DEME Group NV (DEME) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am Carl Vanden Bussche, Head of Investor Relations for DEME. And it is my pleasure to welcome you to DEME's Full year 2024 Analyst and Investor Earnings Call. Thanks for joining today's conference call and webcast. Joining me today are Luc Vandenbulcke, DEME's CEO, and Stijn Gaytant, DEME's CFO. Both Luc and Stijn will take you through the presentation and our full year results. The presentation will be visible on screen during the webcast and is also accessible on DEME's investor portal, which has been available since early this morning. On the agenda displayed on Slide 2, Luc will kick it off with the exact summary, after which both Stijn and Luc will provide extra color on the group results of last year. The segment performance and some words on DEME's progress in the ESG domain, to then wrap up with the outlook. After the presentation, we will open up for a Q&A round, where you will have the opportunity to ask questions to our management. That's it for the introduction. I give the floor now to Luc, who will kick it off from Slide 3 onwards.

Thank you, Carl, and good morning to all of you. Thank you for joining us as we announce our full year 2024 figures. Today, I'm incredibly proud to present our full year results. As already highlighted on the title slide and in our press release, our 2024 performance can be summed up in one word. It's outstanding. First and foremost, this achievement has only been possible, thanks to the entire One DEME, One Team, which has worked as always, tirelessly to deliver such results, all while upholding exceptional performance standards and delivering on our commitment towards our customers and strengthening our reputation for reliability. I, therefore, want to express my immense personal pride and heartfelt thanks, as I'm able to announce these results. The outstanding performances from the DEME team were translated into outstanding results across the board. Strong growth in both turnover and profit, a positive net cash position and an unmatched order book exceeding EUR 8 billion, levels we have never achieved before. The order book of EUR 8.2 billion is equivalent to twice our 2024 turnover, even after a high backlog conversion into revenue. A record turnover of EUR 4.1 billion was achieved, representing a substantial rise of 25% compared to last year and 50% compared to two years ago. These results reflect high activity levels and a strong focus on operational excellence and effective project execution across all our contracting segments. EBITDA grew at an even faster rate than revenues in 2024 by 28% to EUR 764 million and the EBITDA margin to 18.6%. As a result, net profit surged by 77% to EUR 288 million, a very strong free cash flow of EUR 727 million (sic) [ EUR 729 million ] and that compared to EUR 62 million a year ago, and that enabled us to reverse our net financial debt of EUR 512 million to a net cash position of EUR 91 million. This improvement was driven by significant increase in our turnover, profitability, a positive impact of working capital and a lower investment level. Looking ahead and considering the current project schedules in the backlog, the pipeline of new opportunities and fleet capacity, we expect turnover and EBITDA margin for '25 to be at least in line with 2024. CapEx for 2025 is estimated at around EUR 300 million. Noteworthy there, this amount excludes larger fleet capacity expansion investments that may be pursued to support our long-term growth opportunities. Given our excellent performance in '24 DEME is proposing a dividend of EUR 3.8 per share, up 81% compared to 23%. Now before handing over to Stijn and reflecting a bit on these results, I'd like to share that they are also the outcome of a well-timed investment decisions, expanding our fleet and building pioneering vessels that have introduced new concept to the industry, ultimately driving greater efficiency for us. With our fantastic team and fleet, a strong net cash position and a record level order book, I'm convinced that DEME is well positioned to navigate today's dynamic market and dynamic geopolitical landscape. And with that, I hand it over to Stijn to take you through the financial highlights.

