TechnipFMC plc (NYSE:FTI) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

So, look, let’s just say we remain very confident that we will continue on the path that we’re on and have certainly, as we’ve said before, they comments like, a major milestone on a more ambitious journey, and then really I just think it’s fair if I stick with that kind of terminology today, but certainly no less confidence if anything even more conviction.

Scott Gruber: I appreciate it. I thought a few years out, but had to ask, I was going to come back to the Subsea separation, to talk about again. Can you help us think about the content uplift? Or STI by putting the separation and reinjection on the seafloor? I imagine there’s a range based upon what is actually done on the seafloor and the content, the production stream, just kind of what the reasonable range for us to think about in terms of content uplift?

Doug Pferdehirt : Well, the way I would view it is, we know that it’s a billion dollar plus award, because that’s how we classified it. Right? So that was being done somewhere else and, if you will on the top side today. So from an FTI we don’t do top sides or we do know engineering construction work whatsoever. So, you just think of it at a minimum, you’re taking a functionality that was being under the scope of someone else and putting it under the scope of FTI. And then we’re putting it on the sea floor. So that’s kind of one aspect that I would kind of think about in terms of margin expansion. And again, if you say well, what is the scale of that? Well, this is actually a Brownfield project. It’s not a Greenfield project.

So this is a Brownfield project where you’re seeing an incremental billion dollar plus scope coming to our company as a result of this unique offering and capability. So that’s, you can’t multiply that by every Brownfield. But if you multiply it by just a few, that’s a pretty dramatic uplift, right there Scott. And then the other kind of interesting thing and I alluded to it when I said it was a Brownfield versus a Greenfield, this is a billion dollar reward that doesn’t include a single Christmas tree. So, we’ve often in the past always thought about trees and trees and tree count. There’s a billion dollar reward without a single tree. It really shows how this market is expanding in a very favorable way for the industry, but also for our company.

Scott Gruber: I appreciate all the color. Thanks Doug.

Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Bertrand Hodée with Kepler Cheuvreux. Your line is open.

Bertrand Hodée : Yes. Hello, Doug. Two questions, if I may. How should we think of your 2025 Subsea intermediate guidance when it comes to revenues you had in mind $8 billion. Are you ready to give us enough lift to that? And then the second question is on the free cash flow for Q4 was extremely strong. But you may have received lot of down payment as now when I look at the balance sheet your net contract liabilities now close to $500 million as it was, close to zero in previous quarters. So, how should we think of this item going forward? Thank you.

Doug Pferdehirt : Sure, good afternoon, Betrand. I’ll touch on the 2025 question and then I’ll turn it over to Alf if you want to add any color and then he can touch on the free cash flow, as well. So, on the 2025, look we updated our inbound target through the end of 2025 that obviously gives greater conviction in the numbers that had previously been shared around 2025. And, I let out maybe give you a little better view of kind of at a total company level one could expect. But there’s some things happening in our Surface business as an example. And but there’s also meaning to sell the business and the implications. But there’s also some positive things are happening on the Subsea side, but without giving any specific – commenting specifically to the revenue target, I think we can give you directionally something very compelling. I’ll pass it over to Alf.

Alf Melin: Yes, thanks, Doug. Maybe just putting in context to Subsea situation really we are coming off a strong growth in earnings this past year. We are looking forward to another strong year in 2024. We saw backlog growth 50% and not only did the backlog grow, the quality of that backlog grew we are building stronger average margins in the backlog. And then, on top of that you are, – we are upgrading the $25 billion previous target to $30 billion. And comping that with a positive momentum in our Subsea Services business all that adds up to really to having just greater confidence overall in the Subsea outlook. And what Doug was talking about and maybe call it little bit similar to 2024, we do expect the lower Surface revenue due to the Measurement Solutions sale, as well as some of the – rationalization we’ve done over the last 12 to 18 months.

And clearly we will expect to offset that by a higher relative earnings mix coming from Subsea in 2025. And maybe – or maybe I skipped your free cash flow question. So let me get back to that. So first of all, you appropriately noted that in part of the Q4 inflow did indeed come from advance – not necessarily advances, but offset in milestone and progress payments on our Subsea business. And I don’t necessarily consider it was a negative to build contract liabilities are considering there is a positive that we actually can run our business on a very neutral working capital basis for the whole company. So, when you look forward, I certainly don’t expect the same kind of call it builds in contract liabilities, but I do expect us to continue to be neutral to positive – slightly positive in the working capital for the next year.

Bertrand Hodée : Okay. Perfect. Thank you very much.

Operator: Your last question comes from the line of Saurabh Pant of Bank of America. Your line is open.