DOF Group profit rose in the first quarter, with the Oslo-listed owner posting an Ebitda of $114m compared with $104m in the first quarter 2023.
“We deliver another solid quarter despite a normal low season in certain regions,” chief executive Mons Aase said in a statement.
Operating revenue was $330m against $295m in the same period last year.
“The Group has been awarded several contracts, particularly for the AHTS and subsea fleet. The tender activity has continued to be high, hence, expect the backlog to continue to grow for the remainder of the year,” Aase added.
Order intake in the first quarter was $188m.
DOF had a firm backlog of $1.85b at the end of March.
“The current contract coverage for the group is 88% for 2024 and 61% for 2025 which gives good visibility on the earnings the next 18 to 24 months,” the CEO said.
According to DNB Markets, Ebitda was above consensus and above the bank’s estimate.
“The beat on our estimate was driven by DOF Subsea that reported revenue 15% above our expectations on Ebitda margins broadly in-line,” DNB analyst Alexander Erstad said in a note.
DOF adjusted its Ebitda guiding for 2024 from $470m-$520m to $490m-$520m.
“With management coming across as conservative in its guiding last quarter, we believe expectations were already for the upper half of the range and we note that consensus is at $510m and we expect consensus to keep this unchanged on the back of the report,” Erstad said.
The company said the markets have continued to improve for all types of services and the Group is well positioned towards expected increased demand for the Group’s assets both within the O&G and the Renewable markets.
DOF expects the increased demand for the AHTS tonnage to continue and to be similar to what the company has seen for the Subsea tonnage.
“The Group is further well positioned towards an expected increase in the offshore floating wind market due to a large AHTS and Subsea fleet and its subsea and mooring competence,” it said.
According to the company, the balance sheet has continued to improve, and DOF is well-positioned to support further growth and to deliver on its strategy.
“With consensus being ahead of the raised guidance, we expect the shares to trade in-line today and note they have been strong into the report,” Erstad said.