Thank you, Luc and we will dive immediately into the financial reflection of the excellent work done by our DEME team this year. The overview on the left visualizes what DEME has delivered in 2024, along with the comparison with the two previous years, demonstrating strong year-over-year progress across nearly all metrics. I can even add that the performance further accelerated in the second half of 2024, delivering the record figures we present today, a solid proof of the consistency and momentum maintained throughout the performance. Some items I'd like to highlight. The order book crossed yet another milestone, reaching a record high figure of EUR 8.2 billion, a year-over-year increase of 8%, an even more impressive number if one considers this in combination with record high turnover the last 12 months. The group's turnover increased sequentially each quarter to end up at EUR 4.1 billion, up 25% from EUR 3.3 billion in 2023, with all segments contributing again with double-digit growth. In continuation of the first half year, profitability grew at a faster pace than turnover. EBITDA of EUR 764 million increased by 28%, up to a margin of 18.6%. EBIT of EUR 354 million increased by 47%, up to EBIT margin of 8.6% as compared to 7.3% in 2023. And to top it off, net profit, EUR 288 million, increased by 77% to a profit margin of 7% compared to 5% year-on-year. On the evolution on the depreciations and impairments in 2024, we registered an amount of EUR 411 million as compared to EUR 355 million year-on-year, which is an increase of EUR 55 million. This increase is mainly due to the depreciation of the conversion of the Sea Installer, which only kicked in from quarter 3 '23 onwards. Specific project equipment for our vessels used for among others, projects in the U.S. The Yellowstone started contributing to depreciation in quarter 2 of 2024. We have the impact of IFRS 16 leases, the contribution of project-specific assets related to Fehmarnbelt and the impairment of the Sea Challenger grain and the addition of the backhoe dredger Samson as a result of our yearly impairment assessment test. On the topic of the financial results, we end up at minus EUR 9 million, a limited amount due to less impact related to exchange rate differences, and supported by interest generated on our growing net cash position. Current taxes and deferred taxes amount for minus EUR 90 million, which reflects an effective tax rate of 26%. This increase compared to last year is partially linked to the Pillar 2 legislation, which is, amongst others, the global minimum taxation rules. To conclude, the key elements on the share of profit for joint ventures and associates, you will notice a plus EUR 40 million contribution. That's a combination of positive amounts of the associates, mainly driven by DEME Concessions and in addition, continued positive results of some of our joint ventures. It reconfirms that our setup in Taiwan and the investment in the Green Jade is contributing positively to our results. Now -- how do these excellent P&L figures now translate into our main balance sheet items? We present them again the same format allowing for a 3-year comparison. The working capital now stands at minus EUR 813 million, which is an improvement of EUR 341 million year-on-year. Historically, DEME has consistently maintained negative working capital, largely due to disciplined contract management. Current working capital compared to turnover is in line with the historic averages we have witnessed the last 10 years for the DEME Group. CapEx in 2024 was good for EUR 286 million, compared to EUR 399 million year-on-year. And it comprises of mainly the latest expansion of the fleet, predict specific investments in addition to conversion and capitalized maintenance costs. The combination of increased turnover and profitability, improved working capital and lower CapEx compared to the prior year resulted in an impressive free cash flow of EUR 729 million, an increase of EUR 667 million year-on-year. This also explains the growth in our cash and cash equivalents from EUR 389 million at the end of '23 to EUR 853 million at the end of 2024. With results as this, it is fair to conclude the DEME financials are in excellent shape. In just 12 months, net financial debt was reduced by EUR 603 million, resulting in a positive net cash position of EUR 91 million. As a result, our net financial debt over EBITDA ratio is now minus 0.12 compared to 0.86 at the end of '23. Moving on to the order book comparison in the left graph, the order book closed '24 at EUR 8.2 billion, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth. The segment breakdown demonstrates a continued balanced and diversified order book confirming that all the operational segments maintain a fill rate sufficient to offset the backlog conversion into turnover. On the graph in the middle, showing the geographical breakdown in '24, we notice [Audio Gap] compared to the 58% in the previous year. It underlines the importance of our home market. We see a slight decrease in Asia and Africa. In the Middle East, the reduction is related to the effective project execution over the last 12 months. And I highlight as well the order book evolution in Americas, which reduced compared to 2023, mainly due to the high activity and progress on the projects in U.S., the last 12 months, resulting in order book conversion into turnover in combination with limited additions to the order book. On the graph on the far right, we provided the order book runoff for the coming years where we expect a runoff in 2025 of EUR 3.6 billion. The runoff volume for 2025 is in line with a year ago with volumes exceeding EUR 4.6 billion, spread across '26 and beyond. For the sake of completeness, I'd like to remind that the order book is