Sovcomflot says its net profit totalled USD 83.9 million in 2014 vs. a loss of USD 39.2 million in 2013.
- Gross revenue increases 9.9 per cent to USD 1,387.4 million (2013: USD 1,262.8 million)
- Time charter equivalent increases 19.6 per cent to 1,044.0 million (2013: 872.6 USD million)
- EBITDA: increased 40.9 per cent to USD 538.2 million (2013: USD 382.1 million)
- Three newbuildings delivered: two tri-fueled Atlanticmax ice class Ice2 LNG carriers (Velikiy Novgorod and Pskov - each 170,200 m3 capacity) for long-term charter to Gazprom; a second VLCC, SCF Shanghai, for long-term charter to PetroChina International
- 20-year contracts with Sakhalin Energy for the construction and operation of four multi-functional icebreaking offshore support vessels for the Sakhalin-2 Project
- Long term time charters with the Gazprom Group for three ice-class Arc-7 shuttle tankers for Novy Port project, Russia
- Arc-6 DP2 ice class shuttle tankers Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov start crude oil transportation from Arctic oil field on Russia’s continental shelf (Pechora Sea)
- Nine transit voyages across the Northern Sea Route in the 2014 Arctic navigation season as part of systematic work on development of shipping in the Arctic basin in cooperation with the Russian Transport Ministry, state agencies and oil&gas majors
Sergey Frank, Sovcomflot President and CEO commented:
“Sovcomflot’s strong 2014 performance resulted from two major factors. First, we consistently continued to execute our growth strategy in business areas yielding attractive rates of return. Second, our conventional tanker fleet was able to reap benefits resulting from improved market conditions, where we believe there is still some potential for the rates to firm up. These improvements to the top line coupled with enhanced organizational efficiencies being made and lower bunker costs stimulated our earnings growth and our bottom line results for 2014.
“Looking ahead, Sovcomflot Group is well positioned to benefit from the continued positive momentum of the tanker market upswing. The first quarter of 2015 is looking quite promising. Being based on funDamentals we are pretty optimistic that earnings performance in 2015 will exceed that of the previous year”.
In the course of 2014, SCF Group has implemented a number of new exciting projects. Our focus amongst other things is to secure a growing share of business from Sovcomflot’s industrial fixed rate gas transportation and offshore service activities, has provided a valuable cushion of stable cash flows during the market downturn.
Our recent achievements would not be possible without commitment and support of over 8,500 members of our international team at sea and ashore. Their commitment and professionalism lie at the heart of our performance.”
Evgeniy Ambrosov, Sovcomflot Senior Executive Vice-President, commented:
“Sovcomflot performed well in 2014, with a number of newbuilds received during the year. We took delivery of Velikiy Novgorod and Pskov, two advanced design LNG carriers and our second VLCC. The LNG carriers operate under long-term charter agreements with PAO Gazprom and the VLCC is on long-term time charter to PetroChina International.
“Commercial highlights for 2014 included the finalisation of significant new long-term agreements: contract with Sakhalin Energy for the construction and long term charter of four IBSV’s, the agreement with Gazprom for the construction and long term charter of three Arc-7 ice breaking shuttle tankers and the agreement with Yamal LNG for the construction and long term charter of the first ice-breaking Arc-7 LNG carrier to serve the Yamal LNG Project. The deliveries of these vessels are scheduled for 2016 and 2017 providing prompt additions to the Group’s fixed income industrial fleet. With each new project we are reviewing and implementing the latest technology, ensuring the application of environmental protection programmes, providing our crews with the latest knowledge base of navigational, safety and environmental information.
Nikolay Kolesnikov, Sovcomflot Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer added:
“Sovcomflot’s stronger operational performance in 2014, with EBITDA growth of forty per cent year-on-year reflecting the contribution of newly delivered vessels as well as the tanker market recovery, resulted in improving the company’s credit position, and we have enjoyed stable liquidity and retained access to the international financial markets. This was demonstrated again in December 2014, when the Group concluded a USD 319 million, 10 year project finance facility with a consortium of leading European banks.
Our industrial shipping business model, together with long-term client relationships with the world’s oil majors, provides good earnings visibility. At the end of 2014, Sovcomflot had USD 8.8 billion of contracted future revenues including from our joint ventures. This provides a stable platform underpinning the continued growth and development of Sovcomflot.”
Igor Tonkovidov, Sovcomflot Executive Vice-President, Chief Technical Officer of SCF Group, said:
“In 2014 we continued to focus on investment in the development of the advanced engineering and energy saving solutions and innovative technologies for our fleet. Our commitment remains to ensure safety, quality and excellent service to our customers whilst taking due care of the environmental impact.
“During the reporting period much attention was paid to the training and well-being of our professional crews, who represent one of SCF’s core competitive advantages. The commitment to our people, as well as being the owner and operator of one of the most technologically advanced and environmentally friendly fleets lies at the heart of our business. Our dedication to ‘Safety Comes First’ remains deeply engrained within our corporate culture at sea and on shore.”
Sovcomflot Group (SCF) is Russia’s largest shipping company and a world leader in the maritime transportation of hydrocarbons as well as the servicing and support of offshore exploration and oil & gas production. SCF is the largest operator of ice class LNG gas carriers in the world. The company’s fleet (owned & chartered) specialises in hydrocarbon transportation from regions with challenging icy conditions and includes 153 vessels with a combined deadweight of about 12.6 million tonnes. A third of these vessels have a high ice class. Sovcomflot supports large-scale offshore energy projects in Russia and overseas, including: Sakhalin-I, Sakhalin-II, Varandey, Prirazlomnoye, Tangguh, and Peregrino. The company is registered in Saint-Petersburg and has representative offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol, Madrid, Singapore and Dubai.