Good morning. Welcome all to our webcast and presentation of the results for the first quarter of 2024 for Reach Subsea ASA. Our report and presentation were released earlier this morning, summing up the achievements this first quarter and start of the year. I am Jostein Alendal, CEO of Reach Subsea, and with me is CFO Birgitte Wendelbo Johansen. Birgitte will go through the financials in a bit. We also released our annual report for 2023 on the 19th of April, summing up last year and showing that we are now at a new level, and we are continuing to grow the company. I am confident that our results from the first quarter affirm our consistent and steady progress. Executing on our strategy and achieving our goals successfully is very satisfying. Therefore, it is a great pleasure on behalf of our entire team to present this report to you.
Please feel free to submit your questions through the webcast player, and we will provide answers during our Q&A session shortly after this presentation. Let's start with a quick look at the key highlights from this past quarter, starting with slide number three. Despite typically being a low season, this first quarter high revenue not only showcases our increased capacity but also our expanded global presence. Revenue, EBITDA and order backlog is significantly higher comparing year by year, and this increase in revenue and profitability is, of course, fueled by a strong market. As I said, Birgitte will go more in details on the numbers. It also stems from our deliberate strategic decisions and is due to several factors. One is growth. Over the past two years, we have not only improved our service offerings and capabilities but also increased our vessel capacity through long-term charters.
Also confirmed by the results of this quarter, our increased geographical footprint position us to achieve strong resource utilization throughout the whole year. Also strong project execution and safety commitment. Outstanding project execution is key to our solid margins. I constantly emphasize that safety at sea remains our top priority. Once again, a big shout-out to all our people, both offshore and onshore, for their excellent operations. As mentioned, improved pricing. The pricing environment in offshore subsea services is improving rapidly across all regions, indicating the start of a prolonged upward market trend. My assumption is that this will last for many, many years due to the lack of investments in the industry during the long downturn we have behind us.
I will, in the upcoming slides, outline these points and give an overview of our main pillars for continued profitable business and growth, namely a diverse array of services, multiple market segments, a broad geographical coverage, not least to be ahead of any competition, a constant introduction and use of new technology. I will begin with the first pillar, our diverse array of services, so please turn to slide number four. In brief, our services encompass the entire subsea value chain from engineering and project management to final reporting, and our expertise in planning complex offshore operations is essential in all types of projects. We support construction during installation for the tier one construction companies such as Saipem and TechnipFMC, and our role extends through the long phase of inspection, maintenance, and repair, directly serving asset owners like BP, Equinor, Shell, and the other energy companies.
Regular activities for these asset owners also include asset integrity and pipeline inspection, for which we provide highly efficient solutions. Our services integrate survey and data processing, data management, analytics, and ultimately the final reporting. And also, I would like to highlight our monitoring technology and expertise, which are leading globally. Our offering there includes geophysical and environmental monitoring along with gas reservoir and carbon storage management. So in sum, it is good business to offer a diverse array of services as this gives the opportunity to maximize utilization of our resources. Together with the constant pushing technological boundaries with, for example, Reach Remote technology and soon artificial intelligence as a crucial part of our processing and reporting methods. In sum, our integrated services spanning the entire lifecycle of an installation are highly valued by asset owners in the ocean space.
So let's move to the second pillar, multiple market segments, which we'll cover on slide number five. Essentially, any and all ocean-based installation or infrastructure will require various subsea services throughout its lifespan. Our globally recognized subsea expertise and services enable us to serve a diverse range of customers worldwide. The oil and gas sector, of course, is driven by high global investments and growth in the coming years. Due to an aging asset base and the need for increased maintenance, this market is expected to remain stable for many, many years. The offshore wind sector is also anticipated to experience significant expansion in the coming years, despite their current challenges with supply chain and cost picture. The volume of future installations is huge. We are well positioned in this segment, providing early seabed mapping before the installations and regular inspections of existing wind farms.
The offshore cable sector is another area set for growth with numerous cables set to be laid in the future. Here we are a crucial partner for survey, installation, and maintenance. Mention emerging sectors. Subsea mining, also known as subsea minerals, is expected to emerge in the next few years, starting with survey and seabed mapping. Aquaculture is moving to deeper offshore waters, representing a new type of offshore installation for us. Additionally, we see tremendous potential in reservoir monitoring and CO2 storage, where our unique monitoring technology and expertise stands out. The global market for offshore and subsea services is permanent and ever-present. Vessels are a crucial component of our services and capabilities. So let's move to slide six to see how we have prepared our fleet to support future growth.
