Shearwater Geoservices has published their first quarter 2026 results. Revenue in the quarter was USD 120.6 million compared to USD 189.4 million in the first quarter of 2025. EBITDA was USD 35.7 million, a decrease from the year-ago period (USD 58.1 million) due to lower fleet utilisation and changes to the project-mix.

Key takeaways:

• Marine seismic acquisition activity broadly in line with preceding quarters
• Strong multi-client revenue contribution of USD 21.6 million
• 73% fleet utilisation across 8.7 active vessels, including one OBN crew
• Long-term fundamentals beginning to translate into opportunities, but near-term visibility remains soft
• Proposed amendments to secured debt facilities in May, supported by equity issue, strengthening liquidity and financial resilience

Irene Basili, CEO of Shearwater, comments on the first quarter results:
“As expected, marine acquisition activity remained muted in the quarter, mainly due to a slow contract market. We continued to benefit from our disciplined multi-client build-up, with another quarter of strong revenue and profit contribution. While segment revenue variability is expected to continue in 2026, our multi-client model has proven to be a strategic enabler, supporting backlog, utilisation and a broader revenue base as we build a profitable, cash-generative data library.

We also continue to strengthen our ocean bottom seismic position, led by the Pearl node platform. As part of a continuous string of projects over more than 24 months, SW Tasman recently completed its second solo project as a combined node deployment and source vessel, demonstrating a unique solution that enhances project economics by removing the need for a standalone source vessel.

While current market activity remains low, the long-term fundamentals for marine seismic are strengthening, driven by renewed focus on reserve replacement and energy security in a shifting geopolitical environment. We see early signs of this translating into opportunities in key geographic markets, reflected in our tendering pipeline. Against this backdrop, we are increasingly optimistic on activity levels from clients picking up, although we are cautious in terms of when this cascades into our market. Early signs indicate a step up in activity toward the end of the year, while we are navigating soft near-term market conditions.

This is reflected in measures taken to ensure resilience through the cycle by aligning the organisation, cost base and operations to current activity levels. In April, we announced the sale of SW Baret, which strengthens our balance sheet and optimise the fleet. We continue to evaluate selective divestments to reduce leverage and consolidate global streamer supply, while preserving strategic optionality in the asset base. In parallel, we have taken steps to strengthen financial flexibility and strategic optionality through the proposed debt amendments, supported by our relationship banks and RASMUSSENGRUPPEN.

Through the ongoing measures to strengthen the balance sheet, reduce cost and realise structural efficiencies, combined with continued expansion of the multi-client portfolio, we are positioning Shearwater for long-term value creation.”

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Shearwater