As talks of a merger progress between offshore engineering giants Subsea7 and Saipem, Subsea 7 CEO John Evans has given a positive outlook after Q1 2025 results.
“Overall, while volatility in commodity prices and global tariffs create headwinds for investor sentiment in the sector, the fundamentals of our industry remain robust and our focused strategy leaves the Group well-positioned to deliver strong growth in profitability and cash generation in 2025,” he said.
The two firms in February said they were starting talks to merge, at the time saying it was an agreement in principle with the proposed combination ‘expected to create a global leader in energy services’. The two firms will be renamed Saipem7 and have a combined backlog of €43 billion, Saipem said in a statement.
This week, Subsea7 released its First Quarter Results for 2025, with CEO John Evans saying the firm had a good start to the year, ‘with solid financial performance underpinned by strong project execution’. He is expected to head up the new merger’s Offshore Engineering & Construction business.
While there are still many projects in the pipeline for offshore oil and gas, the Renewables sector for 37% up on the first quarter of 2024, an increase of $67 million, and three offshore wind farms, including in the UK, Taiwan and China were close to completion. Work had progressed, the company said, at the UK’s East Anglia Three and Dogger Bank C, Hai Long in Taiwan and Revolution in the US.
“We also took advantage of the winter off-season to install a monopile gripper on Seaway Ventus before starting the East Anglia Three project in the UK, where we will install 95 monopiles,” the company said.
There was still operating loss in the sector, but this just it was down from $24 million to $5 million.
“The year-on-year improvement reflected higher activity levels, and the execution of projects awarded at improved margins,” the report said.
“Although uncertainty in the global economy has increased in recent months, the outlook for long-term energy demand growth remains positive,” said Evans. “Subsea7’s strategy to focus on long-duration developments in cost-advantaged sectors of the deepwater adds resilience to our subsea business, and our exposure to strategic gas developments, such as the Sakarya field in Turkey, and new oil provinces such as Namibia, gives us further confidence.
“In offshore wind, we are positive about the opportunities presented by this year’s CFD allocation round in the UK, where it is expected that the volume of projects sanctioned will nearly double year-on-year. We are well-positioned in this market, with a strong track record and collaborative client relationships.”
If the merger, completion of which is being anticipated to happen in the second half of 2026, goes ahead, the combined companies will form a mammoth entity in on and offshore energy, employing more than 45,000 people.
As well as offshore oil and gas and offshore wind, the company also mentions providing carbon capture services.