presented based on proportional figures. Converting these to actual equity turnover for the group requires a reconciliation adjustment with the main contribution coming from our joint venture in Taiwan. In conclusion, and I would like to reemphasize, we grew our high-quality order book by EUR 680 million in 2024, reaching EUR 8.3 billion. This growth comes on the back of the DEME's realized turnoff of EUR 4.1 billion over the last 12 months. It underscores the continued performance, the competitiveness and the strength of all the DEME segments. We highlight also the trends in DEME's turnover evolution. The first key takeaway, 25% year-on-year growth in turnover, as shown on the left graph and adding the DEME's turnover nearly doubled over the last 5 years. The segment breakdown in the middle reveals some more insights, an increase in turnover year-on-year for the Offshore Energy segment, surpassing EUR 2 billion turnover or plus 37%. The Dredging & Infra segment, reaching nearly EUR 2 billion turnover or plus 22% as compared to last year. And the Environmental business achieved nearly EUR 340 million, realizing an 11% growth over 2023. We may conclude that all the contracting segments delivered strong double-digit growth, in particular, the offshore segment also supported by its increased fleet capacity. When examining the geographical breakdown on a year-on-year basis on the right, we observed that both Asia and Africa have remained fairly stable in their relative contribution. In the Americas, the contribution year-on-year have been consistent driven by the project phasing of both the Vineyard and the Coastal Virginia project. The breakdown further reaffirms that Europe with 60% remains DEME's key markets, aligning with our earlier conclusion from the order book. As I already mentioned in my introduction, our profitability growth outpaced our turning growth with EBITDA going up 28% year-on-year and reaching an EBITDA margin of 18.6%, up from 18.2% last year. The Offshore Energy segment leads with an EBITDA margin of 21%, while EBITDA for Dredging & Infra remained strong at 18.3%. For completeness, I'm reminding that in 2023, the EBITDA for Offshore Energy was impacted by specific project losses. In 2024, the Dredging & Infra segment faced a similar challenge, the specific project loss on one project. EBIT increased by 47% to EUR 354 million. As noted in the previous earnings call, higher depreciations and impairments have not impacted the EBIT margin, confirming that the recent additions are driving growth and profitability. The net profit is ending up at EUR 288 million, with the earnings per share amounting to EUR 11.4 compared to EUR 6.4 in 2023. Before we move to the segment overview, a few words on the evolution of the group CapEx over the past seven years. The graph shows that following the peak level of nearly EUR 500 million in 2022, the investments in our technologically advanced fleet have decreased but remained consistent. This is also reflected in the relative stable net book value compared to 2023. The main contributors of CapEx were highlighted already earlier. While Luc will take over after this overview to provide more in-depth business and operational insights, I will share some financial details of the individual segments. As mentioned earlier, the increase in group turnover was primarily driven by the sustained high activity throughout 2024. This consistency over the entire year contributed to an increased profitability, as shown in the top left graph. For the Offshore Energy segment, some additional remarks. The combined impact of the expanded capacity of the recent two years, the Orion, the Green Jade, the Viking Neptun, the converted Sea Installer and Yellowstone with high activity and performance levels has resulted in higher turnover. On the matter of EBITDA and EBIT, we delivered strong performance, achieving excellent outcomes on most of our projects. This translated into a substantial increase in profitability for Offshore Energy, with no further impact in '24 from the loss-making projects reported in '23. For the Dredging & Infra segments also here higher occupancy explains a substantial 22% increase in turnover. EBITDA margin of 80.3% reflects solid performance for the segment, while absorbing one loss-making project under IAS 37. EBIT of nearly 6%, supported by a robust EBITDA with only a moderate increase in depreciation. For the Environmental projects, they maintained solid execution delivering another year of strong results in 2024, while factoring in the exceptional favorable impact of a project settlement in the Benelux in 2023, which does not apply, of course, in 2024. On the Concessions segment and to reiterate, we mainly step into Concessions when there is a clear scope and value add on for any of our three operational segments. That set up clearly worked again in 2024 when looking at the following contributions. 2024 contracting revenue generated as well as the value of the projects has shown further increases. Until date, own equity investment and loans now stands at EUR 240 million. The combination of the above initiatives, so both on the offshore wind farms and the infrastructure, generated a recurring income in 2024 of EUR 12 million. This is lower compared to 12 months ago when the results were supported by a combination of strong winds, high energy prices, and a one-off benefit related to a change in the Belgium legislation. The biggest turnaround can be found in the combined share of profits of joint venture, which now contributes EUR 28 million compared to a loss of EUR 34 million in 2023. I conclude my part of the presentation as a proud CFO, extremely pleased with what the company has achieved in 2024, especially when looking at a strong and resilient financial position.

