Topaz Energy and Marine has returned to profit in the first half of the year as its new owners look to take the reins at the Dubai-based firm.
The company, which agreed to be acquired in July by DP World, posted a second quarter net profit of $25m, taking its half year net income to $42m.
First half revenue increased 56% year-on-year to $235m as the company enjoyed a 16% year-on-year increase in its average day rate to $17,361.
Topaz said its core fleet utilisation increased to 89% in the second quarter due to improvements in its home markets in the Caspian and MENA regions.
However, a fire onboard a customer’s pipe laying barge in Azerbaijan in May is impacting the demand for Topaz’s project vessels in the near term, with vessel demand being delayed.
Topaz chief executive Rene Kofod-Olsen commented: “It has been a challenging time for the entire offshore industry, where cost leadership and differentiation have been major beacons.
“The acquisition by DP World concludes our journey to deliver the right solution for our current shareholders, combined with a strong future capital structure for the company, creating the necessary liquidity to provide Topaz with a sustainable future and supporting our objective of increasing our presence in the global logistics and maritime services industry.”
Kofod-Olsen said DP World has been “heavily investing in companies within the marine logistics sector that have strong outlooks across revenue and backlog along with long-standing, blue-chip customer relationships”.
He said the deal combines “two strong companies”, allowing for increased investment both in the fleet and in technology and innovation.
“ We have worked closely with DP World leading up to this deal and believe that not only will the increased scale allow the business to drive efficiencies and earnings growth, the merged entities will also bring complementary advantages in terms of backlog, customer base and geographic focus,” Kofod-Olsen said.
