Aberdeen-based oil service company Sparrows said yesterday it wanted to attract nearly 150 new recruits worldwide to meet increasing demand for its services.
The firm, which provides offshore crane and lifting services, also revealed it was seeking fresh investment to fuel future growth.
Chief executive Doug Sedge said: “We saw a strong return to growth in 2011, with Sparrows provisional results for the year to December 2011 showing sales in excess of £165million, up 11% on 2010, and ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) similarly increased.”
Ebitda in 2010 came in at £13.9million.
Mr Sedge added: “While high tax and low gas prices mean challenges for all in the energy industry, business is growing strongly in the deepwater oil plays in west Africa and Brazil, while market confidence is also returning in the US Gulf of Mexico.”
The chief executive said Sparrows was also reaping the reward for a prudent investment strategy through the global financial crisis.
Sparrows increased its employee numbers by 14% in 2011, invested in base extensions or upgrades in the UK and US and opened a new engineering design and offshore-crane service centre in Mumbai, India.
The firm’s global engineering director in Aberdeen, Ewen Kerr, said Sparrows was seeking more than 60 engineers and technicians to fill onshore posts in Aberdeen created by growth in the UK alone.
These were among the 146 posts Sparrows wanted to fill worldwide, as the global workforce grew to an anticipated 1,950-plus by 2013.
Sparrows said it had entered 2012 with a record order book, putting the company on track to achieve its sales goal for the year of £180million.
The order book is said to have been bolstered by contract wins in December and January expected to be worth £36.25million to Sparrows over five years. The deals are with BP in west Africa, Shell and Chevron in the US gulf and an unnamed operator in the UK.
Mr Sedge said the company’s strong performance, allied to market growth, had given it the confidence to further increase the rate of investment in the business. He added: “We are bullish about Sparrows prospects and are actively pursuing growth opportunities – both organic and through acquisition – in key strategic markets.
“With that in mind, and with the support of our stakeholders and banks, we have engaged financial adviser Ernst and Young to work with us in attracting new investment to the Sparrows Group to fuel that growth in the next few years.”
The firm is owned by its directors and Close Brothers Private Equity.
Asked about this possible new investment, the chief executive said: “Sparrows has had three different private-equity owners since 2000; each has brought new investment which has directly fuelled growth and brought returns to the investors.
“If future new investment brings a new owner, I’ll be relaxed about that; the important thing is that the investment drives Sparrows’ continuing growth as one of Aberdeen’s iconic success stories in the global offshore service industry.”