Mermaid Maritime has seen its profit for the third quarter halved while it prepares for a share capital increase.

The offshore vessel owner booked a profit of $7.5m in the three months to the end of September, against $15.3m a year earlier.

Its revenue for the period stood at $51.1m, down by 46.4%.

Total expenses also fell from $87.6m to $46.5m in the third quarter.

In an extraordinary general meeting held earlier this month, shareholders in Mermaid approved plans to increase the share capital of the company by $70.6m.

This will be achieved through the issue of 245m new ordinary shares, the company explained.

According to Clarksons, Mermaid is the owner of eight offshore support vessels.