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SeaEnergy makes first operating profit

Published: 08:10 08 Apr 2015 BST

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SeaEnergy (LON:SEA) moved into profit at the operating level last year, despite the travails suffered by the oil & gas sector.

Revenues in 2014 rose to £7.4mln from £5.1mln in 2013, reflecting growth from both its Return to Scene (R2S) Visual Asset Management (VAM) offering and its Consulting activities, plus a first full year's activity from the Marine division's ship management operation.

The latter is proving to offer fewer growth opportunities than the other parts of the group’s business and the board has decided to stop tendering for new-build offshore wind farm vessels to focus on faster-growing, higher margin parts of the business.

“We now plan to realise value from our accumulated knowledge and expertise through the Consulting business rather than through direct participation in the market and have already identified a number of potential clients, whom we can assist in developing their own tender responses,” revealed chief executive officer, John Aldersey-Williams.

The group made its first operating profit in 2014, moving from an operating loss of £370,000 in 2013 to an operating profit before one-off expenses of £151,000.

In view of the slump in the oil & gas sector, the company has written down the value of its investment in Lansdowne Oil & Gas by £2.1mln; this is a non-cash charge but does mean that the reported pre-tax loss widened to £2.45mln from a loss of £804,000 the year before.

"With the growth seen through R2S and increased international activity, the company is delighted that it has achieved its first operating profit before non-recurring expenses since implementing the services strategy in 2012,” said SeaEnergy’s chairman, David Sigsworth.

“This achievement has been obscured by non-recurring expenses, in particular the impairment of our interest in Lansdowne Oil & Gas, but looking forward, the board is confident that its new focus will enable the company to achieve faster growth in the months and years ahead," he added.

Sigsworth said the company is well-positioned to achieve growth, even in an increasingly cash-conscious oil & gas sector; indeed, the company argues that its R2S VAM business, which provides computer modelling to create a 360 degree interactive visual interface that oil rig and gas facility operators can use for virtual maintenance and planning, is a highly enticing proposition in a market where budgets are constrained.

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