Oilfield technology firm Plexus Holdings is on the lookout for additional premises in Aberdeen after posting record growth – including a near-doubling in profits.
The Aberdeen-based firm, which has developed proprietary wellhead equipment called Pos-Grip, said demand for its mostly Scottish-built rental fleet had grown, in the UK and globally.
Turnover in the year to the end of June was up 27.8% at £19.71million, with pre-tax profits of £3.09million, up 96.8%.
The firm said increased take-up of new technology by majors plus growing regulatory and governmental scrutiny of the oil industry in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster in 2010 had helped to boost business.
Graham Stevens, the firm’s finance director, said business should continue to grow following a 97% increase in investment in its rental fleet, at £4.6million, in its last financial year, with about the same planned for this year.
“Going forward, we see Norway continuing to be more important and Asia we think is going to be important,” said Mr Stevens.
“In the UK North Sea, after the tax incentives brought in during and after the last Budget, everyone also broadly feels quite positive.”
Growth at the firm saw staffing increase 25% to 113 in the same period, with the level now at 121, said Mr Stevens. As a result, the firm is looking for more space in Aberdeen.
In addition to its Pos-Grip wellhead technology, Plexus has developed high-pressure/high-temperature wellhead equipment, which won its first relief well standby contract for earlier this year, and a subsea version of its Pos-Grip wellhead equipment, which is being developed through a joint industry project.
It is also now looking at how it can apply its technology in subsea well abandonment, seen as a “sizeable commercial opportunity” by the firm.
Plexus has rental fleet hubs in Trinidad, Egypt and Kuala Lumpur, as well as in Aberdeen, which serves the UK North Sea, accounting for about 47% of business in the year to the end of June.
It has a number of sites across Aberdeen, including its 30,000 square-foot refurbishment base at Dyce and subsea offices in Carden Place.
Recommended for you
