Record year for Akva

Revenue in Q4 2015 ended at 344 MNOK (305 MNOK) with an EBITDA of 27 MNOK (13 MNOK). Fourth quarter EBITDA margin was 7.9% (4.4%). All business segments have made positive contributions to the fourth quarter result.

"Akva group have completed yet another strong quarter and year. We have over the last years transformed Akva group to become broader and more diversified. As a result of this transformation all our three business segments now contribute to the good financial performance," says the group’s CEO, Trond Williksen.

Cage Based Technology (CBT)

Nordic CBT had a decent performance in Q4 and a wider range of products contributed to improved revenue and profit compared to Q4 2014. Chile has completed one of the best margins ever, due to reduced cost base and higher level of service sales.

Canada had a good fourth quarter and ended their best year ever. Canada is a lean and efficient operation. Australia continues to be a small but profitable operation, and also completed its best year ever. UK ended its best year ever and continues to have high a level of OPEX-based revenue. Turkey had their best year ever and is experiencing increased activity in the sea bass and sea bream industry. Export to emerging markets experienced a slow quarter. Emerging markets are dominated by few but large contracts and this gives variations in the P&L quarter by quarter.

Software (SW)

Akva Software AS continues to deliver stable and high margins, with improved revenue and margins year on year. Wise lausnir ehf also continues with improved performance year on year. Software continues to invest in new product modules, which is expected to strengthen the financial performance of the software segment further.

Land Based Technology (LBT)

LBT provided 25% of total Group revenue in the fourth quarter and LBT delivered a 9.8% EBITDA in Q4. This is due to a significant improved performance year on year and quarter on quarter. Plastsveis AS is on track with good performance in 2015. Aquatec Solutions was included in the Group P&L from Q4 and onwards. Aquatec had good performance as expected. Akva group Denmark had a decent quarter, but there is still potential for further improvements financially. The land-based segment ends the quarter with a good order backlog.

Order Backlog

The group has experienced continued good market activity throughout the second half of 2015 and this has been the best second half in terms of order inflow to date, with orders reaching MNOK 854 (MNOK 661). The order inflow in Q4 2015 was 350 MNOK (460 MNOK). The order backlog at the end of Q4 2015 was 649 MNOK (504 MNOK) – the highest order backlog ever for the group.

Outlook

The group has a good mid-term outlook due to high market activity and the large order backlog. The activity level is particularly high in the Nordic market segment, where there is strong demand for cage-based technology, with a shift towards more efficient production. The land-based segment has experienced increased activity in 2015 and this higher level of activity is expected to continue, making it a larger part of Akva group. UK and Canada have experienced slightly fewer project sales so far in the new year compared to last year, but both entities are still expected to perform well. The group has continued low expectations in Chile due to the challenging situation, while its Turkish and Australian operations are expected to continue to perform well in the next quarters, with a good order backlog. Exports to emerging markets have had a more optimistic start of the year than 2015, although the activity is still expected to fluctuate due to the nature of the business. Servicing and after sales are going to be developed further as a key business element in all markets and segments.