Good morning! Welcome all to our presentation of the results for Q4 and full year of 2023 for Reach Subsea ASA. Our report and presentation were released earlier this morning, and it sums up the last quarter and the entire year of 2023 quite good. I am Jostein Alendal, CEO of Reach Subsea, and with me is CFO Birgitte Wendelbo Johansen. Q4 of 2023 was another record-breaking quarter for us, and we have now achieved a robust revenue growth for 10 straight quarters. On an annual basis, our revenue now stands at NOK 2 billion, the next level, so to speak. Profitable growth is our guiding principle, and I do believe our results, results also this winter quarter validate our steady progress. It is good to deliver on our strategy and ambitions. So again, it is a pleasure for us, on behalf of the whole team, to present this report. 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. So before Birgitte will present the financials, allow me to provide a brief overview of our position today and our strategy for further sustainable business and growth in the years to come. To get high utilization of our resources, and thereof also high margins, we have four main pillars in our strategy: a wide range of services, a wide range of market segments, a wide geographical footprint, and not at least the fourth, introducing new technology. I will give you a picture of this in the coming slides, and in the end, summarize it all in the three organic growth levels. But first, let's begin by looking at the key highlights of the quarter and final year of 2023, starting with slide number three. The record Q4 and year on all parameters is driven by several elements. Growth, we have not only enhanced our service offering the past two years, but also expanded our vessel capacity through new long-term charters, which gives us the capacity for growth. Improved pricing, the offshore market and pricing environment for Subsea services is improving rapidly in all the regions, and there are clear signs that we are heading into a long cycle of rising market. Strong project execution. I use every opportunity to give credit to our team. Excellent execution of projects contributes to the solid margins, and I also state the most important every time, safety at sea is our top priority. So once again, all credit to all our people offshore and onshore for excellent operations. Q4 has typically been a winter low season period, but this record high revenue level reflects not only our increased capacities, but surely also our increased global footprint. Operations in Brazil through the winter for Equinor with Havila Subsea is a good example. A proof that geographical footprint gives the opportunity to achieve strong resource utilization throughout the whole year. The good results comes also the ability to deliver on our dividend policy, and the board will propose a dividend of a doubling per share from last year. That is good. Birgitte will mention that, I expect. As mentioned, we are now in the next level, revenue, EBIT and order backlog is significantly higher comparing year-by-year. Growing and gaining market share is important, but our noteworthy search in revenue and profitability isn't just by chance, it is the result of our deliberate strategic choices. So this report is a sort of proof of the pudding, that we are on the right track. I will start with the first pillar, our wide range of services, which take us to slide number four. In short, our services cover the whole subsea value chain, from engineering and project management to final reporting, where our expertise in planning of complex offshore operations is vital. From construction support during installation, where clients are typically the tier one construction companies, like, for example, Saipem and Technip. Through the lengthy period of inspection, maintenance and repair, where the clients are the asset owners, for example, BP, Equinor, Shell and the other energy companies. Asset integrity and pipeline inspection is also a part of our regular activities for the asset owners, and we offer highly effective solutions on that. Our subsea equipment, technology and methods gives us a competitive edge. Survey and data processing, data management and data analytics, and in the end, final reporting are also a large part of our integrated services. We push also here technology boundaries, and artificial intelligence will, of course, also become an important part of our processing and reporting methods in the years to come. I would also like to highlight our monitoring technology and expertise that is in the absolute forefront worldwide. Geophysical and environmental monitoring is a part of our services, together with gas reservoir and carbon storage management. In earlier quarterly presentations, I have shown some project examples of the gravity and seafloor deformation campaigns in the North Sea, Australia, and Japan. Our wide and integrated offering and the capability to offer services through the whole life cycle of an installation is well-received by asset owners in the open space, in the ocean space. Let's move to the second pillar, a wide range of market segments that which brings us to slide number five. Our globally recognized subsea services, survey and monitoring expertise, coupled with our equipment and the core fleet of cost-efficient subsea spreads. We serve a diverse range of customers around the world. The oil and gas sector is expected to increase in the short term and to remain stable for many years to come, and due to high global investment levels. On top of an aging asset base requires more maintenance. That said, all our services, equipment, methods, and procedures are developed for the oil and gas sector, and we take this high standard of safety with us to the other sectors. Offshore wind is set to see enormous growth in the coming years, and we already have a good, pole position in that segment, both in early seabed mapping before installation and regular inspection and on existing wind farms. Offshore cables is another growth area. Numerous of cables will be laid in the coming years, and going forward, we are also here an important partner for survey installation and maintenance. Emerging sectors, subsea mining, or subsea minerals, as it is also called. This is a sector that will come in a few