UK: Ecosse Subsea Systems Doubles Turnover in Third Successive Year of Growth

Subsea technology company, Ecosse Subsea Systems Ltd, (ESS) has seen revenue in the last financial year more than double to £4.85 million and forecasts turnover in the current year will pass the £6.5 million mark.

The Aberdeen-based specialist engineering firm will post pre-tax profit of £600,000 to March 2012, while the current financial year has seen exceptional growth with turnover for the first six months exceeding £3.5 million and pre-tax profits expected to be similar to 2012.

The company specialises in trenching, deepwater installation and subsea lifting technologies for the oil, gas, marine and renewable industries and has a range of patented technologies in development.

The successful deployment of its SCAR plough technology on a £1 million subsea excavation contract for a major operator will propel ESS to its most successful trading period to date, said managing director Mike Wilson.

Mr Wilson said: “We have enjoyed steady year-on-year growth for the last three years and the results demonstrate that prudent management and rolling out unique technologies demanded by the market is now paying off.

“We are enjoying our most successful period, have put together a very strong management team and made a significant breakthrough in successfully executing a challenging £1 million contract for a global operator.”

A new engineering division was recently established with the recruitment of David Hunt and Faris Lutfy who have extensive subsea construction and installation experience and this has been well received by clients looking for specialist engineering packages.

Ecosse Subsea employs a 12 strong team in Aberdeen which is expected to grow to 16 in the next year, and has a further 50 staff engaged on international projects at any given time. Its Personnel Services Division recruits and matches staff to global subsea, oil, gas and marine markets and in the last year ESS staff have supervised projects worth an estimated £250 million.

Mr Wilson added: “We have benefited from the support and encouragement of Scottish Enterprise who have assisted with our research work and we will continue to reinvest profits in research and development which is core to our success. Looking ahead, the positive balance sheet combined with our depth of engineering experience and innovative technologies, means we are well placed for significant growth in the next few years.”

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Press release, December 3, 2012; Image: Ecosse Subsea