Dubai, UAE, May 20th, 2015: Topaz Energy and Marine, a leading offshore support vessel company, today announces the results of its subsidiary Topaz Energy and Marine Ltd, Bermuda for the quarter ended 31 March 2015 (in the following referred to as "the period").

Business Highlights

  • Robust performances from Caspian and MENA regions; short-term profit impact in Africa region due to market conditions and investment in fleet.

  • Restructure of debt profile completed with $550 million facility: liquidity improved; interest cost lowered and re-payment schedule de-risked.

  • One PSV added to the Topaz fleet in Q1.

  • Three vessels are under construction (1 MPSV, 1 ERRV and 1 AHTSV) and are expected to enter service in 2015 and 2016.

  • Safety performance consistently strong - zero Lost Time Incidents and fatalities.

Ren Kofod-Olsen, Chief Executive Officer, Topaz Energy and Marine said, "Our businesses in the Caspian and MENA regions, responsible for 85% of total revenue, delivered robust performances for the quarter whilst our Africa operations reflected the investments Topaz is making in its fleet in the region and short-term pricing pressure.  Although the market was challenging during the quarter as our clients responded to a lower oil price, we are already beginning to see an increase in client activity across our regions.  As the market adjusts, we have been prudent, conserving cash, postponing non-essential fleet upgrades and re-financing a proportion of our debt on enhanced terms whilst controlling costs across the business.

"The favourable terms of our re-financing illustrate the strong growth opportunity of Topaz.  Our model of securing medium to long term contracts, our predominant presence in the sustainable  development and production phases of the oil extraction cycle and our young fleet of vessels position us very favourably in the market.

"Our focus for the rest of the year will be on winning long-term contracts which will enable Topaz to continue delivering positive returns for our shareholders and investors as well as continued growth above our peer group benchmark.  Our expansion in Africa signals the opportunities open to Topaz to pursue growth in new markets.  We are now fully registered in our key African markets of Nigeria and Angola, which means we are able to pursue medium to long term contracts rather than the spot business to which we have been restricted to date.  We will experience some short-term pressure in Africa as we develop our fleet, but we remain convinced of the long term offshore opportunity the market represents.

"Our exposure to different markets means we are able to manage any short-term market pressure, underlining the strength of Topaz's diversified portfolio.  We remain positive about the prospects for growth across our regions; business activity is picking up and we are confident that our strategy and operational excellence will help to deliver a robust performance for 2015."

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Press Release 2015