years, with firstly the survey and mapping side. Also, fish farming is moving further offshore to deeper waters, and yet type offshore installations. And we also see a huge potential in the reservoir monitoring, especially CO2 storage, where our monitoring technology and expertise is unique. I should add the increasing ocean awareness, we will find new clients in the ocean environmental surveillance segment with our future unmanned robotic marine technology. So any installation or infrastructure in the ocean will require various forms of subsea services through the lifespan. So the global market for offshore and subsea services in one or the other form will be there forever. Vessels are, of course, an important part of our services and capabilities, and also our ability to grow. So let's move to slide number six to see how we have prepared our fleet for further growth. Let me start with the tender volume. It is high, and a firm sign that our clients recognize and appreciate our increased capacity. A rising market, longer visibility on future tenders require good control of core assets, namely the vessels. So further on to the fleet overview. Partly ownership of Viking Reach and the ownership of the Reach Remote fleet gives us a long horizon beyond 2027. And long-term charters make a good core, a core fleet and flexible fleet for survey IMR and light construction the coming years. In addition, we have the flexibility and capacity to take in project charters. One example last year is the Olympic Ares for the FPSO Helix scope in West Africa, and project charters will continue also in the years to come, and we are in constant dialogue with the vessel owners in the early tender phases year-by-year. As shown in our latest announcement, announcement regarding the Olympic Taurus and Northern Maria. The Offshore Surveyor is a vessel we use, in the Australian market, and it is new in the fleet, this year. Expansion of the core fleet with more long-term charters and or partly ownership is also constantly evaluated, and I will come back to this under the year three organic growth levels. The order book you see on the right-hand side, of the slide is continuously increasing comparing year-by-year. These figures do not include options and expected call-off extensions under frame agreements, which from experience can constitute a significant additional work. A good indication for a quite busy 2024. Compared to last year, where we started with NOK 740 million in February order book and ended the year with NOK 2 billion in revenue. The vessels are the most costly part of our services, and it is important to get them utilized throughout the whole year. This brings us to slide number seven for the third and fourth pillar, geographical footprint and new technology. We have for several years articulated our ambition of extending Reach Subsea's presence across all time zones, mostly with Reach Remote in mind... but it is also good for the overall resource utilization and business, as I mentioned earlier. The Reach Subsea Group are today represented across regions from north to south in Norway, Sweden, US, UK, Singapore, Trinidad, and Brazil. Last October, we made a significant move to further strengthen our global presence. The acquisition of the Australian marine survey firm, Guardian Geomatics, not only paves our way into the Australian and Asian and the Middle East markets, but also position us to introduce our unmanned Reach Remote platform, both in Australia and other international markets. Speaking of Reach Remote, the hulls are well placed in the Trosvik yard in Norway, where they are being outfitted with all the remote technology. Testing of subsystems are starting now in February, and the extensive full-scale testing, certification, and client verification starting later in the spring. So far, all is looking very good. Besides, maybe that in the start of the project some years ago, we aimed for launch in 2023, and now it's 2024. But no surprise, actually when introducing new technology, and we took this into account when we started. In dialogue with our customers, we do experience great interest in the concept, worldwide, and we are lining up project for the first units in different geographical regions already now in 2024. We are currently operating smaller unmanned vessels with the over-the-horizon control and, Massterly our bridge and navigator still gain, more and more experience with the control center in Horten and their operational with Yara Birkeland and the ASKO vessels. Reach Remote will become solid part of our global footprint, and I will round up the three with the three organic growth levels before I give the word to Birgitte, which brings us to slide number eight. We have been through the four main pillars in our business: a wide range of services, a wide range of market segments, a wide geographical footprint, and not least the fourth, introducing new technology, and this is good for business. We will further build on our business based on this, take advantage of a very attractive market outlook the coming years, and in parallel, establish next-generation services. So there is a large untapped organic potential within the group. One, grow number of spreads, as I mentioned under the fleet side. Currently, we are operating six long-term spreads, plus we add on project spreads when needed, and the core fleet could also be increased further by strengthening the offering in key geographical regions. Secondly, increase service on spreads in the near term. There is a substantial business potential to bundle our new capabilities and vessels into more value-added integrated services, as well as utilizing the full capabilities on all our Subsea spreads. A part of this is also constantly introducing new technology and improved methods and services. The last ROV Subsea sensor or data processing tool has not been invented yet. Thirdly, roll out Reach Remote. Here is the foundation for the next-generation services. We can offer clients same services at lower cost, lower HSE risk, and at low and low carbon footprint. First two units in 2024, with option for eight more, makes a good start to expand the global service offering based on unmanned operations. So with, with this, roundup, I will hand over the floor to Birgitte with the financials.
