Several important milestones were achieved during the third quarter. Argeo’s fleet has grown, and new assets has been brought into commercial operations. The company is established and qualified in the most important geomarkets and as a consequence of this work, Argeo is now well positioned for several large contracts.
– We are now positioned and ready for several large projects, current project pipeline in South America for 2023 is exceeding 300 MNOK and a majority of these projects are close to award. In our other geomarkets our pipeline is smaller but steadily increasing for 2023. We expect to be EBITDA positive in the second quarter of 2023 and we are targeting an EBITDA for next year at 50 MNOK or higher, says CEO Trond Crantz of Argeo.
The SeaRaptor Bravo was delivered and has already completed ultra-deep water survey work. During the summer the company also took delivery of the Argus USV which started its first commercial project in late October, after receiving careful tuning and setup preparations.
– The execution and the data results were exceptional and lays the foundation for our first autonomous surface vessel going forward. “Onboarding” such highly complex systems bears with it certain challenges. It has taken longer and required more work than expected to qualify all systems and tuning onboard sensors and components. Nevertheless, we are satisfied with the results and the quality we can now offer our customers, says Crantz.
Argeo took delivery of the company’s new Hugin 6000 system that already started up its long-term project on the 1st of September and is now at work on a 6 + 6-month project in international waters. In addition, Argeo entered into a 5-year bareboat contract for vessel Argeo Searcher in early October.
– The combination of Argeo Searcher, our AUV’s and possibly addition of ROV’s installed onboard make this a very attractive multi-purpose operational platform, allowing us to extend our service scope and at the same time allow for a healthy margin in key markets, says Crantz.
The market outlook is strong going forward, especially within offshore energy.
– There is a lot of activity in all geomarkets we have presence in. The offshore energy sector continues its strong development and remains our biggest focus over the next two years. Also, the deep-sea mineral (DSM) market is showing very positive dynamics and may challenge for utilization from 2023 onwards, says Crantz.
A Q3 presentation will be broadcasted live at: www.argeo.no/webcast on the 17th of November at 11.00 CET. Viewers may submit written questions during and after the presentation.
