Singapore’s offshore and marine heavyweight Seatrium expects to make a net loss for the 2023 financial year following its acquisition of compatriot Keppel Offshore & Marine, even though the company anticipates its operational and financial performance will continue to improve.
Asked when the company expected to return to profitability, Seatrium chief executive Chris Ong told Upstream: “Of course, we do not provide forecasts. But suffice to say I’ve always said that this is a merger of two big companies that are coming out from the tail end of a very prolonged downturn.”
He admitted that Seatrium has “a lot of challenges around execution, executing the order book well, but we are all very focused at looking at the Ebitda [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation], improving the Ebitda margin and controlling the costs”.
“And of course, getting the best operating leverage out of the two groups that have been merged. We hope to give you the good news sooner than later. But this is a work in progress,” Ong said.
On Wednesday, ahead of its nine-month 2023 business update, Seatrium confirmed that by the end of the year it would finalise the strategic review the company undertook following its acquisition of compatriot — and former rival — Keppel Offshore & Marine.
“The group plans to communicate the outcomes of the strategic review at its inaugural Capital Markets Day, which will be held within the first half of 2024,” Seatrium said.