Thank you, Jostein. Good morning. The first slide, before we start, just remember that you can ask questions in the chat, on the webcast. Our Q1 2023 was our best Q4 ever, both in turnover and profits, and this is mainly a result of high activity for all vessels, equipment, and personnel with strong margin projects. Revenue in Q4 was NOK 474 million, a strong improvement from the three hundred and twenty-seven million NOK in Q4 last year, with the increase explained by a higher number of project days, increased service scope on projects, and higher margins. EBIT was NOK 80 million, compared to NOK 35 million last year, and the improved EBIT is primarily a result of higher utilization with strong project margins, as well as contribution from the acquired businesses. Pre-tax profit for Q4 was NOK 81 million, compared to NOK 19 million last year. 2023 was the first full year with integrated services within all our business segments, primetrics, monitoring, and service services, in addition to Subsea and Work to Work. Revenue for the full year was almost NOK 2 billion, compared to NOK 1.2 billion last year. Total comprehensive income was NOK 225 million, compared to NOK 70 million last year. The board has proposed a dividend of NOK 0.36 per share, which is a double since last year. So let's look into the details and what lies behind the figures on the next slide. These graphs illustrate Reach's financial journey the last six years. We've had a substantial revenue growth, a result of increased activity level, with expansion to new business segments and regions, with increased asset base. Revenue has almost increased by almost 200% over the last two years, which is now close to NOK 2 billion, as I mentioned. We are focused on sustainable and profitable growth, and our operating result has improved with 320% the last two years. Pre-tax profit reached NOK 290 million in 2023, which is a 300% increase over two years. Next slide, please. So let's look at the quarterly development, year-on-year. To the left, we see that our Q4 turnover from renewables and other sector was about 40%, while projects in the oil and gas sector represents 60%, and last year the split was about 10%-90%. Year-on-year, the growth mainly came from renewables, as you can see in the graph, and for the full year, the growth figures in the segments are almost the same. The year-on-year EBIT development from Q4 last year to the same period this year shows an improvement of 130%. Pre-tax profit has improved by 331% in the same period, and these improvements are primarily driven by higher activity, including strong performance on integrated projects within the group, combined with improved market conditions and higher pricing. Next slide, please. The illustration to the left splits our revenue in our two major market segments. Solutions refers to a service project where we do installments, maintenance, repair, decommissioning, et cetera, 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 be even more important when the Reach Remote enters the market, as survey projects will be ideal for this type of equipment. In Q4, 68% 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 32% 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 in the illustrations to the right, to illustrate our strategic expansion to new areas, as well as meeting new and existing client needs. In Q4, the split between Europe, including Norway, to the rest of the world continued to be about 50/50, and the growth in Asia Pacific is expected to increase as a result of the acquisition of Guardian Geomatics, a transaction that we closed in Q4 2023, as Jostein mentioned. Next slide, please. We continue our sustainable growth also in Q4, balancing cash and working capital and debt with a robust equity level. At the same time, we have delivered to our shareholders with paying dividend according to our policy. We have a cash and working capital position of NOK 331 million and limited existing financial debt to credit institutions. We have increased our charter commitment, hence our leasing liabilities. Our equity share is still above 30% of the total balance sheet. Reach is well positioned for the remaining investments in Reach Remote and vessel and equipment mobilizations 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 EBIT is strongly driven by the utilization of vessels and ROV equipment, we measure the number of days our assets are sold to a project. In addition, the revenue and profits depend on the complexity of the projects and also the seasonal changes. Pure survey and monitoring projects without vessel through our P&L, 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, and this reflects the general increased activity volume and gives some flavor to the increased turnover, together with the increased number of sold vessel and ROV days, as you can see on the graph. In Q4, we had close to full utilization of all vessels. Utilization of vessels is our number one priority, and by growing into new areas, such as Australia, Africa, and the Americas, we reduce the seasonal change