By Jon Robinson
Losses at embattled oil services provider Petrofac almost doubled to more than $400m (£314m) during 2023 after its delayed accounts were finally published.
In what Petrofac has described as a “challenging” year for the London-listed company, the firm’s earnings before interest and tax went from losses of $229m (£180m) to $448m (£352m) in the year.
Its revenue also dipped from $2.5bn to $2.4bn over the same period.
The results come after Petrofac delayed the publication of its annual results and warned on profit amid a funding crunch.
Chief executive Tareq Kawash said: “2023 was a challenging year for Petrofac. Our financial results reflect additional losses on the legacy contract portfolio, in particular the Thai Oil Clean Fuels contract where we are in negotiations to seek reimbursement of a proportion of the additional costs.
“In addition, the challenges in obtaining guarantees for our new EPC contracts, and the impact on liquidity, resulted in the business seeking to deliver a critical financial restructure, which is ongoing and has the full focus of the board.
“However, 2023 was also one of the strongest years in the group’s recent history with respect to new contract awards, demonstrating Petrofac’s capability, strong customer relationships, differentiated delivery model, and competitiveness.
“We are focused on the restructuring with the aim of materially strengthening the group’s financial position and enabling Petrofac to deliver on its future opportunities.
“I am grateful to our employees and our stakeholders for their continued support as we work to deliver a positive future for Petrofac.”
In April, Petrofac said a group of senior secured noteholders had made a proposal to provide the firm with up to $300m (£239m) in further credit to bolster its weak balance sheet. However, the proposal would be dependent on the company securing performance guarantees written into its contracts.