Thank you, Stijn, for that comprehensive overview of the financials. I will now outline some of the key highlights of our four segments, and I will be starting with Offshore Energy. Moving to Offshore Energy. First, with a beautiful view of our installation vessel, Orion in full operation at our Moray West project. It's no exaggeration to say that Offshore Energy delivered an exceptional performance in 2024 and building on an already strong '23. As you can see on the graphs, turnover and EBITDA have essentially doubled since 2022. Turnover exceeded EUR 2 billion, reflecting a 37% growth for the year. And this followed on the back of an already remarkable 57% growth in 2023. With the precision focus on effective project execution, the Offshore Energy team saw the EBITDA margin rise to 21%, fueling an 87% year-over-year increase in nominal EBITDA. At EUR 4.3 billion, the order book reached a record high, driven by strong demand and by the recent expansion of the fleet. The order book was boosted by several add-ons to the already existing projects and by new contracts in the APAC region and in Europe. Notable additions include a foundation installation contract for the Nordlicht 1 and 2 wind farms in Germany, the foundation and offshore substation installation contract for the Fengmiao 1 offshore wind farm in Taiwan. And 4 cable installation contracts in the Netherlands and in Belgium. Now in terms of fleet expansions, we welcome the Karina, which is an offshore survey vessel and the Yellowstone, the world's most advanced fallpipe vessel and both of them in 2024. In addition, we also increased the capacity of our cable layer Viking Neptun by adding a second turn table. The Offshore Energy segment also experienced a very high fleet utilization rate of 90% occupancy, representing a substantial improvement compared to the 2023 level. Now let's go to Slide 15, and you will see some of our key projects in 2024. To give you a few more details, Europe is still Offshore Energy's most active region with key projects underway in the U.K., in France, in Poland. In the U.K., we successfully completed the foundation works for the Moray West offshore wind farm and that in Scotland. And we also completed the cabling works for Nearth Na Gaoithe. On the Dogger Bank projects, we finalized inter-array cabling works for Dogger Bank A, and we made good progress on the cable installations for Dogger Bank B. Dogger Bank being the world's biggest offshore wind farm under development. In France, our jack-up installation vessel innovation continued turbine installations for the Fécamp offshore wind farm, and it commenced on the Île d'Yeu and Noirmoutier projects using our advanced technology, which allows us to drill directly into rocky seabeds. Meanwhile, we are making steady progress on piling operations at Dieppe - Le Tréport offshore wind farm. In Poland, the segment completed 2 out of 4 directional landfall drills and that as part of its cable contract for the Baltic Power project. Going then to the APAC region, DEME's joint venture, CDWE, completed the installation of jacket foundations for Zhong Neng in Taiwan, deploying the Green Jade, which, as you know, is our floating installation vessel. The offshore energy team also reached the halfway mark already on the Hai Long project. Additionally, work has begun on the Greater Changhua project. That's also in Taiwan. In the U.S., Offshore Energy had a very solid year, following the operational installation kickoff of U.S. East Coast projects in 2023. Powered by our industry-leading installation vessel, Orion, and, of course, our expert project team, the first installation season for Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Farm project was successfully completed on schedule. This included already the installation of 78 out of 176 monopiles as well as the first export cables and the pin piles for the substations. For the Vineyard project, we completed the installation of all the monopile foundations and transition pieces, and we are now continuing the turbine installation. As a bridge to the next segment, and also demonstrating how the group leverages synergies between the segments in nonrenewables, Offshore Energy called on DEME's dredging experts to complete the pipeline preparation works for the Rosemari project and that in Malaysia. The trenching operations for the Darwin pipeline duplication project in Australia. And that as well as the dredging works for the Cenovus Energy's West White Rose project in Newfoundland in Canada. Let's go now to the Dredging & Infra segment. The order book remains steady, growing by 3% to EUR 3.6 billion, reflecting a healthy intake of new projects across various countries and regions as illustrated by some nice contract win examples on the next slide. Turnover for our Dredging and Infra segments saw a healthy increase of 22%, now rising to almost EUR 2 billion. This was driven by a strong performance across a range of projects, including maintenance and capital dredging as well as large-scale infrastructure projects. High activity levels and disciplined project execution saw EBITDA grow by 20%, resulting now in a solid EBITDA margin of 18.3%. Driven by a strong backlog and demonstrating high activity levels, vessel occupancy increased with double digits, with the hoppers now reaching 43 weeks occupancy, while the cutter utilization rose to 34 weeks in 2024. You can see our Dredging and Infra activities in 2024 took us all over the globe. In Europe, some standout projects were the Oosterweel Connection in Belgium, where we made considerable progress including the tunnel element construction. And additionally, the Princess Elisabeth Island advanced with the construction of the caissons, seabed preparation and the foundation layer installation. In the Netherlands, we successfully completed 3 projects of national importance, the Rijnlandroute, the Blankenburg Connection and the New Lock Terneuzen. These unique marine infrastructure projects nicely demonstrate DEME's ability to leverage its synergies across various activities. At the same time, the civil works for the Port-La Nouvelle development advanced into a new phase, including constructing a new jetty. Here, we also hold, as you know, the 40-year concessions for the port in a consortium with other parties. As you could see on the previous slide, we have been able to leverage our presence in France, securing a new sizable contract to build a new access channel in Le Havre for which the works will already commence in 2025. In Germany, Dredging & Infra completed the first widening phase of the Kiel Canal, and we secured a new contract for the construction of an offshore wind terminal at the Port of Cuxhaven. In the U.K., DEME successfully completed maintenance works and the access channel to the London Gateway Port. Outside of Europe, Dredging & Infra remains well positioned in the West African region, including a coastal protection project in Grand Lahou, that is Ivory Coast and projects in Gabon, Nigeria, Congo. The segment remained active in several locations in the Middle East, including a capital dredging and land reclamation project for the expansion of the Port of Abu Qir in Egypt as well as construction works for the Port of Oxagon, Phase 2, a project which is located in Saudi Arabia. In Asia Pacific, the segment made notable progress with dredging and seabed preparation projects in Malaysia, in Indonesia, in Taiwan and Australia. We are strengthening our footprint in India, where we have multiple maintenance dredging projects ongoing, both on the West and on the East Coast of the country. Let's now move on to the Environmental segment. The order book remained stable at EUR 352 million with additional projects secured in the Benelux Main. Our team is also actively exploring targeted opportunities in Italy and in the U.K. Our Environmental segment achieved an 11% growth in turnover, which rose now to EUR 337 million. And this double-digit increase was largely driven by long-term and complex remediation and high water protection projects in Belgium, in the Netherlands, in the U.K. and Norway. EBITDA came in at EUR 44 million, with an EBITDA margin of 12.9%, declining a bit from the 16.8% a year ago. But as you know, the EBITDA in 2023 included a nonrecurring settlement on a completed project in the Netherlands. One standout highlight of the year was the launch of an innovative joint venture called Cargen. The new company will specialize in activated carbon-based water and gas treatment and remediation, which further boosts DEME's pioneering PFAS cleaning solutions and will strengthen its position within the value chain. And then a number of key projects for '24 in Belgium, Environmental is involved in the realization of the Oosterweel project for the treatment of PFAS polluted soils and is remediating a foreign industrial brownfield site in Wallonia and [indiscernible]. Additionally, the long-term project for the reconversion of a