DJ C.A.T. oil AG increases revenues by 29.2% in the first nine months of 2008
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November 28, 2008 - C.A.T. oil AG (O2C, ISIN: AT0000A00Y78), one of the leading
providers of oil and gasfield services in Russia and Kazakhstan,today announced
the results for the first nine months of 2008. The results again reflect the
significant expansion of the Company´s operations. In Q3 2008 C.A.T. oil
increased the total job number by 4.2% to 723 service jobs, up from 694 service
jobs in Q3 2007. Due to the higher complexity of sidetrack drilling and
fracturing jobs, the average per-job-revenue rose by 13.8% YoY to thou. EUR
100.5 in Q3 2008 from thou. EUR 88.3 in Q3 2007. As a consequence revenues grew
significantly both on a quarterly and nine-months basis.
In the previous quarter C.A.T. oil had further increased its sidetrack drilling
capacities,which is C.A.T. oil´s fastest growing business and enjoys strong
demand by customers. Sidetrack drilling capacity nearly doubled from seven rigs
in Q3 2007 to 13 rigs in Q3 2008. At the same time C.A.T. oil´s sidetrack
drilling job count rose by 200.0% YoY mainly due to the continued improvement in
the operating efficiency and utilization rates of new operating rigs.
Improved EBITDA margin sustained in Q3
Due to the capacity expansion and the continued strong demand for complex,
high revenue per job services, revenues in the first nine months of 2008
increased by 29.2% to EUR 212.0 million (9M 2007: EUR 164.1 million). Third
quarter revenues were up 18.4% to EUR 72.6 million (Q3 2007: EUR 61.3 million).
C.A.T. oil´s operating cost base was impacted by the expanded operating
activities and Russia´s high inflationary pressures. Cost of sales increased by
43,9% YoY to EUR 168.6 million in the first nine months of 2008 (9M 2007:
EUR 117.1 million) mainly due to higher expenditure for materials and supply,
direct costs, wages and salaries as well as an increase in depreciation and
amortization.
At EUR 41.4 million EBITDA for the first nine months of 2008 was slightly below
last year´s result of EUR 42.7 million. Earnings before interest and taxes
(EBIT) declined to EUR 24.5 million (9M 2007: EUR 34.4 million), following a
significant increase in depreciation and amortization. EBITDA and EBIT margins
were 19.5% and 11.5% respectively (9M 2007: 26% and 20.9%).
On a quarterly basis, C.A.T. oil succeeded in sustaining the improved margin
level of the second quarter. In Q3 EBITDA increased 7.9% YoY to EUR 16.8
million (Q3 2007: EUR 15.6 million) which resulted in an EBITDA margin of
23.2% (Q3 2007: 25.5%). EBIT amounted to EUR 10.7 million in Q3 2008 (Q3
2007: EUR 12.4 million), the EBIT margin was 14.7% (Q3 2007: 20.2%).
C.A.T. oil generated a net profit of EUR 12.5 million (9M 2007: 22.6 million) in
the first nine months. Compared to last year´s result, the net profit for the
third quarter was slightly down at EUR 5.7 million (Q3 2007: EUR 6.7 million).
This was mainly an effect of C.A.T oil´s effective consolidated income tax rate
which rose to 46.1% in Q3 2008, from 35.4% in Q3 2007. This development
reflects the increase in proportion of taxable gross profits generated by the
Company´s activities in Kazakhstan, which are taxed at a higher rate than
taxable gross profits generated in Russia.
Earnings per share - calculated using an average of 48,850,000 shares - totaled
EUR 0.256 in the first nine months, down from EUR 0.462 a year ago.
Operating cash flow significantly improved C.A.T. oil´s cash flow from operating
activities increased by 73.1% YoY to EUR 14.7 million in Q3 2008 (Q4 2007: EUR
8.5 million). Cash flow from investing activities was EUR -14.5 million (Q3
2007: EUR -23.3 million) due to capital expenditures for additional operating
capacity. Cash flow from financing activities amounted to EUR 1.0 million (Q3
2007: EUR 6.9 million).
C.A.T. oil maintained its very solid financial base. Cash and cash equivalents
decreased by EUR 7.1 million to EUR 8.0 million as of 30 September 2008
from EUR 15.0 million as of 31 December 2007. C.A.T. oil´s total shareholders´
equity increased to EUR 244.6 million as of 30 September 2008 (31 December 2007:
EUR 234.9 million) due to an increase of retained earnings.
With a balance sheet total of EUR 322.2 million as of 30 September 2008 (31
December 2007: EUR 285.3 million), the Company´s equity ratio stood at a
comfortable 75.9% at the end of Q3 2008 compared to 82.3% at the end of
2007.
