Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the ABL Group Q2 Results. My name is Reuben Segal. I'm the Group CEO, and I'm also joined this morning by Stuart Jackson, the Group CFO. Just so you're all aware, if you would like to ask any questions, please do so after the presentation, or you may also ask questions in the chat room, which we will get to at the end of the presentation. Now, I'm gonna kick off the presentation, giving you a highlights of our Q2 results. Stuart is then gonna take you through more detail of the financials, a little bit more information on each of the businesses, and then I will take you through some of the operational update and our outlook going forward for the rest of 2023. As always, I draw your attention to the disclaimer in the presentation.
Please feel free to read this at your own leisure. So let's jump straight into the Q2 results. It's always a pleasure standing here, and talking about our results over the past few years. Once again, our Q2 results were excellent. From our point of view, we had record high revenues, very strong EBITDA and EBIT, and good growth across the whole organization. We start with revenues of just under $68 million, which represent an increase of 64% year-on-year growth, which again, is a very, very strong performance. Three main factors behind this growth: number one was the acquisition of Add Energy, which kicked in, in Q3 of 2022; the acquisition of AGR, which kicked in, in April of 2023; and strong growth organically across the group.
This organic growth, in particular, was driven by OWC, which recorded a 47% year-on-year growth. So really excellent, strong performance across our renewables organization. In terms of EBIT, this also grew to $5.3 million, an increase of just below $1 million on quarter. This margin represents about 7.8%. This margin is slightly down over Q1 for a number of reasons. Number one, we had the integration and the brought on of AGR, which operates at a lower margin than the rest of the ABL Group, and Stuart is gonna talk a little bit more about that going forward. Also, Add Energy, as you're all aware, we brought Add Energy into the equation, and I'm very happy to report that Add Energy was profitable during Q2.
So this is a great turnaround of the Add Energy business. And finally, the ABL side of the business had a very strong, EBIT margin, but OWC, with the rapid growth that we had, had a, a hit, obviously, to the utilizations, which brought down the overall margins. But in terms of an operation and in terms of what we intended to do with OWC, this was an excellent performance. So very, very happy with these results. However, if you look at year-on-year performance, pro forma, this is ahead of where we would have been in 2022. In terms of our net cash position, we closed the quarter at $14.6 million, down from $16.3 million, but strong operational cash flow of about $3.5 million, adding to that, overall bottom line.
But of course, we paid out dividends during the quarter. We had the acquisition of AGR, and we also had our loan repayments to make. So again, a good, strong cash position for the end of Q2. As I mentioned, we paid a semi-annual dividend of about $4 million in June, and we also completed the acquisition of AGR. So all in all, as a quarter, it was a busy quarter. It was a strong performance both on top line and bottom line. Good headcount increase across the organization, which we're going to talk about a little bit later on. So this gives me an opportunity to also thank our staff, our colleagues, for an excellent job during Q2. I'm now gonna pass you across to Stuart, and he will take you through more details of the financials.
Thank you, Reuben. Good morning, good afternoon, everybody. Before I jump into the financials for Q2, I just wanted to run through our segmental reporting and also some of the effects we've had of AGR coming in in the quarter, because when you're doing, I guess, a year-on-year comparison, there's a lot of changes that have happened within the group. So this slide is trying to explain the old segments we used to report under. So at the top, the four different regional segments we have, the Add Energy business, AGR, obviously, coming in as a new business during the quarter, and then OWC and Longitude. And as we communicated before, we're now moving to four segments around ABL, AGR, OWC, and Longitude.
So on the left-hand, sorry, on the right-hand side, so OWC, Longitude, nothing's changed there in terms of the segmental reporting. But if we look on the left-hand side with ABL and AGR, that has changed. So in ABL, we've amalgamated the four business regions, and we're also adding to that business the asset integrity management part of Add Energy. And then AGR is new to the business during the quarter, so acquired during Q2, and we're adding to that business the Well Reservoir Services from Add Energy. So we won't, on an ongoing basis, see Add Energy as a separate entity. It will be split into ABL and AGR. But as Reuben has mentioned, the key point is that that business was turned around and profitable and contributing as we went into Q2.
