Groupe Bourbon growth in deepsea offshore supply market to accelerate through acquisition of 51 % of Island offshore II and 25 % of Havila Supply A.S.A.

Groupe Bourbon has acquired to day 51 % of Island Offshore II, a Norwegian company whose other shareholders are Havila Supply Ships AS and Borgstein Invest.

Island Offshore II owns Havila Crown, a UT 722 L anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel, delivered March 2001, and has two UT 722 LX AHTSs currently under construction for delivery in January and March 2003. With a total value of 120 M€, these three ships are particularly well suited both for deepsea supply work in the expanding oil offshore market in West Africa and Brazil and for operation in the North Sea.

Groupe Bourbon has also taken a 25 % shareholding in Havila Supply A.S.A., parent company of Havila Supply Ships AS, a Norwegian maritime services company listed on the Oslo stockmarket, having Havila A.S. (Saevik family) and Borgstein Invest A.S. (Ulstein family) as principal shareholders with respectively 34 and 8 %. This investment represents 28 M€.

Havila Supply A.S.A. operates a fleet of 23 ships comprising 6 platform supply vessels, 8 anchor-handling tug supply vessels, 7 rescue-and-recovery vessels and 2 cable-laying vessels. The company also has a new UT 745 E-type platform supply vessel under construction, scheduled for delivery in July 2002

million euros

1 euro = 8 nok

Havila Supply A.S.A.

2001

2000

Operating Income

79.5

57.9

EBITDA

34.6

20.7

EBITDA % Operating Income

43.6 %

35.8 %

EBIT

19.1

6.4

EBIT % Operating Income

24.1 %

11.0 %

Net profit

12.1

(0.6)

As at 31.12.2001, total equity amounted to 123 M euros and net borrowings to 109 M euros

 

Havila Supply A.S.A. (see main financial data above) has the operational know-how and the experienced crews required to expand business on an international scale. In order to use its deepsea fleet of AHTSs and PSVs to best advantage, Havila Supply pursues a policy of balancing its market portfolio between typical North Sea spot market business and domestic or international contract-based markets.

For Groupe Bourbon, this access to new, deepsea vessels and this collaboration with a company employing extensive and highly experienced human resources, constitutes a safe yet challenging means of accelerating the growth of its maritime service business in the deepsea oil industry, a market sector offering many medium-term contract opportunities, notably off West Africa and Brazil.

Paris, May 6th 2002

Corporate contact :Patrick Mangaud, tel.01 40 13 86 09, patrick@mangaud.com Press contact : Image 7 / Caroline Simon, Estelle Guillot-Tantay, tel.01 53 70 74 70,csimon@image7.fr www.groupe-bourbon.com