Tuesday 23 / April / 2024
Muscat: Topaz’s total revenue backlog remains at $1.5 billion, showing a market-leading position. Significantly, $1 billion of this will be invoiced over the coming three years, said a company release. This means the company has already secured revenue greater than 2017 in each of the coming three years. In addition, the company has built a very healthy bidding pipeline, underscoring its more positive outlook.
The Renaissance Group comprises two core businesses – Topaz and Renaissance.
Topaz’s market outlook is decidedly more positive going into 2018, compared with 2017. However, difficult industry conditions are expected to endure in the short term. The company anticipates a positive trend in the utilisation of its vessels and an improvement in the company’s ability to build further contract cover.
Topaz operates a modern and diverse fleet of 100 off-shore support vessels for the oil and gas sector, primarily located in the Caspian and Mena markets, according to a press statement.
The recovery in oil prices, accompanied by growing utilisation and demand, has led Topaz to believe the company has passed the peak impairment levels of 2016. In the third quarter, Topaz announced a strategically important contract with Total in Azerbaijan. The agreement was a result of Topaz’s global relationship with Total, established through successfully supporting Total’s operations in West Africa and the Middle East, and this newly established relationship in Azerbaijan shows great promise for further growth.
The $550 million Tengiz project in Kazakhstan is progressing well ahead of schedule and within budget. As a result, two vessels have commenced operations earlier than anticipated. The overall construction of the module carrying vessels continues with the remaining deliveries scheduled over the coming six months. Topaz’s strong performance under the contract is expected to further broaden the company’s opportunities with both Chevron and ExxonMobil.
Renaissance Services offers strategic and integrated facilities management solutions for businesses in a wide range of sectors and geographies. Renaissance provides contract services, IFM and runs the Renaissance Village brand, which is a uniquely designed workforce accommodation solution. It operates the Renaissance Duqm Village, the largest state-of-the-art permanent accommodation for contractors in Oman. Clients include government, universities, hospitals, ports, industries in diversified sectors, onshore and offshore hydrocarbon development, and the military.
Renaissance Contract Services has maintained its top line and improved the bottom line. The company’s business strategy is to diversify the range of its services, sectors and geography. While this reduces exposure to the oil and gas industry, the sector remains the dominant player in the company’s portfolio. However, this business is not immune to the oil price volatility and the significant increase in the cost of doing business in its dominant home market of Oman. The company is focused on growth and efficiency to mitigate and out-pace further cost impacts to come.
Performance in the company’s core facilities management services businesses and occupancy in the flagship Renaissance Villages in the oilfields all remain stable. The company has absorbed the increased cost of doing business in its core markets, off-set by improved efficiency.
Competition in service tenders is fierce, with squeezed margins. However, the principal negative effect on performance is the initial loss-making period expected with the build-up of occupancy of the new flagship project, the Renaissance Village Duqm.
In 2017, the company capitalised its two flagship projects – Renaissance Village Duqm and TengizChevrOil. This would not have been possible without the support of the company’s all-important financial stakeholders. Therefore, the company remains focused on sustaining its liquidity position and meeting all its commitments within the financial eco-system.
