Shelf Drilling, Ltd. (ZIM) Q2 FY2025 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Shelf Drilling Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Greg O'Brien, CEO. Dear sir, please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and welcome, everyone, to Shelf Drilling's Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Call. Joining me on the call today is Douglas Stewart. This morning, we published our Q2 financial results and our latest fleet status report. In addition to our press release and the second quarter 2025 financial statements, we published a presentation with highlights from the quarter. A recording of this call will be made available on our website within the next few days. Please note that during this call, we will not be addressing the transaction announced earlier as we are unable to comment beyond the contents of the public disclosure at this time. In addition, we will not host a question-and-answer session on today's call. Before we begin, let me remind everyone that our call will contain forward-looking statements. Except for statements of historical facts, all statements that address our outlook for 2025 and beyond, activities, events or developments that we expect, estimate, project, believe or anticipate may or will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results. Actual future results could differ materially from those described in such statements. Also note that we may use non-GAAP financial measures in the call today. If we do, you will find supplemental disclosure for these measures and an associated reconciliation in our financial reports. I will start with an overview of the company's performance for the second quarter and provide our latest views on the market environment. I will then hand over to Douglas to walk you through our Q2 financial results and provide updated guidance for 2025. The safety and well-being of our people remains our top priority. We are pleased to report a significant improvement in our safety performance in the second quarter with a year-to-date total recordable incident rate of 0.16 as of June 30. This progress is the result of continued focus on planning and our belief in the One Team, One Goal philosophy that is the bedrock of our operations and safety culture. We continue to deliver strong operational performance with a fleet-wide uptime of 99.5% for the quarter as well as for the first half of 2025. As highlighted during our last call, the Shelf Drilling Barsk commenced drilling operations for Equinor at the Sleipner B platform in Norway in early May after serving as an accommodation unit since late 2024. In India, the JT Angel is undergoing preparations for its 3-year contract with ONGC commencing in October. In the Middle East, the High Island V completed an out-of-service project in July with a shortened offshore scope. The remaining scope for the originally planned shipyard project is expected to be completed in late 2025 or early 2026. The Shelf Drilling Fortress concluded its contract with TotalEnergies in the U.K. in May and is currently undergoing planned maintenance prior to commencing its next contract in the U.K. in late August or early September. The Shelf Drilling Enterprise concluded its contract in Thailand late last month and is also undergoing contract preparations for its next campaign in Vietnam, which is expected to commence in early October. In West Africa, the High Island II and Shelf Drilling Victory remain on standby in Equatorial Guinea. Both rigs are actively marketed for near-term programs. For the High Island II, we have chosen to defer the short-term contract mentioned on our last call. We expect this rig to commence operations with a different customer before the end of Q3. We have secured several important contract awards and extensions since the last earnings call. In the Middle East, we secured a 5-year extension for the High Island V with Saudi Aramco, extending the rig's commitment until July 2030 and adding approximately $133 million in backlog. In the Mediterranean, the Key Manhattan was awarded a 1-year extension with Eni through November 2026, adding $29 million in backlog and still has an additional 1-year option thereafter. In Egypt, the Rig 141 secured a 1-year extension until February 2027 with an additional contract value of approximately $23 million. Also in Egypt, we added a further 3-month extension on the Trident 16 that now runs until November 2025. In India, we were awarded a 3-year contract for the JT Angel with ONGC, adding approximately $40 million in backlog. In Southeast Asia, the Shelf Drilling Enterprise was awarded a 1-well program in Vietnam, commencing in early October. And in the U.K. North Sea, the Shelf Drilling Fortress was awarded a 1-well contract valued at approximately $12 million and an estimated duration of approximately 3 months. As of June 30, our backlog was just over $1.5 billion with 27 to 33 rigs contracted and a weighted average day rate of approximately $97,000 a day. Adjusted for the 2 rigs suspended in Saudi Arabia, the backlog was approximately $1.3 billion with a balanced mix between IOCs, national oil companies and independents. Awards and extensions secured after quarter end have added approximately $117 million to our backlog. We delivered excellent financial results in the first half of 2025. EBITDA for Q2 was $94 million at a margin of 39% and capital spending was relatively low again in the quarter. Net debt declined by $62 million from year-end 2024 through a combination of debt repayment and