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Subsea 7 Earnings Release 2020

Nov 12, 2020

6244_iss_2020-11-12_2e081ae4-687b-49fb-a65e-c155157ecead.html

Earnings Release

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Subsea 7 S.A. Announces Third Quarter 2020 Results

Subsea 7 S.A. Announces Third Quarter 2020 Results

Luxembourg - 12 November 2020 - Subsea 7 S.A. (the Group) (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR:

SUBCY, ISIN: LU0075646355) announced today results for the third quarter which

ended 30 September 2020.

Third quarter summary

* EBITDA of $114 million in the quarter after incurring net costs of $20

million relating to Covid-19, equating to a margin of 12%

* Net cash generated from operations of $122 million in the quarter and $423

million in the first nine months of the year, despite challenging conditions

* Anticipated annualised cash cost savings of approximately $400 million by

the end of 2021

* Extensions worth $180 million in total for three contracts for pipelay

support vessels (PLSVs) in Brazil

* Resilient backlog of $6.8 billion at quarter end, of which 31% in

Renewables, with $1.2 billion expected to be executed in the remainder of

2020 and $3.6 billion in 2021

* Conversion of Seven Phoenix under way, to enhance our market leadership in

inner-array cable lay for the offshore wind sector, and to accelerate our

strategy for proactive participation in Energy Transition

Third Quarter Nine Months Ended

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For the period (in $

millions, except

Adjusted EBITDA margin Q3 2020 Q3 2019 30 Sep 2020 30 Sep 2019

and per share data)  Unaudited Unaudited Unaudited Unaudited

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Revenue 947 951 2,452 2,768

Adjusted EBITDA((a),

(b)) 114 181 172 462

Adjusted EBITDA

margin((a), (b) ) 12% 19% 7% 17%

Net operating

income/(loss)

excluding goodwill

impairment charges 7 59 (394) 93

Goodwill impairment

charges - - (578) -

Net operating

income/(loss) 7 59 (972) 93

Net (loss)/income (43) 42 (1,002) 47

Earnings per share -

in $ per share

Basic (0.14) 0.15 (3.33) 0.17

Diluted((c)) (0.14) 0.15 (3.33) 0.17

Adjusted diluted((c)) (0.14) 0.15 (1.38) 0.17

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30 Sep 2020 30 June 2020

At (in $ millions)     Unaudited Unaudited

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Backlog -

unaudited((d))     6,806 7,021

Cash and cash

equivalents     542 483

Borrowings     (215) (221)

Net cash excluding

lease liabilities

((e))     326 262

Net cash/(debt)

including lease

liabilities((e))     53 (30)

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(a) For explanations and reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

margin refer to Note 8 'Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin' to the

Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

(b) During the nine months ended 30 September 2020 restructuring charges of $99

million were recognised, adversely impacting Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

margin.

(c) For the explanation and a reconciliation of diluted earnings per share and

Adjusted diluted earnings per share, which excludes the impact of the goodwill

impairment charges, refer to Note 7

'Earnings per share' to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

(d) Backlog at 30 September 2020 and 30 June 2020 is unaudited and is a non-IFRS

measure.

(e) Net cash is a non-IFRS measure and is defined as cash and cash equivalents

less borrowings.

John Evans, Chief Executive Officer, said:

In the third quarter of 2020 Subsea 7 reported Adjusted EBITDA of $114 million,

down 37% year-on-year, reflecting reduced activity within the SURF and

Conventional business unit, client delays affecting certain Renewables projects

in Asia and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Group generated positive

net cash flow and we ended the quarter with a net cash position of $53 million.

This balance sheet strength provides a solid foundation from which to preserve

the competitiveness of our oil and gas businesses through the current downturn,

while advancing our strategy of proactive participation in the Energy

Transition.

Accelerating growth in Renewables

Marking a milestone in the growth of our Renewables business, in September we

announced an investment of $25 million to convert Seven Phoenix for offshore

wind cable lay work. Our existing cable lay vessel, Seaway Aimery, is projected

to be fully utilised through  2022 and the Seven Phoenix investment is supported

by a backlog of firm work. Conversion is under way and the vessel is due to re-

join the active fleet in Q2 2021, enhancing our position as a leading service

provider in the offshore wind market.

