OIL services giant Petrofac, which has a big North Sea business, has seen its shares plunge 10 per cent after announcing plans for a deeply-discounted share issue and posting increased first half losses.
Petrofac made a net loss of $86 million in the six months to June 30, compared with $78m last time.
The company said the latest loss largely reflected the $106m penalty imposed by the Crown Court following a long investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
READ MORE: Petrofac hit by fallout from bribery scandal
Announcing the outcome of the investigation earlier this month Petrofac said the Court imposed a penalty “in relation to seven historic offences of failing to prevent former Petrofac Group employees from offering or making payments to agents in relation to projects awarded between 2012 and 2015.” It added: “All employees involved in the charges have left the business.”
Petrofac said yesterday that it plans to raise $275m (£200m) through a share issue. The proceeds of the capital raise will be used to pay the penalty imposed in relation to the SFO investigation, and to repay existing indebtedness.
Chief executive Sami Iskander said: “The conclusion of the SFO investigation allows us to focus on the future and unlock new opportunities - with an uncompromising approach to compliance and ethics that will always be at the core of how we operate.”
Petrofac sees opportunities to use expertise gained working on oil and gas projects to capitalise on the growth of the renewable energy industry.
However, Mr Iskander said the first half performance reflected the challenges of the market and the Covid-19 coronavirus. Total revenues fell to $1.6bn from $2.1bn.
Mr Iskander said the planned equity raise formed part of a refinancing that would create a long-term, sustainable capital structure for Petrofac. It will issue shares at 115p each representing a discount of 27.2 percent to the closing share price of 158 pence on Monday. Petrofac shares closed down 15.3p at 142.7 yesterday.
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