an increase to our cash position. Douglas will cover our Q2 financials and 2025 guidance in more detail shortly. The oil and gas market continues to navigate a complex macro environment shaped by geopolitical tensions, shifting trade dynamics and evolving OPEC+ strategy. Brent oil prices briefly moved above $80 a barrel in June amid regional instability, but have since normalized into a tight band between the high $60s and low $70s as tensions have eased. Meanwhile, OPEC+ accelerated the unwinding of voluntary production cuts and a full reversal of 2.2 million barrels a day is expected by September. While this has added some near-term supply pressure, Brent prices have remained relatively stable around $70 a barrel, suggesting relatively tight underlying fundamentals. OPEC+ still holds significant spare capacity, giving it the flexibility to manage future supply, which supports near-term stability but does limit some upside potential. In parallel, U.S. trade policy continues to cloud the broader macro outlook with potential impacts on inflation and global trade still unfolding. Despite these developments, long-term industry fundamentals remain solid. Oil demand is expected to continue growing, led by non-OECD economies. Offshore production, particularly in shallow water, remains a vital, cost-efficient and lower emission source of supply. As energy policy continues to take a more pragmatic turn, oil is expected to remain a critical part of the long-term global energy mix. Sustained upstream investment will be necessary to offset natural decline rates and meet future supply needs. Against this backdrop, we remain confident in the resilience of shallow water offshore drilling. The global jackup market continues to hold steady with market utilization around 90%. Adjusting for the still suspended rigs in the Middle East, underlying utilization is closer to the mid-80s. However, pricing has come under further pressure in recent months. While many of the suspended rigs have been redeployed, near-term oversupply persists. Competition has intensified across regions and asset classes with bidding levels falling in recent months. We expect this competitive market environment to continue for some time as the remaining supply is absorbed into the market. That said, the longer-term outlook remains constructive. The combination of limited new build reentry and the potential attrition of some older rigs should help tighten supply, supporting a more favorable day rate environment in the future. West Africa remains structurally tight with strong underlying demand and healthy tendering activity for 2026, particularly in Nigeria. Top-tier jackup day rates have attracted 10 rig relocations to the region from the Middle East over the past year, increasing regional competition. While supply and demand remain broadly balanced, some of the recent awards indicate softening in near-term pricing. In Southeast Asia, tendering activity remains steady, particularly across Thailand and Vietnam. However, the influx of rigs from the Middle East is contributing to near-term day rate pressure, a trend we expect to continue in the coming quarters. In India, activity levels remain stable, though incremental demand in the near term is expected to be modest. 7 of our 8 marketable rigs in India are now contracted following the JT Angel award. While ONGC's latest tender saw very competitive pricing, our long-term outlook for the region remains strong. ONGC is expected to issue a new 4-rig tender later this year, and their partnership with BP is expected to support activity growth in the medium to long term. The Middle East remains the anchor region for global jackup activity, accounting for nearly 40% of all contracted jackups. Although rig supply remains elevated, we see potential for incremental demand from 2026, supported by long-term developments in Kuwait and the neutral zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. We maintain a stable outlook for the Mediterranean and North Africa. The Key Manhattan and Shelf Drilling Resourceful are now both contracted in Italy through mid- to late 2026, providing long-term coverage and revenue visibility. In Egypt, the Rig 141 is now contracted until early 2027, and we expect to secure continued follow-on work for the Trident 16. We see varied market dynamics across the North Sea. In Norway, offshore activity remains stable, supported by long-term programs and favorable policy environment. In the U.K., uncertainty around the tax regime persists, but interest in P&A and field life extension projects is growing. The recent award for the Shelf Drilling Fortress reflects ongoing demand for high-spec units in the region. In the Netherlands, offshore activity has picked up, supported by a renewed government focus on increasing domestic gas production, and we see multiple opportunities in this market. In summary, we delivered strong performance this quarter despite continued macro challenges and pricing pressure across several regions. We saw meaningful improvements in safety performance, consistently high uptime and solid commercial progress with key contract awards across our fleet. This reinforces our strategic priorities, delivering safe and reliable operations, maintaining capital discipline and creating long-term value. While the near-term environment remains competitive, we are confident in the long-term fundamentals of the jackup market. Thank you for your continued support and interest in Shelf Drilling. I'll now hand it over to Douglas for his remarks.

