Losses at Italian marine giant Saipem narrowed in the third quarter but could not stop the company recording almost €300m in losses for the first nine months of the year.
The EPCI outfit said although adjusted losses for the last three months was €25m, less than the €354m of red ink in the second quarter, the overall EBITDA loss so far this year was €291m, which compared to a €491m profit in the first nine months of 2020.
Saipem said higher costs on offshore wind farm activities of €170m compared to those previously acknowledged was mainly to blame.
The company highlighted “specific problems” on offshore wind farms but did not specify which projects were involved.
Difficulties on foundation contract at the 450MW Neart na Gaoithe wind farm off Scotland is understood to be part of the issues facing Saipem.
Meanwhile, the company said the offshore wind woes will persists for the rest of 2021, although it expects a wider group positive EBITDA results for the second half of the year.
Chief executive Francesco Caio said: “The results for the third quarter of 2021 mark a significant first improvement compared to the second quarter of the year in all of Saipem’s business divisions, despite the economic situation linked to the pandemic crisis and the difficulties associated with the execution of some projects in offshore wind.”
Saipem also unveiled its new business strategy for the 2022-25 period, which includes establishing a unit that will house the company’s offshore wind development operations.
The robotics, digital and industrialized solutions unit will lead Saipem’s participation in new offshore wind projects to be developed with commercial and industrial schemes different from the past.
It will also run Saipem’s floating wind activities.
“In this context – he continued – the new plan intends to mark a change of pace for Saipem which adopts a business model centered on a dual strategy. On the one hand, engineering for complex plants designed in partnership with our traditional customers to implement their decarbonization strategy; on the other hand, the development and construction of modular, standardized and scalable systems and the provision of technologically and digitally advanced services,” added Caio.