Aker ASA

OSE:AKER

Earnings Call Transcript 2018-Q3

[Per Kristian Reppe, Investment Manager & Head of Investor Relations]

Welcome, everyone, to Aker's presentation of the third quarter results for 2018.My name is Per Kristian Reppe. I'm Head of Investor Relations at Aker.We'll start today's presentation with Aker's President and CEO, Øyvind Eriksen, who will walk you through the key highlights of the third quarter and the main developments of our Industrial Holdings portfolio. Aker's CFO, Frank Reite, will then go through the Financial Investments portfolio and the third quarter accounts in more detail. After the presentation, we will have Q&A here at Fornebu, and we also welcome questions from the webcast.And with that, I leave the floor to Øyvind.

[Øyvind Eriksen, President & CEO]

So good morning, and thank you all for attending in person or via the web presentation of Aker's third quarter 2018 results. We're reporting today a great quarterly result, and we are trending towards a full year which most likely will become one of the best in Aker ever.The third quarter contributed well. Our net asset value increased by NOK 6.2 billion or 10.8% to NOK 63.3 billion. Aker's share price rose 17.8%. And cash and liquid fund investments ended at NOK 1.4 billion, while Aker's liquidity reserve stood at NOK 4.5 billion.In the quarter, Aker BP entered into an agreement with Total to acquire a portfolio of 11 licenses for $205 million. And a plan for development and operation of the Johan Sverdrup Phase 2 was submitted. Akastor closed the sale of 50% of AKOFS Offshore business to Mitsui. And Ocean Yield announced the expiry of the charter contract with -- for FPSO Dhirubhai after 10 years operations in India. Subsequent to quarter end, Aker BP announced an agreement with Equinor to acquire its interests in King Lear for a cash consideration of USD 250 million. Solstad Offshore announced that the company has initiated negotiations with creditors and other stakeholders in order to improve its liquidity position. Ocean Yield acquired 2 chemical tankers on long-term charters. And Kvaerner secured a NOK 900 million contract for the delivery of the substructure for the Johan Sverdrup Phase 2 process platform.In the third quarter, Aker's net asset value increased by NOK 6.2 billion. Aker BP was once again the main contributor, adding NOK 6.8 billion to our net asset value. Aker's share price rose 17.8% in the quarter. This compares to the reference index, which rose 6.7%.Subsequent to the quarter, the capital market experienced a broad setback, which also impacted Aker and our portfolio companies. Market volatility will impact Aker's values considering that 91% of our holdings are listed. To withstand broad market corrections, we have over the -- over several years prioritized to establish strong balance sheets and liquidity reserves both in Aker and across the Aker portfolio. Back in 2016, when the oil price fell below USD 30 per barrel, Aker's portfolio underwent a stress test, which we navigated well. The fact that we have a robust financial platform allows us to seize transaction opportunities and when they arise, also in turbulent times. Aker's balance sheet is rock solid. As per the end of the quarter, Aker held NOK 72.5 billion in gross assets, up from NOK 66.3 billion in the prior quarter. Total liabilities stood at NOK 9.2 billion, and the value-adjusted equity ratio was 87%.There were no changes to our Industrial Holdings portfolio in the third quarter. Oil and gas continues to dominate our portfolio. Due to the strong share price performance of Aker BP in the quarter, E&P accounts for 69% of our values, as per the end of September. Oil services accounted for 12%, maritime assets 10% and seafood and marine biotech 4%.Aker's liquidity reserve stood at NOK 4.5 billion at the end of the quarter, of which cash and liquid fund investments accounted for NOK 1.4 billion, on par with prior quarter. In the third quarter, we received NOK 538 million in dividends from our portfolio companies. As per the end of the quarter, we had received NOK 1.6 billion in upstream cash from our portfolio companies. Based on the dividend payments announced from our portfolio companies in their third quarter accounts, we expect to receive between NOK 2.1 billion and NOK 2.2 billion in dividends to Aker this year.Let's continue with the development of our Industrial Holdings and start with Aker BP.In the third quarter, Aker BP reached another milestone by reporting USD 1 billion in revenues, produced 150,600 barrels a day, continued good operating performance, resulting in an EBITDAX of USD 830 million. The company paid a quarterly dividend, of which Aker received NOK 370 million.And Aker BP entered into an agreement to acquire a portfolio of 11 licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf from Total with net recoverable reserves of 83 million barrels. Total cash consideration was USD 205 million. After quarter-end, Aker BP announced a second transaction where the company entered into an agreement with Equinor to acquire the operatorships and owner's interests in King Lear for USD 250 million. By developing King Lear as a satellite to the Ula field, Aker BP expects to increase the oil recovery potential from the field. And total net resource addition is estimated to over 100 million barrels.Aker's ownership agenda in Aker BP remains unchanged. A key priority is to grow the company both through transactions and maturing the existing portfolio or assets. In turn, this will strengthen the dividend capacity. And the current ambition is to raise the dividend by $100 million each year, up to USD 750 million in 2021. Finally, additional value is created through further improvements in operation, with a target to reduce production costs down to USD 7 per barrel and reducing -- and reduction