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How steep is a 61% slope? The chart for Thalassa Holdings (LSE:THAL) shows you how steep a slope it is, following the announcement this morning of a new joint venture and the release of a related trading update, as the share price had soared by 18.00p to 47.50p by early afternoon.
The Joint Venture
Thalassa has entered into an agreement with P-Cable to commercialise the company’s patented advanced seismic technology. P-Cable is a Norwegian research and development company which has developed a new concept for acquiring high-resolution, sub-oceanic, seismic data that is versatile and easily deployed so that the technology is suitable for small scale surveys where deployment of seismic equipment would otherwise be too costly to employ. Typical deployment and recovery can be completed within less than three hours. The resolution of the 3D date is significantly higher that conventional systems. Along with the announcement of the formation of the joint venture, which Thalassa has executed through its subsidiary, WGP Group, the company also announced that the joint venture has already entered into an agreement to provide seismic surveys for Spring Energy, a Norwegian oil and gas exploration and production company working on projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The project is already being mobilized and the surveys are scheduled to begin on 8 June 2012 and last for several months.
The Trading Update
In a second announcement this morning, Thalassa’s board revealed that its contract revenue for FY2012 is already at £15 million and that they expect profits to increase proportionately. In FY2011 Thalassa reported £1.56 million in revenue and £0.23 million in pre-tax profit. A major project with BP is nearing completion, work has begun on a project with State Sevmorgeo Company in Russia, and permanent reservoir studies currently underway are expected to secure additional contracts before the year is out.
Executive Comments
Duncan Soukup, Thalassa’s Executive Chairman, said, “I am delighted with the joint venture arrangement with P-Cable which again recognises the technical expertise within WGP and further enhances its reputation as an operator of seismic equipment. This is very exciting news for the Group and involves us directly in the operation and further development of P-Cable’s patented acquisition technology. The entering into the joint venture underlines our intention to promote and develop new technology, and further expand the Group’s seismic offering. I am also pleased that the joint venture has secured its first contract, which we are hopeful will be the first of many as customers seek to take advantage of the JV’s capabilities.”
Company Spotlight
Thalassa Holdings Ltd, registered in the British Virgin Islands, is an international holding company which acquires marine seismic equipment to allow exploration & production companies to monitor their reservoirs. As of this writing Thalassa has acquired only one company, the WGP Group. WGP’s four divisions are WGP Energy Services Ltd, WGP Exploration Services Ltd, WGP Technical Services Ltd, and WGP Survey Ltd.