former Arcelor Mittal site in Seraing, near Liege was kicked off. In U.K., the remediation of the Bowling oil terminal in Scotland was finalized, and it received recognition at the prestigious 2024 brownfield awards, which recognizes the excellent -- the excellence in the redevelopment of brownfield sites. In the Netherlands, key projects include the dyke reinforcement initiatives, GoWA, which is part of the Netherlands flood protection program. And we also had the Marken project. Not on slide, but worth mentioning the reclamation works for the brownfield joint venture project with Veidekke, near Bergen in Norway, advanced and they are set to continue this year. We then move to our Concessions segment with a beautiful picture of our works in Port-La Nouvelle. The Concessions segment realized a net result of EUR 12 million. And then taking our concessions initiatives separately, we maintained our stakes in offshore wind projects with a total installed capacity of more than 1 gigawatt, representing 144-megawatt proportional capacity, generating recurring income. Alongside the wind farms are already in operation, we are making progress on the Scotland concession project where we were awarded a 2 gigawatt worth of option lease areas in Scotland's seabed leasing process. Additionally, we are preparing for upcoming tenders in other countries, such as the Belgium offshore wind round for the Princess Elisabeth Island. Our Dredging & Infra associates are involved in marine infrastructure projects, such as the Blankenburg Connection in the Netherlands, Port-La Nouvelle in France and the Port of Duqm in Oman. Meanwhile, we're also exploring new opportunities and we are working on a preliminary agreement for a 30-year lease of land located in the port of Swinoujscie in Poland, and that for the financing, building and operation of a container terminal. At the same time, DEME wants to be amongst the first in the world to produce green molecules from renewable energy. And in line with this, we are advancing our green hydrogen development initiatives. Milestones for the year '24 include a strategic partnership with BP for the HYPORT Duqm and a cooperation agreement to study the potential for a large-scale green hydrogen project in the Port of Gargoub and that is in Egypt. Global Sea Mineral Resources, which is our deep-sea harvesting subsidiary meanwhile, continues to monitor the legislative developments which are going on at the International Seabed Authority, with decisions regarding the regulatory framework now expected this year. Now moving on from our segments, I would like to spotlight some of the key accomplishments in our ESG and our safety performance. Let's start with Environmental. We are pleased to see that our strategy to play a significant role in the clean energy transition gets translated in some of the ESG metrics. In '24, 42% of our turnover is now EU Taxonomy aligned, and that rising from 33% the year before. This was largely driven by strong growth in offshore wind projects and by the inclusion of DEME's environmental activities. I just presented the details on these activities in the segment overview that we saw. We are also making every effort to reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions. And as part of our commitment to address climate change, we have set an ambitious target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per dredge cubic meters or per installed megawatt by 40% and that by 2030. To achieve this goal, DEME is focusing on 3 key strategic pillars: Enhancing the operational efficiency, improving technical performance and transitioning to more sustainable fuels. Last year, we reduced our greenhouse gas intensity by 30% compared to the baseline year that is of 2008, marking significant progress towards our 2030 target. One example of how we are tackling this is by expanding our sustainable operational capacity. In '24, we welcomed Yellowstone to our fleet. That is a state-of-the-art dual fuel fallpipe vessel, which will be able to operate on green methanol. Additionally, we're also determined to increase the use of low carbon fuels. But despite our best efforts in '24, the consumption of low carbon fuels, however, decreased to 6% of the total fuel usage, and that is down from 10% in '23. This is a setback and that's primarily due to the non-generalized adoption of alternative fuels in the industry. And that, coupled with the limited availability in the main regions where DEME was operational in '24. For social and safety, our strenuous efforts and investment to retain and to attract talent to support our mid- and long-term growth are proving successful. Our workforce rose to more than 5,800 people in '24, and that's an increase of 5% on '23. And last, but certainly not least, DEME is committed to safety. We have stringent safety standards in place, but we always aim to improve and that by focusing on key safety performance indicators and by also consistently meeting and exceeding our targets. And in that, one of the primary metrics we deploy is the worldwide lost time injury frequency rates. That indicator remained well below our 0.2 target and stands at 0.1 for 2024, and that reflects the effect of our many safety initiatives. Now in terms of ESG, I would like to take a moment to highlight some of our key initiatives from '24. You can see on the pictures, we have been testing a hydrogen generator at the Blankenburg Tunnel project as part of our efforts to explore alternative energy sources. This generator enabled the crane to be directly powered by hydrogen, which eliminates the need for battery packs. We have also made significant strides in the electrification of our car fleet. In '24, fully electric cars accounted now for 30% of our fleet. And we are now placing orders exclusively for electrical vehicles. Additionally, and at the same time, we have installed 340 electricity charging points in the car parks at the headquarters. And at the same time, at home, employees are provided with Wallbox EV chargers. In 2024, we further expanded our sustainable operational capacity with the addition of the Yellowstone. The state-of-the-art dual fuel fallpipe vessel is prepared to operate on green methanol and fully complies with the latest emission standards. On top of that, it's equipped with advanced sustainable technologies, including a hybrid power plant to enhance fuel savings and a waste heat recovery system to optimize the energy efficiency. Another noteworthy initiative is our participation in cycling for Kom OP Tegen Kanker. 160 colleagues took on the 1,000 kilometers against cancer cycling challenge to support the fight against cancer. This event not only supports a great cause, but also encourages our employees to engage in healthy and sustainable activities. And I find myself also great joy in participating with the colleagues in this bike ride. Now in line with our ambitions to achieve climate neutral operation by 2040, we are working towards creating a climate-neutral DEME campus. At the end of '24, and you can see it there in the middle picture, the look out on our new campus, welcomed its first visitors, providing an engaging, immersive experience that highlights our history, our vessel, our projects, but of course also our people. Lastly, we also continued our collaboration with Mercy Ships. DEME has a long partnership with Mercy Ships, an international organization, operating private hospital ships along the African coast. This partnership allows us to contribute to their mission of providing medical care and support to the underserved communities around the globe. Then coming back to the financial points. And first of all, the dividend. Now in line with our dividend policy, which is targeted to payout ratio of 33% of group's net profit, the Board is proposing a gross dividend of EUR 3.8 per share, marking an impressive 81% increase compared to 2023. Subject to approval of the general assembly, of course, the payment date is proposed for 30th of May 2025. Now we reached already the last part, which is the outlook. Looking ahead and considering the current project schedules in the backlog, considering the pipeline of new opportunities and the fleet capacity, DEME's management expects a turnover and EBITDA margin for '25 to be at least in line with '24. CapEx for the year '25 is estimated to be around EUR 300 million, but that before larger fleet capacity expansion investments that may be decided upon to support our longer-term growth opportunities. Also for the mid-term and despite current geopolitical challenges, DEME's management remains confident that it is well positioned to continue delivering robust performances, supported by a solid order book, a strong balance sheet, encouraging market prospects and especially driven by the accelerating energy transition. And with that, I'd like to conclude my part of the presentation, and I will now hand you back to Carl so that we can begin our Q&A session. Thank you.

