Subsea7 Raises EBITDA Guidance After Q2 Beat, Backlog at $13.6B

Subsea7 reported a 10% rise in second-quarter revenue to $1.9 billion and lifted its full-year profit margin forecast, as vessel utilisation climbed and the company made progress on its proposed merger with Saipem.

Adjusted EBITDA reached $471 million, pushing the margin to 24.4% from 20.5% a year earlier. Subsea7 now expects its 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin to be approximately 24%, up from a prior forecast of 23%. Revenue guidance remained in a range of $7.4 billion to $7.8 billion.

Order intake in the quarter was $2.1 billion, giving a book-to-bill of 1.1 times. Backlog stood at $13.6 billion at the end of June, with $3.9 billion scheduled for the remainder of 2026, $5.6 billion for 2027 and $4.1 billion for 2028 and beyond.

"The success of our strategy is evident in another solid set of quarterly results," Chief Executive Officer Stuart Fitzgerald said in a statement. He took the top job on July 1.

Subsea7's Subsea and Conventional segment ran at 85% vessel utilisation during the quarter, with seven vessels working on projects including Yggdrasil, Búzios 8 and Baobab FPSO hookup in Côte d'Ivoire. The Renewables business, after a seasonal lull in the first quarter, posted 92% utilisation. Seaway Ventus installed 26 monopiles at East Anglia THREE in the UK, while Seaway Strashnov worked on monopiles in France. Cable-lay vessels Seaway Aimery and Seaway Phoenix completed class renewals before working on Hornsea 3 and East Anglia THREE.

Net income came in at $254 million, after depreciation and amortisation of $154 million, other gains of $46 million, net finance costs of $5 million and a tax charge of $104 million.

Cash generated from operations was $570 million, including a $139 million working capital benefit. Capital expenditure was $70 million. The company paid $414 million in dividends, partly hedged with foreign exchange forward contracts, leaving a net cash outflow of $403 million. Cash and cash equivalents ended the quarter at $1.046 billion, and net cash stood at $190 million after lease liabilities of $363 million.

Fitzgerald said the proposed merger with Saipem "remains on track." Integration planning is advancing and highlighting the potential for the combined group to deliver "meaningful benefits for clients" and "create substantial value for shareholders," he said.

The merger, announced earlier this year, would create a combined offshore engineering and construction company with a fleet of more than 70 vessels. Subsea7 shareholders are due to vote on the deal in the coming months.

Tendering activity remains high, Fitzgerald said, reflecting the "attractive economics and strategic importance" of the prospects in its target markets.