In a rising market, it is vital to have a good operational control of core assets. The long-term vessel charters we have today make a core and flexible fleet for survey, IMR, and light construction the coming years. Recent additions to the fleet: Olympic Taurus and Northern Maria, which is already in operation, and Offshore Surveyor, which will join in second quarter. With a smaller survey vessel, Offshore Surveyor, will be occupied in the Australian market. Control of cost base is equally important, and the terms we have on our fleet are highly competitive in the current and future market. A purchase of Viking Reach a year ago is a good example of good timing. The replacement cost of such a vessel has almost doubled during that short time. The Agulhas new build is really a vessel for the future, built for efficiency and dual fuel.
It is prepared for the greener future. Also, here is the timing very good, as we see a huge increase in new build cost for similar vessels. The Reach Remote vessels will also join the fleet this year. I will come back to those on the next slide. That said, project charters will also continue in the years to come. Expansion of the core fleet with more long-term charters and/or partly ownership is also constantly evaluated. I will come back to this under the three organic growth levels. The order book and tender volume are constantly increasing comparing year by year, all in line with our increased capacity. A good indication for a quite busy 2024. Let's move to slide number seven, the third and fourth pillar, geographical footprint and new technology.
The Reach Subsea group are today represented across regions from north to south in Norway, Sweden, U.S., U.K., Singapore, Australia, Trinidad, and Brazil. As we aim to capitalize on a very attractive global market outlook for our traditional services in the coming years, we are at the same time dedicated to develop and utilize next generation technology. We have for several years said that our ambitions of extending Reach Subsea's and, in particular, Reach Remote presence across all time zones. In April, we reached a significant milestone with the successful sea launch of the first Reach Remote USV. A major achievement for our team. The interest in the Reach Remote is growing constantly across all regions, and we have a robust pipeline of both national and international projects that are ideally suited for these vessels.
Our goals for bringing robotic technology into the subsea industry are quickly becoming a reality. But also alongside Reach Remote, we have been making significant progress with smaller USVs types over the past year. Our first DriX USV, which is a smaller USV, was launched last year and has already proven its worth by successfully completing over 25,000 km of high precision hydrographic survey lines. This accomplishment was made possible through our remote operations, which allows for real-time control and data processing. Building on this success, we have grown our fleet by adding a second DriX USV, which joins our first USV in a major project in the Middle East. Together, they will work on updating and enhancing nautical charts and seafloor mapping for a significant governmental client. So status is we are en route with the establishment of Reach and Reach Remote in the different markets and time zones.
I will round up with the three organic growth levels before I give the word to Birgitte, which brings us to slide number eight. I have outlined the four main pillars of our business: a wide range of services, a wide range of market segments, and geographical coverage along with the introduction of new technology. But there exists considerable untapped organic potential within our group. First, expand the number of spreads. As discussed during the fleet overview, we soon operate eight long-term spreads and supplement this with project-specific spreads as necessary. There's a potential for further increase of our core fleet to enhance our offerings in key geographical areas, either with spot market project charter or long-term charters and/or partial ownership of new vessels. Secondly, enhance services on existing spreads.
There is a substantial business potential in integrating our new capabilities into more value-added services and fully utilizing all our survey spreads or subsea spreads. This includes continuously introducing new subsea technologies and improving methods. Acknowledge that the latest in ROV subsea sensors or data processing tools has yet to be invented, and this will add selling and margins on the current fleet. Finally, launch Reach Remote, which is on track. This initiative is the cornerstone of our next generation services. It allows us to offer the same services to clients at a lower cost, reduce HSE risk, and minimal to no carbon footprint. The deployment of the two first units in 2024 with an option for eight more marks a solid expansion to our global services and offering through unmanned operations.
With this, I will hand over the word to Birgitte for the financials status, first quarter 2024. Yeah, Birgitte.
Thank you, Jostein. Good morning. Before I start, as always, just a reminder that you can ask questions on the chat and the webcast. For those who have followed Reach for some time, it's well known that the first quarter traditionally is characterized by a weak winter season, at least in Europe. And in the first quarter this year, Reach had strong activity with NOK 575 million turnover, which is a 146% increase compared to the first quarter last year. This is mainly a result of an increased number of vessels in our marketed fleet with a strong activity level combined with increased service scope on projects and also higher margins. EBITDA was NOK 29 million compared to NOK 8 million last year, and the improved EBITDA is primarily a result of higher utilization and market improvements.
