French OSV giant Bourbon says the sector recovery is moving at a slow pace, as its annual revenue fell 20%.
The figure for last year was EUR 689.5m ($783m), against EUR 860.6m in 2017, impacted by the renewal of long-term contracts at market rates.
Revenue for the fourth quarter was EUR 175.9m, down from EUR 196.9m the year before.
It said activity had been stable for three consecutive quarters, in particular for its Bourbon Marine & Logistics and Bourbon Mobility divisions.
Bourbon Subsea Services remains severely impacted by market conditions in 2018, with revenues down by almost 40%, but its activity has been steadily improving for the last three quarters.
"As a sign of market improvement, we note a recovery in the number of calls for tender, leading to a stabilisation of our revenues over the three last quarters," said CEO Gael Bodenes.
"However, market recovery is slow. It is therefore more important than ever that we accelerate our transformation in order to bring our clients more added-value services."
Utilisation rates are still hovering around 50% for its OSVs. It releases profit figures at a later stage in the year.
Money moving towards offshore
Looking ahead, Bourbon sees a switch in investments by its oil and gas customers towards offshore, rather than onshore projects like US shale gas and oil.
Exploration is expected to return in the Caribbean and Middle East this year, and activity will be maintained in Africa, it said.
Last month the company renewed a general waiver with the majority of its leasers and debt holders, allowing the company to suspend debt repayments.
This will allow the company to “stay focused on its operational priorities, while pursuing its search for all solutions capable of adapting its financing to its performance, in a secured framework," a statement said.
The original waiver was finalised with Bourbon’s lenders in April 2018 to delay payments for 12 months.
The company’s outstanding loans and mounting losses stood at around EUR 1.12bn in January.
