Gulf Marine Services (LSE:GMS) is maintaining its adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2026 of US$105 million to US$115 million after first-quarter trading was disrupted by vessel evacuations tied to the war in the Gulf.
The disruption halted operations in one GCC country, left utilisation at 74% in Q1 versus 89% a year earlier, meant no revenue was recognised from the evacuated vessels in March and contributed to revenue and adjusted EBITDA being lower than Q1 2025, with GMS operating 15 self-propelled, self-elevating support vessels serving the offshore oil, gas and renewables sectors, the company said.
"We are encouraged that the actions taken over the past few years have strengthened our resilience and agility, enabling us to absorb recent shocks and positioning us well to capture the anticipated post-war growth in demand in the GCC region," Alex Aclimandos, Chief Financial Officer.
GMS acquired a brand-new mid-class vessel in January, partially financed via a US$37.4 million bridge loan that is being merged into existing bank facilities, and reported net leverage of 1.81x at 31 March, below its 2.0x long-term target.
Crew began returning to evacuated vessels in early April, a client reboarded two vessels, one vessel redeployed to Europe in April to support renewables work, the new vessel has secured a contract in Latin America and the group has agreed to manage and operate a third-party vessel in Africa.
Backlog increased to US$666 million as of 4 May and the group said it anticipates continued improvement in average day rates as legacy contracts are renewed at higher levels.
The board has deferred a decision on declaring a distribution pending further assessment of the geopolitical situation.
