News Details

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) announced today revenue for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023 of $302.7 million and $1,010.0 million, respectively, compared with $186.7 million and $647.7 million, respectively, for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2022. Tidewater's net income for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, was $37.7 million ($0.70 per common share) and $97.2 million ($1.84 per common share), respectively, compared with net income (losses) of $10.6 million ($0.20 per common share) and $(21.7) million ($0.49 per common share), respectively, for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2022.

Quintin Kneen, Tidewater’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The past year represented a year of significant milestones and profitable growth for Tidewater with revenue and gross profit improving each quarter throughout the year. The supply and demand dynamics positively influencing the offshore vessel industry drove strong financial and operational results, with revenue cresting the $1.0 billion mark, a significant achievement for Tidewater that was bolstered by the acquisitions done in 2022 and 2023. Day rate progression realized during the year is faster than anything we have seen in the industry. The shortage of vessels, a record-low vessel newbuilding order book and improving offshore vessel demand visibility all support improving operational performance into 2024 and beyond, as indicated by our continued confidence in our ability to grow revenue by 40% and grow gross margin by 66% in 2024. As a result of improved industry fundamentals and associated financial performance, Tidewater is once again in a position to return capital to shareholders, the initial phase of which we completed during the fourth quarter of 2023 with an initial $35.0 million of share repurchases. We are excited to continue to grow free cash flow and return capital to our shareholders as this upcycle continues to unfold.

“Since 2017, we have been high-grading the fleet through the disposal of lower-specification vessels and the acquisition of higher-specification vessels. The financial impact of this strategy continues to be demonstrated by the higher revenue and gross margin outlook for our business. Fourth quarter revenue of $302.7 million is the highest quarterly revenue in over eight years and we anticipate quarterly revenue growth each quarter in 2024, outgrowing the seasonality we typically see in the first and fourth quarters of the year. Gross margin for the fourth quarter came in at 47.2%, the highest gross margin percentage in 15 years, and we anticipate gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2024 to reach 56.0%. Leading edge day rates continued their upward trend, with leading edge day rates up $902 sequentially, to $29,511. We continue to see improving demand across all regions and for a variety of end markets beyond drilling and, as such, we reiterate our full-year 2024 revenue guidance of $1.40 to $1.45 billion and gross margin guidance of 52.0%.

“We generated $61.0 million of free cash flow and returned nearly 60% of this to our shareholders in the form of share repurchases during the fourth quarter. Given our free cash flow performance, business outlook and healthy balance sheet, we are pleased to announce the Board has authorized a new share repurchase program, under which we are authorized to purchase up to $48.6 million of the Company’s common stock. The new authorization represents the maximum permissible amount of share repurchases under our existing debt agreements. As we have previously communicated, we anticipate utilizing this repurchase program opportunistically, weighing the value of share repurchases against other capital allocation opportunities to optimize the use of our capital to maximize shareholder returns.

“The past year was an important chapter in Tidewater’s history and was a successful year by all measures. I want to thank our dedicated team for their tremendous contributions to this achievement. We have even greater success ahead of us and I look forward to working together to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. As always, we remain committed to providing a safe and rewarding environment for our employees as we continue to build the safest, most sustainable, most reliable, most profitable, high specification offshore energy support vessel fleet in the world.”

In addition to the number of outstanding shares, as of December 31, 2023, the Company also has the following in-the-money warrants.

Tidewater will hold a conference call to discuss results for the three and twelve months ending December 31, 2023 on March 1, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time. Investors and interested parties may listen to the earnings conference call via telephone by calling +1.800.715.9871 if calling from the U.S. or Canada (+1.647.932.3411 if calling from outside the U.S. or Canada) and provide Conference ID: 6663124 prior to the scheduled start time. A live webcast of the call will also be available in the Investor Relations section of Tidewater’s website at investor.tdw.com .

A replay of the conference call will be available beginning at 11:00 a.m. Central Time on March 1, 2024. To access the replay, visit the Investor Relations section of Tidewater’s website at investor.tdw.com .

About Tidewater

Tidewater owns and operates the largest fleet of offshore support vessels in the industry, with 65 years of experience supporting offshore energy exploration, production and offshore wind activities worldwide. To learn more, visit www.tdw.com.

Cautionary Statement

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws – that is, any statements that are not historical facts. Such statements often contain words such as “expect,” “believe,” “think,” “anticipate,” “predict,” “plan,” “assume,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “target,” “projections,” “intend,” “should,” “will,” “shall” and other similar words. Forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying degrees, uncertain and based on our management’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential impact on Tidewater Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”).

These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ, possibly materially, from expectations or estimates reflected in such forward-looking statements, including, among others: fluctuations in worldwide energy demand and oil and gas prices; fleet additions by competitors and industry overcapacity; limited capital resources available to replenish our asset base as needed, including through acquisitions or vessel construction, and to fund our capital expenditure needs; uncertainty of global financial market conditions and potential constraints in accessing capital or credit if and when needed with favorable terms, if at all; changes in decisions and capital spending by customers based on industry expectations for offshore exploration, field development and production; consolidation of our customer base; loss of a major customer; changing customer demands for vessel specifications, which may make some of our older vessels technologically obsolete for certain customer projects or in certain markets; rapid technological changes; delays and other problems associated with vessel maintenance; the continued availability of qualified personnel and our ability to attract and retain them; the operating risks normally incident to our lines of business, including the potential impact of liquidated counterparties; our ability to comply with covenants in our indentures and other debt instruments; acts of terrorism and piracy; the impact of regional or global public health crises or pandemics; the impact of potential information technology, cybersecurity or data security breaches; integration of acquired businesses and entry into new lines of business; disagreements with our joint venture partners; natural disasters or significant weather conditions; unsettled political conditions, war, civil unrest and governmental actions, such as expropriation or enforcement of customs or other laws that are not well developed or consistently enforced; risks associated with our international operations, including local content, local currency or similar requirements especially in higher political risk countries where we operate; interest rate and foreign currency fluctuations; labor changes proposed by international conventions; increased regulatory burdens and oversight; changes in laws governing the taxation of foreign source income; retention of skilled workers; enforcement of laws related to the environment, labor and foreign corrupt practices; increased global concern, regulation and scrutiny regarding climate change; increased stockholder activism; the potential liability for remedial actions or assessments under existing or future environmental regulations or litigation; the effects of asserted and unasserted claims and the extent of available insurance coverage; the resolution of pending legal proceedings; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in our most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks filed with or furnished to the SEC.

If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of any such development changes), or should our underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or outcomes may vary materially from those reflected in our forward-looking statements. Forward-looking and other statements in this presentation regarding our environmental, social and other sustainability plans, goals or activities are not an indication that these statements are necessarily material to investors or required to be disclosed in our filings with the SEC. In addition, historical, current, and forward-looking environmental, social and sustainability-related statements may be based on standards still developing, internal controls and processes that we continue to evolve, and assumptions subject to change in the future. Statements in this release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Financial information is displayed beginning on the next page.

The financial statements and supplementary information presented in this press release were not audited. This press release presents extracts from the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2023 and 2022; the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Consolidated Statements of Equity for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022; and the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. Extracts are drawn from the December 31, 2023 and 2022 audited annual financial statements of Tidewater Inc. All per-share amounts are stated on a diluted basis.