Thank you, Luc, and Stijn. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] We see that Mr. Luuk Van Beek has queued for a question on the conference call.

Yes, I'll start with 2 questions, if I may. So first of all, you pointed to the higher geopolitical uncertainty, I think you referred to U.S., but maybe also to Europe, where there seems to be less support as some filled tenders in offshore wind. At the same time in your outlook, you talked about additional capacity expenses. Can you talk a bit about the visibility that you have on the medium term in this more uncertain environment and in which areas you think you have sufficient visibility to take new decisions on new vessel purchases? And my second question is on utilization, which was obviously very high in 2024, especially in Offshore Energy. I assume that this level is not sustainable, but can you give an indication of what is a sustainable level, especially in Offshore Energy and if you should expect any additional maintenance catch up in '25?

Okay. Thank you, Luuk. The line was not super clear on our side. But I think your first question was more to provide a bit of color on the geopolitical factors that we're referring to, the visibility we have. And that's, let's say, as a part B of the first question, how are we looking to purchasing additional vessels. Perhaps we will take the first part of the first question, Luuk, on how are we looking to the geopolitical picture and how do we take that into account going forward?

Yes. Thank you, and good morning, Luuk. So I think, indeed, the line was pretty bad to [indiscernible] 2 questions. So the first 1 more on probably the midterm outlook. We indeed see quite a lot of moving parts. You have the geopolitics, the macroenvironmental -- macroeconomic environment, I would say. Oil prices, which have some impact, energy transition and the clean industrial deal, which we will get announced today. So that's one thing. Secondly, we have the market's, U.S. offshore wind market, which is, of course, with the current government a little bit more complicated, but then good prospects in the European market. And then if we go linked to that, of course, growth and capacity are in our business certainly correlated, and that's what DEME will continue to do. We are looking at how to invest in new capacities. I think I also mentioned in August, there's a number of different routes that we, as a company, can take. Building new vessels, I would say, buying and converting them or acquiring extra bolt-on capabilities and -- but we are -- we do not make any specific announcement there. As soon as we make decisions, of course, we will update the market on that point. Now you had also a second question on the sustainability of the occupation of the vessels. I can indeed confirm, of course, that the utilization vessels of '24, we are very pleased with them. They reflect, I would say, a strong demand. We have been able also, I think, to run efficient operations, which is important for us. The right scheduling, maintenance and so on. And at the same time, I think, they also prove that our investment approach is really delivering the results. I must say and there I concur with you that they are -- the '24 level is at the higher end, specifically for the offshore vessels, which is positive. Are they cast in stone and sustainable for the future? That depends on many factors. We have the project time lines, our maintenance cycles, I would say, the availability of equipment at the right place, some market fluctuations. So there, of course, we will see how that evolves in the future.

Yes. Thank you, Luuk. I think we're ready for the second question from David Kerstens from Jefferies.

I have 2 questions. The first question is about U.S. offshore wind where you highlighted that the Americas order book had decreased 24% to 12% of the total order book. So it doesn't seem that important anymore, but I suspect it's mainly Offshore Energy, so it's still a relatively large part of Offshore Energy. You highlighted that there were no new additions. My question is what are you now seeing in the market in terms of the offshore wind pipeline on the new U.S. government and the risk to the remaining projects that are currently in the order book? And the second question is related to the CapEx plan. You said CapEx is expected to remain relatively lower at EUR 300 million for 2025 before larger investment decisions. You also showed the 7-year chart -- the overview of CapEx over the past 7 years. What would that imply for CapEx when those larger investment decisions come in? Are you going back to the EUR 500 million level that you had in 2022? Or will you exceed that level in the longer term as well? And if you look at global shipyard capacity and new build prices, has that developed favorably this year and is now looking more attractive than what you mentioned a year ago? How do you see that impacting CapEx levels?

Thank you, David, for your 3 questions. We'll take the first 1 on the U.S. offshore. So Luc, I think, you can comment.

Yes. Thank you. Of course, first, we have to be realistic and we see that the Trump administration is not extremely supportive of renewable industry in general. And probably in the midterm, we expect some potential delays. But let me maybe treat -- and that was also your specific question, treat them in 2 buckets. So we have the existing projects that we are working on. There, to our current knowledge, we see no risks. The projects are in full swing and we really see also in consultation with the clients, no specific risks on those projects. And secondly, on the new ones, there, we have seen that the Trump administration is, let's say, looking carefully in the next 6 months, that's at least what we are being told at all the projects. The KPIs, let's say, they have to meet, haven't been announced. So the criteria, I would say, to which they will be weighed. But to my opinion, I take it as somehow positive news that they will be evaluated to a number -- a set of criteria, which I think to be local employment, the economics of the projects and so on. And I do think that even in the midterm, some of the projects will be sanctioned and going forward. And let's say -- this way, if they are, let's say, approved by the Trump administration, I think they really have good future. Then on the CapEx plan and what that means exactly, I will leave maybe the floor immediately then after to Stijn, but I'll take your question on the ship building. There, I must say we see it still rather busy anyway in the shipyards and a high pressure. But we have somehow the impression that it's gradually -- the context is gradually evolving a bit, and we start to see also in the shipyards, the possibility for some opportunities. So I think at least our impression that, that is starting to soften a little bit there. Maybe Stijn, on the CapEx figures?

