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Norwegian oil-and-gas industry service provider Aker Solutions ASA on Friday reported an unexpected swing to a fourth-quarter net loss as restructuring and impairment costs weighed and cautioned that amid a competitive market, many contracts are taking longer to be awarded.
The company AKSO, +0.19% posted a net loss for the quarter of 148 million Norwegian kroner ($16.0 million) compared with a profit of NOK178 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 5.7% to NOK7.35 billion.
A FactSet analysts’ poll saw net profit at NOK46 million on revenue of NOK6.42 billion.
The company has an order backlog of NOK25.4 billion, down from NOK35.1 billion, and said the fourth-quarter order intake totaled NOK5.6 billion, up from NOK5.3 billion.
Global markets remain active, but very competitive, the company said.
Tendering activity remains high in main markets, and Aker Solutions is currently bidding for contracts totaling about NOK60 billion, it said. Projects are being sanctioned, but many contracts are taking longer to be awarded, it said.
The company expects some key projects to be awarded over the next six to nine months.
Aker Solutions expects overall 2020 revenue at around the 2018 level, with the 2020 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin remaining around underlying fourth-quarter levels, reflecting delayed project sanctioning, continued progress on its backlog as well as a different revenue mix with a high share of lower-margin brownfield activity.
