Ezra to cut jobs, boost focus on west Africa

Singapore

JOB cuts and other cost reductions are on the horizon for offshore services provider Ezra Holdings, which said on Wednesday that it is also in talks regarding various equity fundraising options in lieu of refinancing its debt.

Charter rates for some vessels have fallen by as much as 20-25 per cent owing to the oil slump, group chief executive Lionel Lee said though he said Ezra does not expect to do any writedowns on the value of its vessels. He added that to get more of its fleet chartered out, the company is eyeing long-term contracts in west Africa. Ezra's backlog stands at about US$2.3 billion and it is bidding for about US$10 billion worth of contracts in total right now, he noted.