Ocean Business 2017 Special Edition

This is not the first or the last time that a fall in oil prices has resulted in a restructuring of the market. What is for sure is that the duration of this cycle has profoundly changed behaviors in the upstream segment and well beyond. We have seen an overall slowdown in underwater engineering and projects. At iXblue, we have always invested heavily in research and development in order to bring to market innovative solutions that save time during offshore operations and data processing without ever compromising on performance, reliability or safety.

What’s more, we have opened new premises in Saint Germain en Laye (France) with over 91,500 Sq. ft. of floor space devoted to the design and manufacture of very high performance navigation systems. Inaugurated by the French Defense Minister, Mr. Le Drian, in September 2016, this new site has been supporting the Group through growth that has continued in 2015 and 2016, thanks to the diversification of our business.

The fact that we operate in both civil and defense markets is a strength for iXblue. Beyond the financial stability it lends the group, the complementarities allow the oil business to benefit from innovations introduced in military applications. This stability has allowed us to continue broadening the scope of our product offering in the field of inertial navigation and to successfully launch Rovins Nano and Phins Compact Series. These compact INUs for ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) and AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) have seen very quick uptake by leading manufacturers of underwater vehicles. This range of products now covers all operational navigation needs according to the level of performance required and for a suitable cost.

We are also very proud to have been present alongside our customers in their maritime operations, some of which are detailed in this newsletter. Following the tragedy of Egyptair flight MS 804 disappearing off Karpathos in the Mediterranean Sea, the localization of the black boxes was thanks to iXblue’s acoustic technologies operated by the company DOS (Deep Ocean Search), and that will remain among the highlights of the year 2016. Looking ahead, there are positive signs of investment picking up in onshore activities, and experts are hoping for a recovery in offshore activity in 2018. The rebalancing of the oil market started in 2016 and crude prices, which had fallen to as low as USD 30 per barrel in January 2016, are stabilizing today around USD 55. The measures taken in 2016 have allowed a reduction in costs throughout the value chain. Only one thing seems certain: it, is highly improbable that tomorrow will see a return to yesterday’s model.