Yes. Thanks, Luc. Now relating to the CapEx investment for '25, the guidance that we have given for around EUR 300 million. There's a guidance that we take by taking into account the, let's say, default investment plans for the year. It includes maintenance and includes upgrade activities and also some selected investments, expansions and upgrades as well. CapEx, of course, is always subject to change. That's why we've also indicated that the EUR 300 million is before larger fleet capacity expansion investments that may be decided to support longer-term growth opportunities. On the question what that amount might be, that would depend fully on what that larger fleet capacity might be, so that is a bit difficult to put a specific figure on that.

Okay. Thank you. We took the questions from David or at least first set of questions. We're now ready for the question of Guy Sips from KBC Securities.

First of all, congratulations with the good results. I have 2 questions. First is on -- you stated in the press release that Offshore Energy received a cancellation notice in January 2025. Can you -- for the settlement for a U.S. project? Can you quantify that? And what is the impact on your order book? And the second question is on the Parana River contract in Argentina. What's the status? And when do -- can we expect this contract to fall?

Thank you, Guy, and good morning. Yes, perhaps Stijn, do you take first the settlement question in the U.S.?

Yes. Indeed, we categorize as a subsequent event. It relates to a reservation agreement for a nondisclosed U.S. project. We can state -- and it improves again, the high-quality order book actually that we have. This was not registered in the order book for work scheduled in '27 and beyond. You will understand that we are not really in a position to disclose the exact amount of these cancellation fees, which we've also not done in the past as well.

Yes. And Luc, a couple of color -- a bit of color on the case in Argentina.

Well, yes. So I think you have seen the press around it. It's now, I think, already 2 weeks ago, we submitted as DEME a competitive tender offer. But we were the sole bidder to that tender. And the tender has been meanwhile declared what they call void. So bit of context there. You know that the Rio Parana is crucial for Argentina and the maintenance for that, of course, evenly crucial. We had initiated some legal and administrative proceedings with the local tender authorities to have a fair tender process, and we were not alone. There was a number of other companies and organizations that have similarly filed those complaints. The PR has published a report saying that there is indeed some evidence of irregularities in the tender process/documents. So today, it remains a little bit uncertain what actions that the Argentinian government will take, and when they will relaunch a tender process. But I can tell you that at DEME, we are still committed to this tender. And we want to just make sure that there is a fair and transparent tender to which we will continue to participate, but the timing for the moment being is unclear.

Thank you, Luc. Ready for a question from Thijs Berkelder from Oddo ABN AMRO.

Congrats with a spectacular strong exceptional performance in '24 and also with giving guidance for '25 even a bit stronger. That's a surprise. My questions are really specific, simply reflecting what my clients want to get grip on. Can you give more clarity on what revenue exposure to the U.S.A. has been in '24, What you expect from '25? And what is in the backlog for the U.S.A. in order backlog in general, probably primarily for '25? Second question is more or less a similar question on Taiwan. What is your outlook for your Taiwanese JV in '25 versus '24? '24 for the first time, had a full year up and running, a strong decent performance. So can we expect a repeat of that performance in '25? And maybe if I'm allowed the third question coming back again to the U.S.A.. Trump is here to stay for 4 years, I'm afraid. There are plans for introducing port duties for China-made vessels. I think the Orion is a China-made vessel. Can you explain whether you -- other vessels you are using in the U.S.A. are China made? And as such, whether you are vulnerable for these port duties or that you expect your clients to pay for these port duties?

Yes. Thank you, Thijs, for the international oriented questions. So perhaps we take it by region and the first the U.S. then?

But maybe because I will let Stijn answer the specific questions on the regional backlog, and I'll maybe start with the last question, while he's doing a bit of digging in the figures there. So U.S.A. and the China-made vessels, there is indeed. So the Orion and the Sea Installer are China-made vessels. But two remarks to that. First of all, you know that we have good contracts in place, in which we have the necessary change in law clauses and so on, which would help mitigate potential impact. That's one side. But on the other side, as you know, that the U.S. is all Jones Act compliant operation. The actual going into port, picking up the goods and so on is primarily done by U.S. Jones Act vessels, so U.S. built vessels. So we don't see too much impact from those possible new regulations on our operations. And then I would -- maybe Stijn, you can give a bit of flavor on the exact -- I can comment also...

Yes, on the revenue exposure of the U.S., you've seen for turnover-wise, that was around 18% for -- but that's the totality of the Americas, which also includes Dredging & Infra, although, you will understand that, that is indeed a small portion. When it comes to what do we expect in '25, then I look a little bit at the change in the order book, where we've seen actually that is indeed decreasing. It was 18%. It goes to 12% now. So -- and that is mainly the continuation of the projects that we are working on, which is Vineyard and Dominion. When it comes to Taiwan, good remark. Indeed, the joint venture has really recovered excellently. We -- you remember that in '23, we still indicated we had a loss for the JVs of EUR 37 million. Now we have of EUR 34 million. Now we have a positive figure of EUR 28 million. And also there, when it looks at order book for Taiwan, it's very nicely filled with very good projects, which are really going very well. So also, there, there is the necessary comfort.