Strong cash generation and continued capital discipline

Despite the challenging conditions, in the first nine months of 2020 Subsea 7

generated net cash flow of $166 million, resulting in a net cash position of $53

million after deducting lease liabilities of $273 million. Liquidity remains

strong with $542 million of cash and cash equivalents, alongside a revolving

credit facility of $656 million and a Euro Commercial Paper programme equivalent

to $800 million, both of which are unutilised.

Our capital allocation strategy remains unchanged and is focused on three

objectives: protecting the balance sheet, reinvesting in the business in a

disciplined manner, and returning excess cash to shareholders. Particularly in

today's uncertain environment, a strong balance sheet provides us with the

financial stability to ensure the competitiveness of our oil and gas businesses,

while affording us the flexibility to capture growth opportunities in the

Renewables market. Investment in technology and digitalisation remains a

priority.

Update on the cost reduction plan

To address an anticipated reduction in activity in our oil and gas businesses,

in April this year we announced plans to cut our active fleet by up to ten

vessels and our headcount by approximately 3,000 people, in order to deliver

annualised operating cash savings of $400 million by the second quarter 2021. We

now anticipate meeting our cost saving target by the end of 2021 due to re-

phasing of project execution.

Third quarter financial review

Third quarter revenue of $947 million was broadly unchanged compared to the

prior year period, but was an improvement of approximately 26% compared to the

first two quarters of 2020, reflecting higher levels of activity in Norway and

the Gulf of Mexico, offset by continued low activity in Africa and the Middle

East. Adjusted EBITDA of $114 million was adversely impacted by net costs

associated with Covid-19 of approximately $20 million and reduced activity

levels in SURF and Conventional. The net loss for the quarter was $43 million.

During the quarter, net cash generated from operations was $122 million

including a favourable movement in working capital partly due to advance

payments on certain projects. Capital expenditure was approximately $20 million.

Cash and cash equivalents increased by $58 million. The Group ended the quarter

with net cash excluding leases liabilities of $326 million, equating to net cash

of $53 million including lease liabilities of $273 million.

In the third quarter of 2020, Subsea 7 booked new orders of approximately $150

million and escalations of approximately $500 million, including extensions

worth $180 million in total for three pipelay support vessel (PLSV) contracts in

Brazil. Backlog at the end of September was $6.8 billion, of which $1.2 billion

is expected to be executed in the remainder of 2020 and $3.6 billion in 2021.

Third quarter operational review

The SURF and Conventional business unit made good progress on several projects

in the third quarter. In Norway, Seven Arctic completed the last offshore phase

of the Snorre Expansion project, while Seven Oceans installed an Electrically

Heat-Traced Flowline at Ærfugl. Front-end engineering continued for Ormen Lange.

In the UK, Seven Borealis completed installation activities for the Arran

project, before transiting to West Africa to work on the Jubilee Turret

Remediation and Zinia projects offshore Ghana and Angola respectively.

Fabrication activity continued for the Sangomar project in Senegal. In Brazil,

the four pipelay support vessels achieved high utilisation, while Seven

Seas continued offshore activities on the Lapa NE project. Front-end engineering

work continued for the Bacalhau project. In the Gulf of Mexico, engineering

progressed on the Anchor, King's Quay and Jack St Malo projects and preparations

began for installation activity on the Manuel project, ahead of the arrival of

Seven Vega in the fourth quarter. Offshore activity continued on the Mad Dog 2

project.

Life of Field achieved high vessel utilisation in the quarter with high levels

of activity in the Gulf of Mexico and Norway, and continued activity on the

three long-term contracts in the Caspian and the UK and Norwegian sectors of the

North Sea.

The Renewables business unit completed work on Triton Knoll in the North Sea,

utilising Seaway Strashnov throughout the quarter, but progress on the Yunlin

project in Taiwan was delayed due to restricted access, resulting in Seaway

Yudin, Seaway Aimery and Seaway Moxie being on client-paid standby for part of

the quarter. At the end of the quarter, Seaway Yudin was re-deployed to the

Formosa 2 project. During the quarter, fabrication activities commenced on the

Seagreen project.

Overall, utilisation of Subsea 7's active fleet was 84% in the third quarter,

compared to 83% in the prior year period, driven by high utilisation of Life of

Field vessels and the PLSVs in Brazil. At 30 September 2020, the active fleet

comprised 28 vessels.

Outlook for the fourth quarter 2020 and full year 2021

As we head into the closing stages of 2020 the global oil and gas industry

remains challenging, but in certain key regions the outlook is more positive.

