Norway's Dof group has posted a return to profit thanks to the balance-sheet boost from its summer restructuring.
The offshore vessel owner said net earnings in the third quarter were NOK 577m ($68.45m), compared to a loss of NOK 578m in the same period last year.
Revenue dropped to NOK 1.91bn from NOK 2.76bn, while EBITDA was down at NOK 727m versus NOK 933m, and the operating figure turned red.
It booked a NOK 876m impairment charge in the quarter, but the result was "highly impacted" by the restructuring of bond debt in August, which saw financial income reach NOK 1bn, as opposed to a loss of NOK 845m in 2015.
Utilisation was 83% overall, with the subsea fleet at 79%, anchor-handlers on 75% and the supply ship fleet managing 96%.
It has five vessels working spot in the dire North Sea sector, plus one in Asia. Four were in layup, of which one has now been sold.
The contract coverage for its chartered ships is 82% for the rest of the year.
Dof cut 376 jobs over the quarter to reduce costs.
It has agreed salary cuts with onshore employees of between 5% and 15%, except employees in Brazil.
These are partly permanent and partly temporary.
Subsidiary DOF Management negotiated salary reductions for Norwegian offshore employees for a limited period of time, but the crews defeated the proposal in October.
Looking ahead, it said: "Based on the assumption of a continued weak market it is expected that the group revenues and utilisation of the fleet will decline going forward, including more vessels being laid up."
Operational EBITDA will likely be lower in the fourth quarter.
