Aker Solutions boost revenue outlook, pays dividend after 7 years

Norway's largest oil services company Aker Solutions on Tuesday projected its 2022 revenues to rise by more than 20 percent, buoyed by several new contracts across its business segments and an order book backlog worth nearly US $5.6 billion.

The company had earlier forecast its revenues to increase by 15 percent and attributed the change in projections to rising demand in the oil industry aid supply curbs.

In the fourth quarter, Aker Solutions delivered revenues of nearly US $1 billion (NOK 8.7 billion) and an EBITDA-margin of 6.8 percent. The earnings per share was NOK 0.23 in the quarter, and the company had a net cash position of $250 million (NOK 2.2 billion) at the end of the quarter, excluding IFRS 16 leasing liabilities, the company said in a statement.

The company delivered an order intake of NOK 9.3 billion, equivalent to 1.1x book-to-bill, during the fourth quarter. At the end of the quarter, the order backlog saw an increase of 29 percent from $4 billion a year ago.

The strong fundamentals prompted the company to declare a dividend of 0.20 crowns per share for 2021, the first such payout since 2014.

“I am happy that we delivered another solid quarter both operationally and financially, and I am pleased with our performance in 2021 overall,” Kjetel Digre, chief executive officer of Aker Solutions, said in a statement.

“The year was successful for Aker Solutions on many fronts, delivering improved profitability, strong order intake and with key commercial successes related to our transition journey,” he said.