Activity levels are increasing in the Gulf of Mexico, underpinned by a solid

backlog of projects involving low-cost tie-backs that leverage existing

infrastructure. In Brazil, the extension of our pipelay support vessels provides

visibility while tendering activity for pre-salt work, which benefits from

favourable oil price breakevens, is robust. Finally, in Norway, tendering

activity is improving following the introduction of fiscal incentives. Outside

these areas, particularly in the UK, Africa and Asia, prospects remain less

certain. The overall timing of certain projects in Saudi Arabia, including

Marjan 2, are under review by our client, but we are actively tendering for

projects in Qatar.

In Renewables the outlook for near-term activity levels is strong, with progress

on the $1.4 billion Seagreen project accelerating into 2021, and high levels of

tendering activity for new contracts. The offshore wind turbine installation

market continues to be competitive but the market dynamics for inner-array cable

lay remain stronger. The Group continues to differentiate itself through its

integrated approach encompassing both foundation and inner-array cables, and

through a lump-sum turnkey contract offering that leverages our strengths in the

management of large, complex projects.

We anticipate that revenue for the full year 2020 will be broadly in line with

the prior year, while Adjusted EBITDA after incurring Covid-19 costs of $65

million, net, through September but excluding restructuring costs of $99

million, is expected to be broadly in line with current market expectations.

While the impact of a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic remains difficult to

evaluate, we expect an increase in revenue in 2021 partly due to re-phasing of

some SURF work from 2020 as well as continued growth in Renewables. EBITDA is

expected to improve year-on-year and we forecast net operating income to be

positive.

Conference Call Information

Lines will open 15 minutes prior to conference call.

Date: 12 November 2020

Time: 12:00 UK Time

Conference ID: 1743579

Access details

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United Kingdom 0844 481 9752

United States 646 741 3167

Norway 21 56 30 15

International Dial In +44 20 7192 8338

Subsea 7 webcast (https://edge.media-

Webcast and replay server.com/mmc/p/h3zucrz8)

For further information, please contact:

Katherine Tonks

Head of Investor Relations

email: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Telephone: +44 20 8210 5568

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this announcement may contain 'forward-looking

statements' (within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of the U.S.

Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements relate to

our current expectations, beliefs, intentions, assumptions or strategies

regarding the future and are subject to known and unknown risks that could cause

actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed

or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by

the use of words such as 'anticipate', 'believe', 'estimate', 'expect',

'future', 'goal', 'intend', 'likely' 'may', 'plan', 'project', 'seek', 'should',

'strategy' 'will', and similar expressions. The principal risks which could

affect future operations of the Group are described in the 'Risk Management'

section of the Group's Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for

the year ended 31 December 2019. Factors that may cause actual and future

results and trends to differ materially from our forward-looking statements

include (but are not limited to): (i) our ability to deliver fixed price

projects in accordance with client expectations and within the parameters of our

bids, and to avoid cost overruns; (ii) our ability to collect receivables,

negotiate variation orders and collect the related revenue; (iii) our ability to

recover costs on significant projects; (iv) capital expenditure by oil and gas

companies, which is affected by fluctuations in the price of, and demand for,

crude oil and natural gas; (v) unanticipated delays or cancellation of projects

included in our backlog; (vi) competition and price fluctuations in the markets

and businesses in which we operate; (vii) the loss of, or deterioration in our

relationship with, any significant clients; (viii) the outcome of legal

proceedings or governmental inquiries; (ix) uncertainties inherent in operating

internationally, including economic, political and social instability, boycotts

or embargoes, labour unrest, changes in foreign governmental regulations,

corruption and currency fluctuations; (x) the effects of a pandemic or epidemic

or a natural disaster; (xi) liability to third parties for the failure of our

joint venture partners to fulfil their obligations; (xii) changes in, or our

failure to comply with, applicable laws and regulations (including regulatory

measures addressing climate change); (xiii) operating hazards, including spills,

environmental damage, personal or property damage and business interruptions

caused by adverse weather; (xiv) equipment or mechanical failures, which could

increase costs, impair revenue and result in penalties for failure to meet

project completion requirements; (xv) the timely delivery of vessels on order

and the timely completion of ship conversion programmes; (xvi) our ability to

keep pace with technological changes and the impact of potential information

technology, cyber security or data security breaches; and (xvii) the

effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control

over financial reporting;. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to

control or predict. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue

reliance on the forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement

speaks only as of the date of this announcement. We undertake no obligation to

update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of

new information, future events or otherwise.