From a revenue perspective, you see the spread of different revenues. Obviously, ABL is the dominating business, so up to 51% of overall revenue for the group. AGR is a significant contributor, so it does have a material impact on the numbers when we look at Q2 results now relative to a year ago. OWC is performing as we'd expect, growing through inorganic growth, and the Longitude business, quite profitable, but a relatively small part of the overall pie. And our Q2 EBIT margins across those businesses, we, we present now our EBIT margins, excluding any allocation of group or corporate costs. So these are clean margins and the business leaders of these four businesses, this is what you see they control.
And then below that line, you see corporate costs separately re-reported as a proportion of revenue, 8%, which gives us 7.8% for the quarter... So quite a lot of changes in terms of the way we present our information, but hopefully, over the long term, that's a lot clearer in terms of how the business performs. And then just in terms of a little more detail behind those numbers, the comparisons to the previous quarter, but also the second quarter of last year. So as Reuben mentioned, revenue is significantly up 64% increase. Obviously, that's AGR coming in in the quarter. But don't lose sight of the fact that the OWC business, where we're sacrificing a bit of EBITDA margin in order to get growth. We've delivered 47% year-on-year growth through the OWC business.
In terms of pro forma position, if you look at the margins down the bottom, we're 7.8% on our adjusted EBITDA margin, so lower than 10.7%, going back to the same period last year. Obviously, that's the structural element of AGR coming in, a lower margin business being consolidated within the group. At the time we did the AGR acquisition, we did a pro forma, and we anticipated the margin would be 7.5%, so we're broadly in line at 7.8% in this quarter. Turning then to the abbreviated statements we have on the income side. So you see the 64% increase in revenue to $67.9 million.
Higher increase in terms of staff costs, so that is up 79%, but that's the consequence of a lower margin business of AGR being consolidated within the group now. Our depreciation amortization is really the run-off of the office leases through IFRS 16 and also the amortization of our PPA intangibles. A small impact in terms of FX, but nothing, I think, material in terms of the other items on the P&L here. Our EBIT at NOK 4.4 million, it gets adjusted to NOK 5.3 million when we take out the impacts of share compensation schemes, PPA amortization, and the M&A costs we've had associated with the acquisitions.
Then in terms of cash flow position, starting from the $ 3.6 billion in profit for tax, we make the adjustments for our, our non-cash items. You see a negative in terms of the changes in working capital. A couple of elements to this. One is, you know, we do have a slight increase over the period of AR and unbilled receivables, so that's and actively being managed. But also we've got obviously the impacts of AGR coming in with the acquisition at that time. So we've taken on board their trade receivables, trade payables, and therefore their working capital position. But I think when I get to the balance sheet, I'll go through the working capital ratio, which is the key measure we have in that respect.
In terms of other items here on the investing and financing activities, the investing side, we have a positive of $ 2.6 billion. That's the acquisition of the AGR excess cash that was in the business at the time of acquisition. Then the outflow, we've had, Reuben mentioned payment of dividend. So we've had NOK 4 million outflow for dividend payment during the quarter, and then we've also had a repayment of NOK 800,000 in relation to our debt position. So we end the period in terms of our cash position at NOK 26.4 million. And then in terms of the balance sheet, finally, let's see, starting with NOK 26.4 million cash.
You'll see in terms of our, our current, assets and our current liabilities, this is the amalgamation of the AGR balance sheet, so significant changes in that respect, and goodwill coming through in terms of the acquisition. I mentioned before working capital, so we always show our working capital ratio. Just to remind you, the way in which we measure this is looking at the working capital position at the end of the period, relative to the revenue for the previous two quarters. And obviously, we only have one quarter of, AGR consolidated in here. So if I did this over one quarter, just over Q2 performance, the corresponding working capital ratio would be 47%, so slightly lower. And I think that's, you know, a reasonable guide going forward, that we'd expect working capital to be around 50% going forward.
And finally, in terms of the debt position, we have NOK 6.8 million of a term loan, which matures at the end of the year. We've extended the RCF through to July 2024, and we're in pretty advanced discussions with a couple of banks about new facilities, which I'd expect to sign in the next couple of weeks, so we can bring those on board for longer term financing. So with that, I'll pass back to Reuben, and he'll take us through some of the operation aspects and our outlook.
