A "back-to-fundamentals" strategy is helping seismic firm Polarcus weather the storm, CEO Rod Starr said this morning.
The firm's revenues are down 33% in 2Q, compared to the same period last year, at US$91.7 million, but the firm has improved liquidity due to the partial divestment of its multi-client library to TGS earlier this year and increased multi-client revenue to $21.1 million, compared to $5.4 million in 2Q 2014.
Costs were also down due to an increase in vessels allocated to multi-client work, reduced fuel costs and cold-stacking the Polarcus Nadia.
Starr says the seismic market remains highly competitive and the outlook uncertain, but that moves made by the firm earlier in the year, focusing on business fundamentals, has born fruit.
He says the firm is 100% booked for 3Q and have more than 80% backlog coverage for the remainder of 2015.
"Costs are down, backlog is up and liquidity has improved," he says. "This 'back-to-fundamentals' strategy includes a clear focus on continued operational excellence and technical innovation. Polarcus employees onshore and offshore have pulled together to demonstrate our industry leadership during these challenging times.
"Our modern and right-sized seismic fleet continues to deliver rock-solid performance even when undertaking the most complex of projects in challenging remote locations such as the Russian Far East. Additionally, our geophysical experts continue to innovate. Their latest output, XArray(TM), is a combined acquisition and processing solution for delivering improved inline and crossline resolution using real data while retaining the efficiencies of large seismic spreads. This saves both time and cost without compromising data quality.
"Looking ahead, we are 100% booked for 3Q and have more than 80% backlog coverage for the remainder of 2015 with the expectation of more to come as several major industry projects are yet to be awarded. Combined with the capital discipline that is now firmly embedded at Polarcus, this will help ensure the company's resilience through turbulent times within the sector."