January 27 - Fairstar Heavy Transport has been awarded two contracts by Saipem to provide marine transportation services for the Golden Eagle Project in the North Sea. The total contract value is EUR11.99 million (USD15.7 million).
The first voyage is scheduled for early 2013 and will involve the line's ship Finesse, which is currently under construction in China.
The second voyage is scheduled for early 2014 and will involve Fjord.
With these new contract awards, Fairstar Heavy Transport says it has contracted revenues totalling USD190 million for its fleet.
Philip Adkins, CEO of Fairstar, highlighted the strategic importance of these contracts, stating: "Fairstar has taken a fundamentally different approach to the marine heavy transport industry in the past five years. We have invested heavily in a new fleet of purpose built, open stern semi-submersible heavy transport vessels.
"We have also listened carefully to our strategic clients, namely the E&P companies investing billions of dollars in new oil and gas projects and the EPC companies responsible for designing and constructing the infrastructure necessary to extract and package this energy for supply to the markets where it is in demand.
"The complexity of these projects is increasing and the technical support required by our clients involves a broad scope of skills including engineering, project management, environmental stewardship and most importantly safety. We have invested in a team of dedicated professionals at Fairstar who can deliver this service package to our clients.
"Our commitment to exceptional service has been validated by the contract awards we have received in the last 18 months.
"Fairstar has built strong relationships with all of our clients and the repeat business we have earned from Northern Offshore, ENSCO, Chevron, Hercules, KBR and Saipem underscores their confidence in Fairstar and the competence of our dedicated team.
"The short term prospects of additional contract awards are high. The tender process for high value, multi-voyage projects can take as long as 18 months. Fairstar has submitted qualified tenders that are awaiting contract award, in over ten onshore and offshore projects.
"We believe the combination of our modern fleet and highly skilled Team will continue to give us a compelling competitive edge. We intend to maintain this competitive edge to win additional high value, multi-voyage contracts and deliver a predictable earnings stream to our stakeholders."
In regards to the company's shareholding; Fairstar Heavy Transport announced today that it has successfully completed a private placement towards Norwegian and international institutional investors of 8.1 million new shares at a price of NOK8.00 (USD1.3) per share. The share issue represents approximately 10 percent of the shares outstanding prior to the placement. Total gross proceeds from the private placement amounted to approximately NOK65 million (USD11.1 million).
The new shares to be issued in connection with the private placement will be issued in accordance with the Board proxy established at the company's Annual General Meeting held on April 20, 2011. The total number of outstanding shares after the issue will be 89,172,779 shares, each with a nominal value of EUR0.46 (USD0.604).
The private placement was managed by ABG Sundal Collier Norge ASA, Carnegie ASA and SEB Enskilda.
Ingmar den Blanken, Fairstar treasurer, states: "Our three Joint Bookrunners, ABG Sundal Collier Norge ASA, Carnegie ASA and SEB Enskilda, did a fantastic job on our behalf. Support from current as well as new shareholders ensured the success of this deal in the midst of unpredictable global capital markets. Our balance sheet is strong, our fleet has been awarded a series of valuable multi-voyage contracts and the Fairstar team is determined to reward our shareholders for their trust and support."
