The recapitalised Solstad Offshore has a new name and new division.
Following a much-needed injection of capital that saw Kjell Inge Rokke’s Aker Capital take control of the company last month, much of Solstad Offshore’s fleet will be transferred to Solstad Maritime.
“This is a solid long-term solution for Solstad,” chief executive Lars Peder Solstad said in the third-quarter earnings release.
“As a result, we can approach the years ahead, where the markets look promising, with a strong balance sheet and with one of the finest fleets in the industry.”
Solstad Offshore subsidiary Solstad Shipholding will take a 27% stake in Solstad Maritime.
Most of the existing 48-ship fleet, made up of subsea construction vessels, anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) units and wind construction vessels, will go into Solstad Maritime’s fleet, but Solstad Offshore will maintain control of three construction support vessels and two AHTS units.
In the new Solstad Maritime, Aker Capital takes a 41% stake and Aker-backed AMSC 18%.
Solstad Offshore had been facing a debt crunch, with more than NOK 20bn ($1.9bn) coming due on 31 March 2024.
DNB and Eksportfinans Norge will underwrite a NOK 9.7bn loan to refinance the fleet, plus a NOK 4bn injection of new equity into Solstad Maritime, consisting of NOK 2.25bn from Aker, a private share placement of NOK 750m and AMSC swapping the 178-loa CSV Normand Maximus (built 2016) to the new company for NOK 1bn in equity.
In the third-quarter earnings release, the company said it is launching a service division to offer customers remote operating vessels, tooling, project personnel and engineering support.
“We foresee a significant service offering growth in the years ahead,” Solstad said.
It recorded NOK 40.9m in total comprehensive income, up from the NOK 642m loss in the same period last year.
Revenue was NOK 1.6bn, up from NOK 1.4bn last year.
For the third quarter 2022, Solstad Offshore still owned a fleet of 37 platform supply vessels that were sold to US giant Tidewater for $580m in March.
That deal closed in July, with management of the vessels continuing to transition to Tidewater.