Thanks, Stuart. So what does that mean in terms of the operations of the organization? To bring on AGR, Add Energy, all this organic growth, it means there's been a big increase in headcount. If I was doing this presentation, well, when I did this presentation a couple of years back, just not even that, eighteen months back, we were talking 900 people. Today, we're talking close to 1,600, 1,552, to be precise, across the organization, which represents a 38% increase in headcount quarter-over-quarter. So a really strong increase in headcount. Of course, a lot of that is through the acquisition of AGR, but still, bringing on AGR, integrating AGR and all the operations required to bring them into the organization takes time, takes effort, so this is a very, very good increase.
In addition to that, our freelancer mix has also changed. We were running at about 25% pre-Q2, and it's now at 34% with AGR. So it gives us a very, very nice flexible base for seasonal variations, bumps and troughs, whatever may go on within the operations globally. So we're in a very, very strong position, both in terms of headcount and in terms of flexibility with our freelancer mix. How does that relate to the businesses? As Stuart just mentioned, we now run the four, ABL, OWC, AGR, and Longitude. In Longitude and ABL, they grew by 10% year-on-year in terms of headcount. So again, good, strong performance across the group... but in particular, OWC, running at an increase of 47% headcount. We said this year that we would drive our renewables business, and I will show you this in a moment.
We said we would push it hard, and that's exactly what we have done. And this is a really strong growth, 47% in that headcount through OWC. So well done to the team. How does that look in terms of pro forma 12 months? Oil and gas is now running about 68% of the overall organization. Of course, this is pro forma 12 months. We still wait to see everything with AGR and Add Energy in the equation, but this is how it is over the 12-month pro forma. Renewables accounts for about 20% of the overall revenue, and the balance being made up through our maritime organization. In terms of the business split, ABL is still the largest segment of the organization, about 50%. AGR accounts at one-third of the organization, and OWC and Longitude for the balance, 27%.
In addition to that, we have recently acquired a small renewables consultancy called Delta Wind Partners, or DWP. The transaction actually closed in August, just a couple of weeks back or a week back. But in terms of us announcing the transaction, this came in Q2. As I've said, we want to continue driving our business into renewables. We have made that play this year, and we continue to do that. We felt the acquisition of Delta Wind Partners was the perfect strategic fit for this organization. They're based in Denmark, but work globally. A relatively small organization, 14 people, but a very niche fit in the wind turbine consultancy business. The total revenues for them are approximately DKK 16 million, with an EBIT of DKK 2.3 million.
In terms of the actual acquisition, the total acquisition was a cost of about $1.7 million, $1.1 million in cash, and the balance made up of shares, with investing over three-five years. So a very, very nice fit for us. But strategically, why did we buy Delta Wind Partners? Not only did it give us access into the wind turbine consultancy, it gave us more access into the O&M market, and it also allows Delta Wind Partners to take their business and transfer it globally through the OWC network. So a very, very nice niche acquisition. We have said we will look at other acquisitions if they fit the ABL Group intent, and this absolutely fits in with the OWC growth story. So a very nice acquisition. We welcome our partners on board.
We talked about renewables, so these are the two segments that we are predominantly in, Renewables and Oil and Gas. We talk about the Renewables growth, and we have not seen any letup in this growth. Yes, you've seen bumps, you've seen troughs, you've seen a few contracts here and there go by the wayside, but overall, as a business, the Renewables globally is very, very strong. You're seeing very, very strong investments, and this just gives you an example. In Europe this year, it will be record high FIDs. In Germany alone, Total and BP have just signed commitments for $13 billion for 7 GW of offshore wind in Germany. ABL is placed in Germany, in Hamburg, and we're very, very in a great position to try and take some of this market. You're seeing tremendous growth still across Europe and the rest of the globe in Renewables.
Also, in developing countries such as Vietnam, Korea and Taiwan, we're seeing strong growth in offshore wind. And again, ABL is well-placed in all these locations to maximize this growth, hence the reason for the 47% increase in headcount during the course of 2023. So great position to be in, and we see no letup in the overall renewables business. But of course, Oil and Gas is our predominant play today. It is still where we make most of our revenues, and we're seeing strong growth there as well. In brownfield, in greenfield, rig activity is the highest we've seen since 2015. In CapEx-related projects, it's the highest expenditure we've seen since 2012. We see that through in our operations, through marine warranty contracts that we're winning, through the increase in rig move operations that we have, particularly across the Middle East.