Pre-tax profit for the first quarter was NOK 9 million compared to NOK 6 million last year. Interest expense related to our IFRS 16 charter commitment debt and partly unrealized currency loss explain most of the year-on-year difference in the net financial items. Our investment program for 2024 includes Reach Remote as well as scaling up the service scope on our marketed fleet, as Jostein said, by mobilizing work ROVs, service spreads, and other equipment. We continue to have a solid cash position, and our net interest-bearing debt, excluding the IFRS 16 charter commitment debt, is still negative. Let's look into details and what lies behind the figures on the next slide. These graphs illustrate Reach's financial journey the last six years on a 12-month rolling basis.
We have had a substantial revenue growth, a result of increased activity level with expansion to new business segments and regions with an increased asset base. In addition, the integrated group projects contribute strongly to our growth. The 12-month revenue has increased by more than 200% over the last two years and has exceeded NOK 2 billion. We have focused on sustainable and profitable growth, and our operating result and pre-tax profit has improved in line with the revenue growth. Next slide, please. So let's look at the quarterly revenue development year-on-year based on segments, sectors, and regions. To the left, we see that our first quarter turnover from renewables and other sectors was about 52%, while projects in the oil and gas sector represent 48%. Last year, the split was 35%-65%. Year-on-year, the growth came from both sectors, as you can see.
The illustration in the middle splits the revenue in our two major market segments, which is data and solutions. Solutions refer to a service project where we do installation, maintenance, repair, decommissioning, etc. And data is where we deliver a data package to the client, typically a survey of a pipeline or a cable route, positioning, or an inspection of infrastructure, to mention a few examples. The data segment will become even more important when the Reach Remote enters the market, as survey projects will be ideal for this type of equipment. In first quarter, 63% of the turnover came from solutions due to a few larger service and Walk-to-work contracts, including a high number of vessel days, while 37% came from data. The activity within data, which includes survey projects without vessel exposure, is higher, estimated to be around 50/50 to solutions measured in project days.
We also present our geographical distribution of turnover on the illustration to the right to illustrate our strategic expansion to new areas, as well as meeting new and existing client needs. In the first quarter, activity in Europe, including Norway, represented about 64% of our revenue compared to 62% last year. The growth in Asia-Pacific is expected to increase as a result of the acquisition of Guardian Geomatics, a transaction we closed in the fourth quarter last year. Next slide, please. We continue our sustainable growth also in the first quarter of 2024, balancing cash and working capital and debt with a robust equity level. At the same time, we have delivered to our shareholders with paying a dividend according to our policy. We have a cash and working capital position of about NOK 350 million and limited existing financial debt to credit institutions.
We have increased our charter commitment, hence the leasing liabilities. Our equity share is still almost 30% of the total balance sheet. Reach is well positioned for the remaining investments in Reach Remote and vessel and equipment mobilization for our fleet in order for us to have all vessels ready for integrated subsea and survey projects. Next slide, please. Since our turnover and EBITDA is strongly driven by the utilization of vessels and ROV equipment, we measure the number of days our assets are sold to a project. And in addition to revenue and profits, it depends on the complexity of the projects and also the seasonal changes. Pure survey and monitoring projects without vessels through the P&L are not reflected in these figures.
For those who have read the full report already, the number of offshore man-hours has also increased substantially over the last couple of years, which reflects a general increased activity volume and gives some flavor to the increased turnover together with the increased number of sold vessel days, as you can see on the graph to the right. In Q1, we had 90% utilization of all vessels. Utilization of our vessels is our number one priority. By growing into new areas such as Australia, Africa, and Americas, we reduced seasonal changes in the North Sea. As illustrated on the graph to the left, the number of sold ROV days is highest in the second and third quarter.
In large parts of 2023 and also the first quarter of 2024, we had a few vessels in the Walk-to-work segment and similar projects that don't require work ROVs, leaving a few ROVs idle. Utilization was still 66%, which means the mobilized ROVs had more or less full utilization. Next slide, please. We report quarterly on our sustainability goals. We recently started preparing for CSRD and ESRS reporting with an updated double materiality analysis and establishing an ESG group with a dedicated resource to follow up activities and reporting. In the first quarter, we present status on the key performance indicators for 2024, a combination of our focus on emissions and environment, being a responsible employer worldwide, and keeping a high governance focus. The KPIs represent our belief in ESG focus as a foundation for profitable growth in the coming years.