I think I can maybe just give a little bit of additional flavor and comment here, Thijs, in both countries. We are working on significant projects, as you know, in which we are -- and I think on both of them, our clients have made the comment. We are about halfway through the project. So that gives you a little bit of indication. We did the first half last year. We're going to do the second half this year. So...

Yes. I think that gives a bit -- some extra color, yes, Thijs?

Maybe a small add on the China build vessel restrictions. You said something like it seems that shipyard capacity is looking to become available again, maybe. I see the same signal, but if, let's say, the U.S. starts to block the overhaul of China, and probably yard specialty will be very tight again. And how do you look then at Chinese-made vessels?

Well, I think as I was saying that I see early signs of softening on the shipyards. I don't think I mentioned Chinese shipyards, specifically. It was more a general comment. And again, the operations in the U.S. are very much Jones Act. Very much, they are Jones Act compliant operations in which anyway, the transport is being done by U.S. vessels. So I honestly don't see too much difference there going forward.

Thank you, Luc. We will now open the floor to Thomas Martin from BNP Paribas Exane.

On the vessel expansion potential, could you give us some further comments around about which market areas you're considering most attractive? So Offshore Energy versus Dredging, first of all. And within Offshore Energy, if it is that side, can you help us understand, is it cable laying, rock dumping or is it more on the turbine side? And the second part of this question, trying to understand what factors are most important to you to understand as you move towards making this investment decision? Is it more around the visibility of the end market? Is it more around about shipyard availability and prices?

Not sure whether I catch the second question in full, but we're going to start with the first one on where will we -- or where do we intend or consider to further expand in terms of asset base. Luc, do you want to take the question?

Yes. So well, for -- in terms of -- let me first say that, which I mentioned before, growth and capacity are correlated. So we -- I can say, as a general statement, that DEME will continue to invest in its capacity where exactly that DEME also from nature, and we have seen it in its history, is a contractor. So we are a contractor owning our assets. And we are a contractor that feels, I would say, at ease and competitive where water meets soil. That's also our historical business. So that is a little bit always the direction that we are looking at. That can -- of course, I know it's a bit cryptic and can mean a lot of things, but you have seen amongst others that we have specialized in drilling monopiles, in complicated cabling projects, et cetera. Now on what factors are most important for those investment decisions? Of course, we have a general view of -- and strategic view of where we want to go. That is for sure that we have explained already, the 3 expansion theses. They have different time lines, building a new vessel takes more time than converting one. It takes more time than investing in bolt-on. So it's quite a complicated matrix there. But at the same time, of course, we want to pick the right moment in terms of investment value. And I think from history, you can see that in the larger investments with Spartacus, with Orion, with Green Jade, I think we managed to pick the right moment, which we continue to try to do.

Yes. And Thomas, would you mind just repeating the second part of the question, unless we...

I noted.

Okay, good. Well, then I think we're ready to take a question -- another question from Luuk Van Beek from Degroof Petercam.

Yes, I have a follow-up question on your EBITDA margin because in the past, you always mentioned a target range between 16% and 20%. No longer repeat that in your press release, and you've been at the high end of that range for the past years. So does the range still stand? And if not, do you plan to provide an update at a later stage?

I think -- we were quite, I think, clear in the outlook that we have provided for '25, where we say for EBITDA margin is at least in line with potential room for improvement. That automatically stays also within that bracket. But -- because we specifically mentioned now '25, we do not feel it is useful to reiterate the 16% to 20% bracket at this moment.

Yes. But theoretically, with your guidance, it should surpass the high end of the range. And in the past, you've hinted that maybe room to -- at the moment, at least be structurally at the high end. So is there any reason to guide for the midterm for a different range?

Yes. I think for the midrange, we've also been very clear on that topic, and there is nothing at this stage that we need to add on this, I think.

Remains valid...

Yes, it remains valid.

Good. We have one more question from David Kerstens from Jefferies.

Follow-up, that was actually related to the example you gave where dredging benefits from the growth in offshore wind. And one question, I think remaining related to that issue is the Princess Elisabeth Island, where there has been a lot of discussion in the press recently about the cost overruns. What is your position in this project? And do you also see cost overruns in the construction of the island? And what does this imply for the further development of the projects when the wind farms are being built?

Yes. So we are involved in the project in 2 ways. We have a contract within the joint venture, TM EDISON, for the construction of the island, and we have a -- so the island itself, and we have a contract for the laying of part of the cables from the island to shore. I think a lot of the press you read and the turmoil around, which is generalized in the press as a cost increase on the island, refers to the electrical super structures on the island and specifically on the DC part of it to which we are not a party. We are continuing to build the infrastructure there. I think in terms of more specific questions on progress and financials, I think it's really more a question to Elia itself and not necessarily for us as you can understand the sensitivity of the matter with the current press attention, again, more generally to the island.

Understood. And is there any developments around the Danish Offshore Energy Island?

The Danish Offshore Island, not that I can comment upon at this stage, no.

So -- and I think that's a big questions we had in the queue, and I think with that, it's a quarter past 10. We have reached the conclusion of our earnings call for today. Of course, if you happen to have further questions or wish to provide feedback, you know where to find me, and against the backdrop of our financial calendar, if the operator can help me there. I'd like to thank you all for your participation and Stijn and Luc for their insightful presentation and for addressing these questions. We, of course, look forward to meeting many of you during the road shows and conferences in the coming weeks. And for now, thanks again, and have a great day.