Very, very strong position. So ABL is well-placed in Oil and Gas and in Renewables to continue this growth story over the months and years ahead. So summary. As I said, Q2 was an excellent quarter in terms of our revenue, solid contribution to EBIT, strong growth across our headcount. In addition, OWC in particular had a very, very strong quarter. If you add that with AGR and even Add Energy, we talked about Add Energy a few times, people asking us when we will turn it around. Even Add Energy added positive contribution to our EBIT margin during Q2. So it was an excellent quarter all round, and well done to all our colleagues. We completed the acquisitions of both AGR and Delta Wind Partners, DWP, and that integration is now ongoing. We continue to integrate with AGR, and now we bring on DWP as well.
So a lot of work to do going forward. But these acquisitions also allow us to continue that push into renewable energy, sorry, into energy transition projects, in particular, projects such as carbon capture, CCUS, and so forth. So a really nice play as we go forward. All markets are bullish. From our point of view, renewables are strong, oil and gas is strong, and our maritime business is very stable. We have a leading position in maritime, and that is a very stable position for us across the globe. Finally, our cash efficiency has also improved, as Stuart has mentioned. We paid back our first half dividend of NOK 0.35 in June, and it's our intent to give a second dividend in the back end of 2023. So our intent is still to give back to our investors.
And finally, Delta Wind Partners, AGR, Add Energy, is all part of our story. If we are able to continue that consolidation, we will do so. As I have said on a number of occasions, we will continue to look for acquisitions, we will continue to look for good fits within our business, but we will only do that if it makes sense for ABL Group. We will not be reckless with it... but if it comes to the right opportunity, we will take those opportunities. And so far, I think our, our experience has shown with the likes of Add Energy and, and now with AGR and others, we have a good record in this. So thank you very much for your attention, and we take any questions from the floor or from online.
Martine Kverne from Nordea. Just wondering how we can expect the EBIT margins to develop in AGR going forward, and how this will reflect on the total group margins?
Yeah, I mean, we can't hide the fact that AGR runs at a lower margin than ABL Group. Of course, their return on capital is different as well. There's a lot of other parts other than just EBIT. They've so far, first half of the year, they're on budget, within their own budget. The business itself is sound in terms of their play in Australia, their play in Norway, in the UK, it's strong, so I don't see any reason for that to deteriorate in any way, shape, or form. Hopefully, the intent is to improve those margins. I couldn't sit here and tell you it will be 10 or eight or 15 or six, but overall, the business itself is solid.
And the growth going forward, once we get them integrated into ABL and we can start to take their business more global, take it into the U.S., take it into the Middle East, which we are already doing, I have to say. Hopefully, that business margins, revenues will all increase as we've done with other businesses, so-
Great. Thank you.
Yeah, Rune Tryti, SB1 Markets. Regarding OWC growing 47% year-over-year, how should we think about the growth in, for that segment going forward? I guess we shouldn't expect that high growth for at least going forward.
You know, every year we look at what we want to do as a company. Do we drive the EBIT? Do we drive the revenue? Do we drive the headcount? You could see that there was a lot of potential going forward in renewables this year. That was very evident last year. And we said ourselves this year, we will drive hard, and we've achieved that with the 47%. I can't sit here and say, we will do 47% every quarter or every year. That would be a tough play. But that was our intent for this year, and we followed what we said we were going to do. Saying that, Renewables is strong. You've seen the outlook going forward. We still intend to grow in Renewables. OWC will continue that growth path. But will it be 47%?
I would like to say yes, but that might be a stretch. But they will still continue that growth, and that is still the intent for the rest of 2023 and going into 2024.
And regarding the upcoming refinancing, should we expect you to add some leverage or kind of do you think ABL should be-
Well, let's check.
-over time?
I think we're aiming more to add capacity rather than leverage.
Yeah.
So we're not gearing up the company in any respect, but I want facilities that are available for us, you know, short term in terms of being able to get a competitive advantage using more cash in order to do acquisitions, maybe refinance afterwards. So that would be part of it. Obviously, we've got a larger business, so we want larger facilities available to us and also a longer duration. So we're talking about facilities going out for three years commitment with, you know, probably a couple of years in terms of options to extend afterwards.
Good. Any questions online, Håkon? We have no questions online. Any other questions from the room? No? Okay, then I will just say thank you very much for attending this morning. Thank you again, once again to our colleagues for a good, good quarter, good results, and I look forward to seeing you all for our Q3 results back here. Thank you, everyone.