Danish wind farm vessel operator Ziton is plotting a new listing in Oslo with a share issue aimed at boosting liquidity after projects were delayed during Covid-19 lockdowns.
The company has brought in investment bank Pareto Securities as a financial adviser to explore options to strengthen the balance sheet.
Ziton said it will now enter talks with "potential industrial and financial investors" to investigate the possibility of an offering worth up to €100m ($118m).
The proceeds will be used to support the company’s strategic objectives, the company added.
Ziton expects to carry out a private placement through the Oslo Stock Exchange's Merkur Market for small-cap companies.
The shipping company had said in its second quarter results it was seeking to issue €10m in new shares before the end of the year.
The company has a fleet of four wind turbine maintenance ships.
Liquidity drained
Challenging markets in the first two months of 2020 had drained liquidity, Ziton said.
This prompted restructurings of loans and bonds in April, and the signing of a new working capital facility, boosting available cash to €16.6m as of 30 June.
This was €14.4m higher than three months previously.
Bondholders agreed to extend the maturity of two issues by a year to 2022 and 2023.
The pre-tax loss was €1.66m in the second quarter, against a loss of €6.25m a year ago.
Ziton said market activity in the second quarter was "somewhat influenced by the coronavirus".
"The main impact has been felt by postponement of major component replacements from the second quarter to later this year and a few even into next year," the company added.
Ziton is forecasting revenue of between €59m and €65m for 2021 and 2022, with Ebitda expected to be in the €29m to €35m range.
The improvement will be due to the company and clients adapting to carrying out efficient operations in a coronavirus environment, and higher vessel utilisation based on expectations of current and future customer contracts, Ziton said.
Fleet utilisation should be between 65% and 75% for the two years.
