Belgian ship owner and infrastructure provider Exmar has made a comeback in the drilling business.
The Antwerp-listed company controlled by Nicolas Saverys and his family announced as part of its third-quarter earnings a stake acquisition of about 11.5% in Vantage Drilling International.
Vantage, a company listed on the US over-the-counter market, provides offshore oil and natural gas well drilling services with two ultradeep water drill ships and two premium jack-up rigs.
“This strategic investment is driven by promising value due to continued underinvestment in the offshore drilling market,” Exmar said in a press statement late on 10 November.
Exmar did not disclose financial details of the transaction, which it said marked its return to the drilling sector after more than two decades.
The move comes after the owner and operator of about 30 gas carriers saw minority shareholders fend off an attempt by the founding Saverys family to take the company private after 20 years as a listed entity.
Despite its failure to do so, the Nicolas Saverys clan managed to significantly increase its participation in the company from 49% before the bid to nearly 84%.
The family, therefore, stands to benefit from an increased dividend payment of €5.40 ($5.77) announced by the company on Friday. This is composed of a regular €1.00 per share “shareholder premium” as well as an “intermediate” gross dividend of €4.40 per share.
Considering that Nicolas Saverys and affiliated persons combined own about 49.8m of Exmar shares, they stand to receive about $288m in dividend payments.
A busy quarter
According to its website, Exmar owns or operates 17 midsize LPG carriers, 10 small pressurised gas carriers, as well as three VLGCs, one LNG carrier and one floating storage and regasification unit, or FSRU.
The company also has eight gas carrier newbuildings under construction, including two groundbreaking vessels that it said last month it is converting to ammonia-fuelled propulsion.
In another move made last month and revealed on 10 November, Exmar sold and chartered back two of its three oldest ships — the 38,400-cbm midsize gas carriers Libramont and Sombeke (both built 2006).
Third-quarter results offered no surprise, with the company reporting $39.5m in net profit for the first nine months of the year, sharply down from the $318.4m it earned in the corresponding period of 2022.
Last year’s result, however, was boosted by a one-off gain of $315.6m from the sale of a floating LNG barge.
Exmar revenue as reported under the International Financial Reporting Standards was sharply up to $345.4m from $96.5m, mainly thanks to the full impact of LNG-related contracts.
