Ashtead Technology is trading “substantially ahead” of 2020, the subsea equipment firm’s boss has revealed.
The company has benefited from a significant increase in offshore activity this year, chief executive Allan Pirie said.
He was speaking as Ashtead, based in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, shared its latest annual accounts.
The globally active firm posted pre-tax losses of £4.9 million for 2020, compared with profits near £2.8m the year before.
Ashtead highlighted £14.8m of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation in the latest period, down from nearly £20m previously.
And turnover fell by £5.4m to £42.4m last year as the business dealt with the impact of Covid.
Mr Pirie described it as a “resilient” performance under the circumstances.
He was buoyed by Ashtead’s year-end available cash position which improved to £11m from £6.1m a year ago.
The firm, whose accounts appear under the name of its parent Bp INV2 Holdco, said there was growing momentum in the business throughout the second half of the year as it continued to invest in its rental fleet.
It also said it continued to win offshore wind development contracts.
It recently secured a series of awards to support building and installing the Neart na Gaoithe wind farm in the Firth of Forth, and offshore renewable projects now account for more than 30% of turnover.
Mr Pirie said: “Despite a challenging year in 2020, we continued to deliver a healthy financial performance.
“We now have a more streamlined and enhanced customer offering across our three service lines – survey and robotics, mechanical solutions and asset integrity.”
He added: “Despite ongoing Covid-19 pandemic challenges, the business has benefited from a significant increase in offshore activity through this year and is trading substantially ahead of 2020.”
In four years Ashtead has grown its geographical reach with five acquisitions, supported by financial backers Buckthorn Partners and Apicorp.
The firm has grown its workforce and now has 200 employees across its nine international locations.
The company also invested more than £5m in new underwater equipment and technology.
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