2020 utilisation increases to 79%

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Gulf Marine Services PLC

Increase in order book - 2020 utilisation increases to 79%

The Board of Gulf Marine Services PLC ("GMS" or the "Company") today announces:

·      the award of a new six-month renewable energy contract

·      the uptake of contractual options to firm commitment on another existing renewable energy contract

GMS continues to perform well, winning new business, and adding to the existing order book:

·      new business has been successfully secured with six new contracts awarded so far this year

·      secured utilisation of the entire GMS fleet has now increased to 79% for 2020, and 50% for 2021

·      86% of the 2020 Business Plan revenues are now covered by firm contracts and this rises to 88% if contracted options are exercised

New contract win

GMS announces the award of a six-month renewable energy contract (firm period, plus options to extend).  GMS will provide support for offshore activities on behalf of a UK Offshore Renewables Operator.  The vessel will be mobilised for the start of operations during the summer of 2020.

In combination with two further renewable energy contracts awarded earlier in 2020, a five-month contract extension (firm period, plus options to extend) and an eight-month contract (firm period, plus options to extend), the Company's remaining vessel in North West Europe, GMS Endeavour, has now secured work for all of 2020 and most of 2021.

Firming contractual options

In addition, GMS announces the firming of 2020 contractual options for another existing renewable energy contract.  GMS is providing support for offshore activities on behalf of a European Offshore Renewables Operator.  The vessel is in the field.

Tim Summers, Chairman of GMS, said today:

"We are pleased to be extending our activities in North West Europe, continuing to build our order book with multiple Renewables customers.  Across the group, GMS continues to increase overall fleet utilisation, despite current market conditions.  At the present moment, all available vessels in the fleet are currently contracted."

Enquiries:

PUBLICATION ON WEBSITE

In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Takeover Code, a copy of this announcement will, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in restricted jurisdictions, be available at www.gmsuae.com/offer by no later than 12 noon (London time) on the business day following the date of this announcement.  For the avoidance of doubt, the content of the website referred to above is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of GMS is Tony Hunter, Company Secretary. 

FURTHER INFORMATION

Evercore Partners International LLP ("Evercore"), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, is acting exclusively as financial adviser to GMS and no one else in connection with the matters described in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than GMS for providing the protections afforded to clients of Evercore nor for providing advice in connection with the matters referred to herein.  Neither Evercore nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Evercore in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein, any offer or otherwise.  Apart from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on Evercore by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or the regulatory regime established thereunder, or under the regulatory regime of any jurisdiction where exclusion of liability under the relevant regulatory regime would be illegal, void or unenforceable, neither Evercore nor any of its affiliates accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for the contents of this announcement, and no representation, express or implied, is made by it, or purported to be made on its behalf, in relation to the contents of this announcement, including its accuracy, completeness or verification of any other statement made or purported to be made by it, or on its behalf, in connection with GMS or the matters described in this document.  To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Evercore and its affiliates accordingly disclaim all and any responsibility or liability whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above) which they might otherwise have in respect of this announcement or any statement contained herein.

Merrill Lynch International ("BofA Securities"), which is authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and the PRA in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively as corporate broker for GMS and for no one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than GMS for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the matters referred to in this announcement. Neither BofA Securities, nor any of its affiliates, owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of BofA Securities in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

Investec Bank plc ("Investec"), which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, is acting exclusively for GMS and no one else in relation to the Transaction and/or other matters set out in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than GMS for providing the protections afforded to the clients of Investec, or for providing advice in relation to this announcement, the contents of this announcement or any matter referred to herein. 

Neither Investec nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Investec in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

ABOUT GMS

GMS, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, was founded in Abu Dhabi in 1977 and has become a world-leading provider of advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESVs).  The fleet serves the oil, gas and renewable energy industries from its offices in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.  The Group's assets are capable of serving clients' requirements across the globe, including those in the Middle East, South East Asia, West Africa, North America, the Gulf of Mexico and Europe.

The GMS fleet of 13 SESVs is amongst the youngest in the industry, with an average age of eight years. The vessels support GMS's clients in a broad range of offshore oil and gas platform refurbishment and maintenance activities, well intervention work and offshore wind turbine maintenance work (which are opex-led activities), as well as offshore oil and gas platform installation and decommissioning and offshore wind turbine installation (which are capex-led activities).

The SESVs are categorised by size - K-Class (Small), S-Class (Mid) and E-Class (Large) - with these capable of operating in water depths of 45m to 80m depending on leg length.  The vessels are four-legged and are self-propelled, which means they do not require tugs or similar support vessels for moves between locations in the field; this makes them significantly more cost-effective and time-efficient than conventional offshore support vessels without self-propulsion. They have a large deck space, crane capacity and accommodation facilities (for up to 300 people) that can be adapted to the requirements of the Group's clients.

The Company's Legal Entity Identifier is 213800IGS2QE89SAJF77.