Kjell Inge Rokke-controlled shipowner Ocean Yield is facing another headache over its costly unemployed floating production storage and offloading vessel.
The Oslo-listed sale-and-leaseback specialist said its subsidiary Aker Contracting has received a notice from Indian authorities regarding a potential tax claim related to a previous contract for the 214,266-cbm Dhirubhai-1 (built 1979).
"Aker Contracting disputes the claim [and] has obtained legal advice supporting their position and the matter will be referred to in Indian courts," Ocean Yield added.
The size of any potential claim has not been made public.
The FPSO has been idle since Reliance released it in India in 2018.
A new charter or a sale of the unit is still being explored, Ocean Yield said in its fourth-quarter report.
Analyst Anders Karlsen at Danske Bank said this has been the case "for some time", so the risk of the process dragging on further remains.
He added the fact the claim has arisen is negative for the stock.
Result turns red
Ocean Yield said its fourth-quarter net loss was $51.7m, compared to a profit of $9.6m the year before.
This is due to a write-down of $74m from the sale of the 156-loa offshore ship Connector (built 2012) in the period.
The cable-laying and construction vessel was offloaded to Jan De Nul Group.
Ocean Yield's Ebitda of $46.3m was "well above" Danske Bank's estimate, and up from $55.9m in 2019.
Revenue dropped to $50.4m from $61.7m a year earlier.
The company has declared a dividend of 5.3 cents per share, up 0.15 cents compared to the previous quarter. This is the 30th consecutive quarterly dividend declared by the company.
Ocean Yield chief executive Lars Solbakken said all counterparties are performing according to contracts.
New car carrier financing
The shipowner revealed it has signed a new loan to refinance five car carriers on long-term charter to Hoegh Autoliners.
The previous loan was due to mature in June this year. No amount has been given for the new financing, which will last into 2025.
Ocean Yield said: "The activity level in the sale-and-leaseback market is currently lower than normal, but is expected to gradually increase during the year, as the negative effects from Covid-19 is reduced."
The owner is continuing to evaluate new investments in vessels with long-term charters.