Thanks, Greg. Reported revenue for Q2 2025 came in at $241 million and included $1.5 million for amortization of an intangible liability relating to the 5 rigs we purchased in 2022. As such, we'll continue to focus on and refer to adjusted revenue, which excludes the impact of this item. For the second quarter of 2025, adjusted revenue was $240 million, which included $221 million of day rate revenue, $11 million of mobilization and bonus revenue and $7 million of recharges and other revenue. Adjusted revenue for Q2 marginally decreased by $3 million or 1% compared to Q1 2025. The marginal sequential revenue decrease was primarily due to the contract completions for 2 rigs in late Q1 2025 and Q2 2025. That's the Trident XII in India and the Shelf Drilling Fortress in the United Kingdom. This was partially offset by higher revenue in Denmark on the Shelf Drilling Winner due to an increase in day rate and in Egypt on the Trident 16 as a result of the full quarter of operations for the rig in Q2 2025 following contract commencement in the prior quarter. The 2 contract completions in India and the U.K. contributed to a marginal reduction in effective utilization to 78% in Q2 from 79% in Q1. Average day rate, however, increased to $97,000 per day in Q2 from $94,000 per day in Q1, again, primarily due to the higher day rate for the Shelf Drilling Winner in Denmark. Operating and maintenance expenses of $130 million in Q2 were relatively unchanged from the prior quarter. Higher operating costs for the Shelf Drilling Barsk in Norway due to the commencement of drilling operations in May 2025 and higher fleet spare expenses were partially offset by lower costs for the High Island II and the Shelf Drilling Victory that were redeployed from Saudi Arabia to West Africa in Q1 2025 as well as lower operating costs for the Parameswara and Trident XII as they completed their contracts in India in Q1 2025. G&A expenses of $14 million in the second quarter decreased from $17 million in the first quarter, primarily due to an increase -- a decrease rather in provision for credit losses and lower compensation and benefit expenses. As a result, adjusted EBITDA was $94 million in Q2, representing a margin of 39% compared to $96 million of adjusted EBITDA and 40% margin in the previous quarter. Of the $94 million in adjusted EBITDA in Q2 2025, SD&S generated $21 million of adjusted EBITDA, while the rest of the business generated $73 million of adjusted EBITDA. Income tax was $6 million in Q2, representing 3% of revenues, down from $12 million in Q1. Net interest expense of $35 million in Q2 was down from $36 million in the prior quarter. Noncash depreciation and amortization expenses totaled $41 million in Q2 and were in line with the prior quarter. Net income for the second quarter was $11 million. Capital expenditures and deferred costs of $18 million in Q2 were sequentially up by $2 million, primarily due to higher spending on fleet spares. This was partially offset by lower regulatory and capital maintenance expenditures for the Main Pass IV in West Africa, the Shelf Drilling Winner in Denmark and the Shelf Drilling Odyssey in Qatar as well as for the High Island II and Shelf Drilling Victory that were redeployed to West Africa in Q1 2025. Our consolidated cash balance as of June 30 was $172 million, down from $207 million at the end of March 2025. Cash decreased sequentially largely due to $115 million debt service payments made in Q2 2025, of which $48 million related to principal payments and $67 million related to interest payments. Cash at the parent level decreased sequentially from $172 million to $138 million and cash at Shelf Drilling North Sea decreased from $35 million at the end of March 2025 to $33 million at the end of June 2025. As of June 30, 2025, our total consolidated liquidity was $297 million, which included $172 million of cash and $125 million available against our undrawn revolving credit facility. As a result of the strong financial performance delivered in the first 6 months of 2025, driven by higher revenue efficiency and lower operating expenses, we have revised our financial guidance upwards for full year 2025 in our release today. Fully consolidated adjusted EBITDA is now estimated to be between $320 million and $360 million compared to our prior guidance provided in May 2025 of $310 million to $360 million. This reflects a $10 million increase in the low end of the guidance range. We anticipate revenues and effective utilization to improve in the last quarter of 2025, mainly due to expected contributions from rigs commencing new contracts in the North Sea and West Africa. Our total capital spending guidance in 2025 is unchanged from prior guidance and remains between $85 million and $115 million. For the first 6 months of 2025, Shelf Drilling has continued to deliver strong financial performance and high-level EBITDA margins. Our cash position further improved since the end of '24, and we reinforced our balance sheet with the scheduled repayment of outstanding debt. In recent weeks, we secured several contracts and extensions in our key markets, supporting revenue visibility in the second half of '25 and into 2026, and we expect to build further backlog before the end of the year. While short-term headwinds remain, the long-term global demand for oil and gas remains strong, and we maintain our positive long-term outlook for jackup supply and demand. We believe the business will be well positioned as we head into 2026.

Thank you again for joining the call today. We'll have further updates in the coming weeks and months.

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now all disconnect. Have a nice day.