in break-even costs for new projects down well below $35 per barrel.Next, Aker Solutions. Aker Solutions continues to operate well and are winning new orders in tough competition with its peers. In the third quarter, the company reported an order intake of NOK 5.9 billion supported by award of several important contracts internationally. Third quarter EBITDA was NOK 463 million, corresponding to a margin of 7.1%. Despite lower revenue -- despite a lower revenue base and compared to a few years ago, Aker Solutions has been able to maintain margin as a result of the improvement program initiated in 2015, an achievement in itself given the challenging market conditions the company has faced. While the market is slowly picking up, the key focus is still to continue increasing competitiveness through the cost efficiency program, with a target to achieve 50% cost efficiency versus 2015 as a reference point and as a cost base.Turning to Akastor. In the third quarter, Akastor completed the sale of 50% of AKOFS Offshore to Mitsui. As part of the settlement, Akastor received $146 million, including interests for the shares. Following the transaction, Akastor is currently close to debt free, net of cash. 3 years ago, net debt stood at NOK 4.8 billion when adjusted -- adjusting for the Aker Wayfarer lease.Akastor has done an impressive job in the deleveraging in the company in the oil and gas downturn through divesting assets at attractive levels. And the largest and most strategic asset remains, MHWirth. In a challenging market, MHWirth performed well by reporting an EBITDA of NOK 71 million, corresponding to a margin of 9.5%. Aker's ownership agenda for Akastor continues to focus on improving the operating businesses in order to enhance competitiveness to win new contracts and carry out new value-accretive transactions.Next, Kvaerner. Kvaerner delivered a strong operating quarter reporting revenues of NOK 1.8 billion and an EBITDA of NOK 76 million. The margin came short of prior quarter due to projects phasing and limited margin recognition on earlier projects. The order backlog ended at NOK 10.6 billion. Increasing competitiveness remains key in order to secure new work in strong competition.Turning to Ocean Yield. In the third quarter, Ocean Yield reported over $100 million in adjusted EBITDA and a net profit of $40 million. FPSO Dhirubhai ended its 10-year contract with Reliance in India, and the purchase option was not exercised. Ocean Yield is now marketing the assets for new employment. And in the quarter, the company was awarded a FEED study for the potential use of the FPSO. The company took the delivery of 9 vessels in the third quarter. And Ocean Yield distributed a cash dividend of $0.1910 per share, on par with prior quarter.Subsequent to quarter-end, Ocean Yield announced an investment in 2 chemical tankers on long-term charters for a total consideration of $51 million, further diversifying the backlog on both counterparty and segment levels. At the end of the quarter, the EBITDA backlog stood at $3.5 billion with an average duration of 11.2 years.Aker BioMarine reported an EBITDA of $12 million in the third quarter, and the company has showed a positive development this year. Harvesting volumes and sales are up, and the omega-3 market is growing. In addition, recent transactions have strengthened the top line and profitability through extraction of synergies. Year-to-date, Aker BioMarine has generated $31 million in EBITDA, up from $17 million in the same period last year. Our ownership agenda continues to focus on creating a larger and more robust company and drive long-term value through growth and profitability.So let me finish off this morning by sharing with you some reflection related to both Aker Energy and Cognite.Aker Energy continues to work across multiple working streams. In the third quarter, the company entered into a contract with Maersk Drilling to drill 1 firm well on the main field, Pecan, in Ghana, with options for 2 more wells. Provided that we get the approvals required from the authorities in Ghana, the plan is to start drilling the first well this month. The results will provide Aker Energy with more information about the reservoir and firmer estimates of the volume base. Despite all the good work in Aker Energy, we should all appreciate that it's still early days and that the risks but also the potential rewards are high. Patience is needed in order to build robust -- a robust foundation in a region quite different from Norway.Cognite, our software company, is continuing its work to build more stand-alone value; and expanding the organization with new top talent, now counting 130 employees. In the quarter, Lundin was signed as a customer. And advanced discussions are held with potential clients both in and outside the oil and gas industry. Developing new customer relationships are high on Cognite's agenda, and broadening into new industry verticals remains also a priority. As per today, annual revenues are tracking NOK 160 million, but the potential is far higher. We are there to support the growth of organic Cognite far beyond our own operational needs. On that journey, we will invite partners to join us not due to funding but rather as door openers to new markets and new customers.That concludes my part of the presentation this morning. To sum up: a strong performance by Aker in the third quarter, and we are trending towards one of the best years in Aker ever. We stick to our strategy and ownership agendas despite market volatility. Countercyclical capital or -- allocation and M&A have added a lot of value to Aker's shareholders in recent years. And with a strong financial platform, we are able to act swiftly on new opportunities.Frank will now walk us through our financial investments and the financial statement in more detail.

