GC Rieber boosted by dropping Reef Subsea

The quarter's NOK41.8m ($8m) profit on NOK167.9m revenues was boosted by GC Rieber's disposal of its stake in Reef Subsea, as well as unrealised currency gains. GC Rieber lost a total of NOK155.5m from its investment in Reef Subsea during the course of 2013.

The company's results were affected by the continuing planned upgrades to Polar Marquis which dropped fleet utilisation to 89%. Polar Marquis has been in the yard since October 2013 and is due to be delivered by the end of May 2014 ready for a 3.5 year charter.

GC Rieber's latest subsea newbuilding Polar Onyx was delivered during the quarter, straight onto a five year charter with Ceona Services UK for operations with Petrobras. The company's orderbook stands at one vessel, which is due to be delivered straight into a five year charter with Dolphin Geophysical in Q1 2015.

The company's contract backlog stands at NOK3.1bn and its outlook is upbeat, even in the face of projects being out on hold as oil companies tighten their belts. Its subsea segment, which has three inspection, maintenance and repair vessels with contracts expiring this year, is less exposed to reductions in new investments and the company is confident in demand for its subsea vessels.