For 2021, French engineering concern GTT reported solid earnings at high-end of annual targets and a record orderbook that will support growth in the years ahead.
Consolidated revenues were €314.7 mill, consolidated EBITDA was €172.2 mill, which led to a proposed dividend of €3.10 per share.
GTT’s order book was at a record level with 161 units for the core business, or €795 mill in value, and 32 units for the LNG as fuel business, on the books.
Commenting on the results, Philippe Berterottière, GTT’s Chairman and CEO, said: “With 68 LNG carrier orders, two ethane carrier orders and six onshore storage tank orders, GTT posted a strong commercial performance in 2021 for our core business.
“The market dynamics remain very positive in 2022 with 10 LNG carriers ordered since the beginning of the year. All of the liquefaction projects under construction still represent significant potential for LNG carrier orders.
“In the LNG as fuel segment, new orders were taken throughout the year to reach a total of 27 units, a volume that outstrips all orders taken by GTT in previous years. GTT’s membrane technology has been adopted by several international shipyards and shipowners and is becoming increasingly important in a segment that is expected to grow with the increasing sustainability of maritime transportation.
“With regard to innovation, GTT is pursuing its ambitious roadmap. During the year, we obtained several approvals from classification societies to develop new technologies in a wide variety of areas, such as improving the performance of our NO technology and designing a ballast-free bunker vessel.
“GTT maintains a tireless focus on R&D to meet its customers’ energy transition needs and the increased requirements they face. In this respect, the recent announcement of a co-operation agreement with Shell for the design of a hydrogen carrier is another significant step towards a carbon-neutral future.
“From a financial standpoint, revenues for 2021 are in line with our expectations. They are down 21%, compared to 2020, when revenues were exceptionally high, but up 9% compared to 2019. 2021 EBITDA was €172 mill, slightly above expectations thanks to cost control.
“With regard to our outlook for the current year, taking into account the distribution overtime of our orderbook, we estimate that consolidated revenues for 2022 should be in the range of €290 mill to €320 mill, consolidated EBITDA in the range of €140 mill to €170 mill, and we are proposing a 2022 dividend amount at least equal to the dividend proposed for the 2021 financial year.
“Looking further ahead, the Group expects to benefit from the current robust order momentum. In this regard, the Group underlines that the orders received since mid-2020 correspond to delivery dates spread mainly over the 2023-2025 period. These factors enable us to expect, from 2023 onwards, revenues and earnings to be significantly higher than in 2022,” he said.
Of the 68 orders for LNGCs booked last year, these included three medium-capacity LNGCs (about 80,000 cui m) and four large-capacity LNGCs (200,000 cu m).
In April 2021, GTT also received an order from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to design the tanks of two very large ethane carriers (VLECs), with total cargo capacity of 98,000 cu m each, on behalf of an Asian shipowner.
Subsequently, last month, GTT received two new orders for the tank designs of six newbuilding LNGCs.
Four 174,000 cu m LNGCs will be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) for Greek shipowner Maran Gas Maritime.
Each tank will be fitted with the GTT NO96 GW membrane containment system. Deliveries of the vessels are scheduled for the third and fourth quarters of 2025.
The other two ships will be built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries for an African shipowner.
GTT will also design the tanks of these vessels, which will be of 174,000 cu m capacity each. The LNGC tanks will be fitted with the GTT Mark III Flex membrane containment system.
These vessels are scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2025.
