OAO Sovcomflot of Russia said its 2011 gross revenue rose 9.6 percent to USD 1,438.9 million compared with USD 1.312,9 million in 2010.
Highlights
Sergey Frank, President and CEO of OAO Sovcomflot said: “ 2011 has been one of the toughest years for the shipping industry for decades. Despite this, Sovcomflot increased its top line revenue and remained in profit. This achievement owes much to the continuing hard work and dedication of our people at sea and ashore – something for which I am extremely grateful. We managed to successfully launch the updated business strategy aimed at providing specialized offshore marine services for the Arctic projects on the continental shelf of Russia .”
“ Given consensus forecasts of future conditions in the freight market, we do not expect significant improvements for the tanker industry in 2012. Rates in the spot market and time-charter rates will remain under pressure, as a result of the imbalance between supply and demand. The market value of tankers looks set to remain at historic lows .
“ Despite the challenges, Sovcomflot’s business model gives us cause for cautious optimism. With our strong ‘blue chip’ client base, diversified business portfolio, significant forward revenues of USD 5.5 billion and good liquidity, we can face the future with confidence .”
Evgeniy Ambrosov, Senior Executive Vice-President of OAO Sovcomflot commented:
“ The Group operates a chartering policy that is designed to provide an optimal mix of long-term earnings visibility, through vessels engaged on long-term time charter, with the flexibility to take advantage of opportunities on the spot market.During the year we have seen the benefit of the Group’s growing commitment to its offshore and gas transportation businesses, with revenues up for these segments by nearly 50 per cent and two per cent respectively .”
Nikolay Kolesnikov, Senior Executive Vice-President of OAO Sovcomflot, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer noted: “ Sovcomflot continues to pursue a conservative financing strategy. This has enabled the business to maintain access to debt capital and to continue to invest in 2011 for the long-term, in markets with good potential such as Offshore and LNG, despite overall short-term market volatility.
“ There continue to be significant financial pressures on all shipping companies, due to factors such as very limited credit availability and depressed conventional tanker markets. However, Sovcomflot retains a competitive advantage from its high earnings stability and long-term earnings visibility. ”
Sergey Popravko, Senior Executive Vice-President of OAO Sovcomflot added: “ As a Group we are committed to leveraging our competitive advantage in ice navigation. We continue to deploy innovative solutions in the construction of our vessels, to enable them to operate in challenging conditions, whilst minimising their environmental impact. The priority for our company remain human resources, since we see a growing demand for a better trained and educated industry workforce ”.
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LNG World News Staff, April 13, 2012