Alongside with the expansion of operational activities, C.A.T. oil increased its
headcount by 19.1% in Q3 2008, primarily driven by operating capacity additions:
85.7% YoY for sidetrack drilling and 7.1% YoY for fracturing. In Q3
2008, C.A.T. oil also hired and trained additional personnel for two new
drilling rigs, which are to arrive at the company sites by the end of the fourth
quarter 2008. By the end of September the average number of employees amounted
to 3,636 including part-time-employees (9M 2007: 3,053 including
part-time-employees).
Focus on sidetrack drilling as growth driver
C.A.T. oil will continue to focus on preparing its new fleets for their
operations in Russia and Kazakhstan to further increase the number of service
jobs and realize additional growth.
Manfred Kastner, CEO of C.A.T. oil, said: "The third quarter results demonstrate
that C.A.T. oil has solidified its market position as one of the leading
providers of oil and gasfield services in Russia and Kazakhstan. In line with
our corporate strategy, we have expanded our activities especially in the area
of side track drilling and we expect this to pay off next and the following
year. Despite the challenging market situation with rising inflation in our core
market Russia we remain confident to have set a clear course towards high-margin
and strategically important oil and gas field services. Our focus will remain on
the expansion of high margin side track drilling as our main growth driver."
www.catoilag.com
Press contact:
A&B Financial Dynamics
Carolin Amann
Tel.: +49 (0)69 92037-132
Email: c.amann@abfd.de
About C.A.T. oil AG:
Austria-based C.A.T. oil AG (O2C, ISIN: AT0000A00Y78) is one of the leading
providers of oil- and gasfield services in Russia and Kazakhstan and is listed
in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. One of C.A.T. oil´s core
businesses is hydraulic fracturing, a process which helps to open up oil- and
gas-bearing rock formations in order to increase or even enable oil and gas
production. Hydraulic fracturing is a method to generate high pressure in the
oil or gas reservoirs concerned. This pressure causes cracks to appear in the
rock through which oil or gas can be produced in larger quantities from the
production well, and hence efficiently boosts extraction, particularly
in the case of deposits that are difficult to develop or low-output wells. In
addition, hydraulic fracturing can be used to revitalize wells which have
previously been idle.
Since its IPO in 2006 C.A.T. oil has also increasingly invested in sidetrack
drilling and thus built up a second core business. Sidetrack drilling is a
method which uses an already existing wellbore to create another one and is used
to either avoid irreparable damages of the wellbore or the equipment or to reach
further parts of the reservoir. Over the past few years demand for the
high-margin sidetrack drilling service has continuously increased. The method
allows to efficiently build up additional production capacities and to further
exploit the potential of a well. In the field of sidetrack drilling,
C.A.T. oil is already number 2 in Russia.
The Company has its headquarters in Vienna and employed an average of 3,636
people in the third quarter of 2008, most of whom are based in Russia and
Kazakhstan.Customers include leading oil and gas producers such as Gazprom,
KazMunai-Gaz, LUKOIL, Rosneft, and TNK-BP.
C.A.T. oil has been a member of the SDax since September 18, 2006.
Key financial figures for the first nine months of fiscal year 2008
[in million EUR]
Q1-Q3 2008 Q1-Q3 2007 Change in %
Revenues 212.0 164.1 29.2
Gross profit 43.5 47.0 -7.6
EBITDA 41.4 42.7 -3.1
EBITDA margin 19.5% 26.0%
EBIT 24.5 34.4 -28.8
EBIT margin 11.5% 20.9%
Net profit for period 12.5 22.6 -44.5
Earnings per share (in EUR) 0.256 0.462
Balance sheet total 322.2 285.3 12.9
Equity 244.6 234.9 4.2
Equity ratio 75.9% 82.9%
Capital expenditure 34.6 70.2
Cash flow from operating activities 30.1 14.8
Cash flow from investing activities -33.9 -70.7
Cash flow from financing activities -1.6 6.9
Cash and cash equivalents 7.9 15.0
Total job count 2,211 1,826 21.1
Per-job revenue (in thou. EUR) 95.9 89.9 6.7
Employees (average) 3,636 3,053 19.1
Key financial figures for the third quarter 2008
[in million EUR]
Q3 2008 Q3 2007 Change in %
Revenues 72.6 61.3 18.4
Gross profit 17.2 17.5 -1.6
EBITDA 16.8 15.6 -7.9
EBITDA margin 23.2% 25.5%
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
November 28, 2008 02:37 ET (07:37 GMT)
© 2008 Dow Jones News