in the North Sea. As illustrated on the graph to the left, the number of sold ROV days is highest normally in Q2 and Q3 , and a large part of 2023, we had two vessels in the walk-to-work segment and one vessel mobilized with a diving spread, leaving a few ROVs idle. Utilization was 65%, 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 KPI discussions. Our ESG reporting is a combination of focus on emissions and the environment, being a responsible employer worldwide, and keeping a high governance focus. In the full report on our web pages, you can read more about how our report complies with the United Nations sustainability goals and also the GRI standard. Looking at 2023, we have achieved just below 70% of our ESG KPIs. Most of these we will continue to work with throughout 2024. Safety is always our utmost priority, and we are proud to have strong, positive HSEQ statistics, especially combined with the growth in project size and complexity. In Q4, we recorded one LTI, a hand injury during mooring operations. The employee is well recovered, and lesson learned exercises have been held. Reducing fuel emissions is of high importance. Regrettably, our data for 2023 reveals an increase in emissions rather than the desired reduction. Modifications in our fleets with taking in more flexible and complex vessels have contributed to heighten the fuel emissions. We always strive to reduce our footprint, and upgrade with a battery pack is an example of this, for example, on the Cygnus. Furthermore, in this regard, we, the introduction of Reach Remote USVs holds promising potential and aligns with our long-term goals for emission reduction. On the compliance and governance side, we have continuous improvement projects to ensure that we always operate within the highest industry standards. I hand it back, well, back to you, Jostein, for a summary.
Yep, thank you, Birgitte. Let me sum up with the last slide, number 18, as a backdrop. We are in a position for continued growth and value creation. The market outlook is very attractive. High investments in the main markets for the coming years, and we shall be a part of this. Reach Subsea has over the years built a strong reputation and solid operational track record as a supplier of subsea services. And I believe that combined with the great execution from our team in a strong market, we will continue to deliver both excellent services to our clients and good financial results. We are at the forefront when it comes to technology, and our internal technical systems give us a huge competitive advantage. Our financial strength is improving year-by-year, as Birgitte showed, and this gives us a great flexibility to do the right investments and expansions at the right time going forward. Important note is that we will continue our growth plans and well-disciplined and shareholder-friendly, as we have done so far. I have shown the three organic growth levers, and let me repeat: we will further build our business based on a wide range of services, a wide range of market segments, a wide geographical footprint, and constantly introducing new technology. In short, take advantage of a very attractive market outlook the coming years, and in parallel, establish the next generation services. So with this, let me sum up the presentation with our saying, "Everything within reach." Please continue to submit questions in the webcast player, and we are back to answer your questions shortly.
Yes, we have quite a few questions coming in. You can still send the questions the last couple of minutes, and we'll try to answer as many as we can. First, the first question is for you, Jostein. "Congratulations on a great quarter and an even better year. Can you give some color on vessel utilization in relation to ROV utilization? How are the two correlating, and can ROV utilization still increase, even though the vessel utilization is at the level it is today?
Yeah, that's a good question, and yeah, the ROV utilization is linked to the vessel utilization, but as I mentioned in the presentation, getting more integrated projects on board the vessels will increase the ROV utilization as well. So hopefully, we will have all the ROV systems in diving operations the whole year this year, so.
Yeah, good. Would you say that the demand for Reach and services are more correlated to offshore rig utilization rather than directly to the oil prices?
... Yeah, I think, well, in the oil and gas sector, where everything is linked to directly linked to the oil price. So, yeah, so everything is linked to oil and gas prices, so also overall activities, of course.
Yep. And how much of the NOK 1.2 billion backlog are you expecting to be realized in 2024?
I think,
Most of it.
Yeah, most of it.
Some backlog in 2025, but most of it is-
95% must be the correct answer. Yeah.
Yes. And there's a question on Guardian. Guardian Geomatics had 2023 revenues of approximately NOK 150 million, down roughly 50%, versus approximately NOK 300 million in the fiscal year ending June 2023. How do you expect the business to generate going forward?
