 percent.
GC Rieber Shipping had a loss of NOK 201.4 million for the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of NOK 73.5 million in the same period in 2013. The loss in the fourth quarter 2014 is due to loss provisions related to the bankruptcy of Reef Subsea and its ownership companies HV V Invest Golf AS and HV V Invest Golf II AS, as well as unrealised currency losses in the period. For further information about the bankruptcy in Reef Subsea and the HV V Golf companies, please see the stock exchange notices dated 4 February and 6 February 2015.
The preliminary operating income for 2014 amounted to NOK 881.5 million, compared to NOK 745.5 million in 2013. EBITDA was 453.5 million, compared to 389.3 the year before. The preliminary result for 2014 ended with a loss of NOK 80.1 million, while the company had a profit of NOK 371.0 million in 2013.
"We have again demonstrated strong operational results in our core business, however our overall results were negatively impacted by the provisions made in relation to the recent bankruptcy in Reef Subsea", says CEO Irene Waage Basili.
The Board of Directors propose a dividend of NOK 0.5 per share, corresponding to NOK 21.8 million. In 2013, the company paid a dividend of NOK 4 per share, whereof NOK 3 per share was an additional dividend related to the extraordinary gain from the sale of "HMS Protector".
At the end of 2014, GC Rieber Shipping had a contract backlog of NOK 3.4 billion, with an average contract duration of 2.3 years. The contract coverage for 2015, 2016 and 2017 is 71 percent, 63 percent and 47 percent respectively.
Please find the report and presentation for the fourth quarter enclosed.
For further information, please contact:
CEO Irene Waage Basili, tel.: +47 55 60 68 67, or +47 90 09 86 88
CFO Einar Ytredal, tel.: +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 and project development 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 operates 13 advanced special purpose vessels for defined markets within the subsea, ice/support and marine seismic segments, of which 11 are owned by the company. In addition, the company has one seismic vessel for delivery in April 2015.
GC Rieber Shipping is headquartered in Bergen and has a ship management company in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Russia). The company is listed on Oslo Børs with ticker RISH. Further information is available on the company's website www.gcrieber-shipping.com.