A public takeover bid of EXMAR NV launched by Saverex last year has been reopened.
Saverex had decided to waive the 95% threshold and proceed with the bid without conditions, following the ending of the initial acceptance period.
The bid was reopened unconditionally on 27th March and will run to 16th April, 2025.
Shareholders who have not yet accepted will thus be able to accept the bid during this second acceptance period, EXMAR said.
In addition, the Belgian gas shipping and infrastructure group reported exceptional results for last year.
Its infrastructure division, which includes the LNG infrastructure, continued its strong performance, with the successful startup of the FLNG terminal operations in the Congo.
Infrastructure revenue was $212 mill, compared to $374.7 mill for 2023.
The revenue drop was due to modifications and LNG startups for their respective projects.
However, Infrastructure’s EBITDA was $143.6 mill compared to $75.6 mill in 2023, while the net result was $121.5 mill, compared to $56.1 mill in the previous year.
Overall group revenue was $348.9 mill, compared to $487.3 mill in 2023, EBITDA was $204.7 mill, compared to $80.4 mill, while the net result was $181 mill, compared to $72 mill last year.
The net result was significantly boosted by the reversal of the contingent liability accrued at the time of the sale of ‘Tango FLNG’ ($78 mill).
EXMAR is partnering with Eni to drive the LNG export project off the coast of Congo Brazzaville.
Commissioning
While in 2023, EXMAR’s focus was on the engineering, procurement and conversion (EPC) of ‘Tango FLNG’ and ‘Excalibur’ for their use in Congo Brazzaville, in 2024 the activities and revenue shifted into commissioning and operations.
After provisional acceptance in February, 2024, 700,000 cu m of LNG had already been offloaded and exported from the facility by the end of last year.
EXMAR’s LNGC ‘Excalibur’, added to the same project as an FSU under a 10-year charter, generated stable hire revenue in 2024 with 100% uptime.
The ‘Eemshaven LNG’, the 600 mill cu ft per day regasification barge currently in EXMAR’s portfolio, has been operating for two years in Eemshaven in the north of the Netherlands as an LNG import facility.
With these milestone projects performing above expectations, EXMAR said it was working on the development of several floating liquefaction projects (ranging from 0.5 to 5 mill tonnes per annum), floating regasification projects and storage initiatives.
The group also divested assets during the year.
EXMAR continued to take delivery and sell LPG carriers, while its engineering affiliate, EXMAR Offshore Co (EOC) signed an engineering contract with bp for an Opti-Ex design.
The group also improved its liquidity position through the financing of the LNGC ‘Excalibur’, and the refinancing of its LPG carriers.
The warranty period for the Marine XII project in Congo ended with the result that the related provision for warranty claims of $15 mill were due to be reversed in 1Q25.
A highlight of 2024 was the selection and contract award to engineer and design a new hull, deck and mooring system for the floating production facility for bp’s Kaskida development in the US Gulf.
The use of EOC’s proprietary, patented OPTI® hull design for Kaskida marked the fifth time that this hull design will be used.
In addition, EXMAR’s net debt position last year was lowered thanks to robust growth of the cash flow resulting from operating activities and the sale of assets.