On the environmental side, we achieved an increase in non-oil and gas activity, as mentioned, and we had no major spills to the sea. Establishing a relevant CO2 footprint level and taking delivery of the Reach Remote USVs will be focused the next couple of months. Safety, as always, is our absolute priority, and we are proud to have strong, positive HSEQ statistics, especially combined with growth in project size and complexity. In addition to focusing on turnover and safety at work, we are committed to have at least 10 apprentices this year. The first group of young talents is ready to start working in Reach this summer. On the compliance and governance side, we have continuous improvement projects to ensure that we always operate with the highest industry standards.
Training within cybersecurity, ethics, and ESG in our training portal is an important focus area this year to ensure awareness among our colleagues. I then hand the word back to Jostein for a summary.
Thank you, Birgitte. Let me sum up with the last slide as a backdrop and also show that we are on the same strategic path. We are well positioned for continued growth and value creation. The market outlook is extremely promising, as I said, with substantial investments anticipated in our main markets for the coming years. We are a key player in this expansion, and we will continue to be an even bigger player. Over the years, Reach Subsea has built a strong reputation and a solid operational track record as a provider of subsea services. I am confident that with our team's excellent execution in this robust market, we will continue to deliver outstanding services to our clients and thereof also achieve strong financial results. Our cutting-edge technology and advanced internal technical systems provide us with a significant competitive edge.
Our financial sprint, as Birgitte has shown, has been improving year by year, giving us great flexibility to make good investments and expansions moving forward. It is important to note that our growth plans will remain disciplined and shareholder-friendly, as it has been for our approach thus far. I have outlined the three organic growth levels. To repeat, we will expand our services based on a wide range of services and market segments and geographical coverage, all with continually introducing new technology. In essence, we aim to capitalize on a very favorable market outlook in the coming years and simultaneously pioneering next-generation services. With that summary, let me conclude the presentation with our saying everything within Reach. Please continue to submit your questions in the webcast player, and we will return shortly to answer them.
Yep, we have a few questions. It's still possible to ask more questions in the chat. The first question is related to Reach Remote. Can you give some more information about the startup for Reach Remote when it's expected startup of testing or projects for external clients?
Should I answer that?
Yes.
Yeah, I think it was a great milestone, getting the first one in the water in the Easter time. And we have lining up pilot projects with major clients now in the summer season. So I guess when we come to July, August, we will have gone through a lot of interesting pilot projects sponsored by our main international clients. So we are on track, and that's a good sign. So I guess in August, I think that's the time when we will decide where we will put the first units globally. So we have some interesting leads in Australia and the Middle East and also in the U.S., but of course close to us in the North Sea and in Norway, of course. So it will be exciting in August when we have to decide where we're going to put that.
Yep, good. There's another one. What's your market expectation for subsea vessels the coming years? Will there be many new buildings entering the market?
Should I take a guess on that? Well, new builds, there are some new builds, and we have initiated one, of course. And there are some interesting movements in that sector. I think we will not explode this year. I think we'll take a couple of years before we see a big new build programs. So it's going to be a sort of lack of subsea vessels for the next seasons, I guess. That's my guess.
Yeah, there's another one on vessels and the market situation. You have a significant lease liability on your balance sheet, but still fairly limited backlog beyond the next two-three quarters. Are you planning to add some more long-term backlog to support the vessel commitment, or do you still expect to have a short-term backlog?
I can answer that. So for maneuvering in a rising market, of course, it's good to not be sold out for many years because the market is expected to rise. So we have to find a good balance of short-term and long-term. Of course, it's good to have some long-term in the order book, but also it's good to be in the short-term spot market. But we have to balance that. That will come soon.
Yep, there's one last question. Is availability of resources starting to become a problem? And if so, what is most challenging, vessels or people?
It's always in the start of a new market. The lack of resources and the risk of supply chain issues and so on. But I guess for the near-term, the focus is on people, of course. The industry has been through a downturn 8-10 years with no sort of investments or recruitment. And then we have to speed up again. But that's sort of a normal challenge when the market is turning.
Yep, good. That was all the questions for today. I think everything was crystal clear. Thank you very much for tuning in. I'll see you next time.