Oil & gas firm NauticAWT launches IPO on Catalist board

Oil & gas engineering solutions provider NauticAWT on Tuesday launched its initial public offering (IPO) on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) Catalist board.

The company plans to use the expected net proceeds of approximately S$2.8 million from the IPO to fund its investment in capital expenditure to further strengthen its contracting services.

Funds raised from the IPO will also be used to expand the group's business scope through investments, acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as for working capital purposes, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The invitation comprises 28 million invitation shares, including one million public offer shares and 27 million placement shares.

Priced at 20 Singapore cents each, the shares are priced at a historical price earnings ratio of approximately 5.87 times, based on its earnings per share of 3.41 cents for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014, and based on the company's total share capital of 189.2 million shares.

NauticAWT intends to pay dividends of 20 per cent of its net profit for FY15 to FY17.

The public offer will open at 9am on Wednesday and will close at 12pm on July 21. NauticAWT is expected to be listed on the Catalist board on July 23, 9am.

NauticAWT, which was founded in 2011, is today present in 11 offices globally.

The company offers subsurface, subsea and surface engineering services and contracting solutions across the entire life cycle of oil & gas assets, but focuses on extending the life and enhancing the production of ageing and mature oil & gas fields.

To date, it has participated in more than 1,500 subsurface and wells engagements and over 100 subsea and surface facilities projects worldwide.

As of June 22, 2015, it had an order book of US$34.6 million, to be recognised in the financial years ending Dec 31, 2015 and 2016.

NauticAWT's founder and CEO, John Gronbech, said the company's listing on SGX will provide capital to improve growing operations, and further enhance the group's regional profile, giving it a better standing to pursue new opportunities globally.

Annual investment in the oil & gas upstream market is expected to rise steadily to US$850 billion over the next two decades, the International Energy Agency has said.

In the present low oil price environment, the group believes that the focus of oil companies will be on producing cheap oil, rather than undertaking new exploration projects.

"Together with conventional onshore production, the continental shelves are where the cheapest oil & gas have historically been produced and this is the market segment from which NauticAWT is currently generating the majority of its revenue," the group said in a statement.

"Additionally, low oil price usually results in a decline in the cost of capital intensive services, such as drilling rigs and barges, thereby strengthening the economics of mature field developments and undertaking abandonment work programmes."

The group's net profit in FY2014 stood at US$4.3 million, up from US$1.3 million in FY2012.