Yeah, in Australia, we have big plans there, so I guess it's hard, hard to estimate. But as we have said, the acquisition of Guardian is a part of the long-term strategies and so on, and there are some short-term very interesting opportunities in that area. So but it's hard to predict early in February, but...
Yeah. And another one, international carried as well. Americas contributed with close to NOK 130 million in Q4 2023 revenues. Is it more than the Havila Subsea vessel in this region?
Yeah, we had some operations both in monitoring division and also activities with the Olympic Delta in the U.S. So-
Yeah.
Yeah, so it's more than Havila, but operations in Brazil through the winter, that's a good thing.
Could you explain in more detail why the data segment had a lower revenue in Q4 2023 compared to Q4 2022? Is it the reallocation of capacity? I guess I could answer to that. Most of all, it's more a matter of turnover, which is the projects, including vessels and projects not including vessels. So in activity, we haven't reallocated from data to services. It's more a question of the amount of turnover and vessel days included in the projects. Yeah, and could you describe in more detail what the activities within the data segment are and potential scope additions for growth in the segment?
Yeah, there's a huge potential in the data segment, of course, and also combining that with the vessels, as I mentioned earlier. Getting more integrated services onto the vessel fleet, that's a huge potential, so... And that we will see more of that the coming years, and so.
Yeah. There's also a question on if we could give some insight in day rates for vessels and RVs for the development for the last year, the market question.
Yeah, I can answer that. The rates and pricing and everything is significantly up for the past two years. That's, yeah, back to a rising market and all that. So the day rates for both vessels and equipment and everything is going up. You see that in all segments. So I don't have the exact numbers, but it's definitely a difference in rates from 2022, 2023 and what we see going into 2024, so.
Yeah. There's another question here. When do you expect commercial contracts for the Reach Remote? Are you looking for a long-term deployment, or will Reach Remote be operated on a project-by-project basis?
We haven't decided that yet. We have some in the order book that we can utilize the first units. But it's we are trying to establish or decide where we put the first ones sort of globally, so we have some alternatives going forward. Exciting times this spring, of course, all the testing and certification. So, I guess sometime in May we will decide where we move the first units, so. Until then, it could be anywhere.
Yep. Are there any weather limits on the new Reach Remote vessels that we can say anything more about on, at this stage?
Weather limits?
Yeah.
Yeah, they're designed for what we call HS 3.5, and that's the limit for quite big vessels also. So, it's quite, quite high, and it's it made for for quite rough Norwegian North Sea weather, so.
... Yep. There's also a question on the Northern Maria: For the sake of good order, please confirm whether the Northern Maria is indeed firm for three years, plus options as described in the press release, or if she is, as indicated by your slide, optional for three years, plus further options thereafter?
Yes, oh, sorry about that. Maybe I'm too polite because it's still pending some bank approval. So, I think I'm too polite, but we're gonna have that lifted quite soon, I guess so, sorry about that confusion.
Yeah, thanks. Finally, there are some questions about the remaining investments in Reach Remote, and I think the easiest answer to that is to look in the notes. There is a specific note that says something about the CapEx and remaining investment for Reach Remote. There are quite a few questions about that. There is one final question: How much was the oil and gas segment impacted by the weather in Q4? I guess we have most.
Yeah
... day rate contracts, so then we're not that exposed to weather, in general.
Yeah, in Q4, Q4, I don't think we have any major sort of weather issues, not to my knowledge, so there are always some weather during the wintertime, but not much in the,
Yeah.
Yeah.
There are some questions popping up here. I will give time for at least one or two more. How about the Middle East market? Did Reach have a plan to explore the Middle East market?
Yeah, indeed, we are in the Middle East through Guardian, of course. We have operations in Saudi Arabia, and that's a mapping project. And also there we are using unmanned remotely operated vessels, so it's quite exciting area. So definitely, yeah, it's a good area to be in. Yeah.
Yeah, good. Finally, where will the next Reach Subsea office pop up?
Hard to say. I guess we have to build up the offices we have currently. Next, I guess, will be somewhere in the U.S., I guess.
Yeah, I think we will have to round off there. Thank you, everyone, for an active chat and a question session, and I'll see you in the next quarter.