[Frank Ove Reite, Chief Financial Officer]

Thank you, Øyvind. And good morning, everyone.I'll spend some minutes on Aker's Financial Investments before I go through the third quarter accounts.The financial portfolio accounted for 7% of Aker's total assets or NOK 5.4 billion. This is up NOK 300 million from the previous quarter, equal to the net result in the quarter. The main components under financial investments are cash, listed investments, real estate investments and interest-bearing receivables.Let's look into the details for the financial investment portfolio.Starting with cash and liquid fund investments. Combined, the two represented 2% of Aker's gross asset value or NOK 1.4 billion. Of that, NOK 1.2 billion was cash, on par with previous quarter. The main cash inflows were the NOK 538 million in dividends from Aker BP, Ocean Yield and American Shipping Company. The main cash outflows in the quarter were NOK 180 million in loan issued to portfolio companies, mainly Aker BioMarine and Aker Energy; the purchase of an airplane of NOK 181 million. And we paid NOK 131 million in operating expenses and net interest. Our liquidity reserve at the end of the third quarter was unchanged from previous quarter with NOK 4.5 billion. This includes undrawn credit facilities of NOK 3.1 billion.Listed investments included in our financial portfolio represented 2% of Aker's total assets or NOK 1.2 billion. The net value decrease in the quarter was NOK 94 million, mostly explained by the value decrease of Solstad Offshore of NOK 106 million and Philly Shipyard of NOK 33 million. This value decrease was partly offset by a value increase from American Shipping Company of NOK 51 million. In addition, we received NOK 20 million in dividends from American Shipping Company.Next, real estate and other financial investments. Combined, the two represented 4% of Aker's gross asset value or NOK 2.8 billion. The increase in the quarter of NOK 380 million is explained by loans issued to portfolio companies of NOK 189 million and the purchase of an airplane with NOK 181 million.I will now go through the third quarter financial highlights for Aker ASA and holding companies, starting with the balance sheet.The book value of our investments was slightly down with NOK 103 million in the quarter mostly explained by the value decrease of Solstad Offshore. Total book value of our assets was NOK 23.7 billion. In our accounts, we use the lowest of historic cost and market values. Adjusted for fair values on our listed assets with NOK 48.8 billion, we get to our gross asset value of NOK 72.5 billion.Aker's liability mainly consists of bond debt of NOK 6.1 billion and U.S. dollar-dominated bank loan of NOK 2.8 billion. The book equity was NOK 14.5 billion, up NOK 300 million from the previous quarter, explained by the net profit before tax. If we adjust the fair value on our listed assets, we get our net asset value of NOK 63.3 billion at the end of the third quarter, up NOK 6.2 billion from previous quarter.The net asset value per share was NOK 852, and the value-adjusted equity ratio was 87%.Our total interest-bearing debt stood at NOK 8.9 billion, which is unchanged from previous quarter. And as before, we have significant headroom with regards to our loan covenants. We had net interest-bearing debt of NOK 6.6 billion at the end of the third quarter, down from NOK 6.8 billion in the previous quarter.Then to the income statement.The operating expenses for third quarter were NOK 67 million. The net value change in the quarter was negative NOK 102 million, mainly explained by the value decrease of Solstad Offshore. Other financial items were positive NOK 482 million, mainly explained by dividends received of 545 million and value increase of our American Shipping TRS exposure of 27 million. This was partly offset by net foreign exchange losses of 17 million and net interest expenses of 78 million.The profit before tax was NOK 309 million.And with that, we open for questions.

[Per Kristian Reppe, Investment Manager & Head of Investor Relations]

Questions from the audience here at Fornebu? No questions, okay.Then I thank everyone for coming and hope to see you soon at the fourth quarter accounts. Thank you.