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Subsea 7 S.A. closed its 2025 financial year with a record order book approaching $14 billion, net cash of $21 million after eliminating more than $600 million in net debt, and a near doubling of net income to $404 million, even as the proposed merger with Saipem S.p.A. to create the entity Saipem7 continued to await regulatory clearances.
The Luxembourg-registered offshore energy services contractor reported full-year revenue of $7.1 billion, up 4% year-on-year, and Adjusted EBITDA of $1.48 billion, a 36% increase that lifted the group margin from 16% in 2024 to 21% in 2025. Free cash flow more than doubled to $1.19 billion from $583 million the prior year, underscoring the depth of the current deepwater upcycle. The results were published on 25 February 2026.
Deepwater Core Drives Margin Expansion
The Subsea and Conventional business unit, which focuses on oil and gas and carbon capture and storage (CCS) work, recorded its fifth consecutive year of revenue growth. Revenue rose 5% to $5.8 billion and the Adjusted EBITDA margin widened to 22.6% from 16.3% in 2024, a gain the company attributed to an improving contract environment and stronger project execution.
Chief Executive Officer John Evans noted that activity spanned major greenfield projects in Brazil, strategic gas developments in Türkiye, and tieback solutions in the United States. Norway alone contributed more than $1 billion of revenue, driven by a portfolio of developments for alliance partner Aker BP.
In the US Gulf of Mexico, Subsea 7 completed rigid pipeline installation for its third ultra-high-pressure field at 20,000 psi, the Shenandoah project for Beacon Offshore Energy, setting a new record for reel-lay installation at that pressure rating. The company holds a portfolio of nearly 2,000 patents, and in 2025 it deployed new software from subsidiary 4Subsea that extended the operational window of its flagship deepwater pipelay vessel, Seven Vega, adding an estimated 35 days of availability per year.
The Renewables business unit, which operates under the Seaway7 brand and focuses on fixed offshore wind, reported Adjusted EBITDA growth of 9% with a margin of 16.6%, compared with 15.0% in 2024. The unit marked its third consecutive year of margin improvement following a selective shift in its bidding strategy. Activity remained concentrated on established developers in Europe and Taiwan where project financing and regulatory frameworks are considered predictable.
Record Backlog Underpins 2026 Guidance
Order intake for 2025 reached $9.0 billion, lifting the closing backlog to nearly $14 billion, the highest level in the company’s history. Of that total, approximately $7 billion is scheduled for execution in 2026, providing what management described as high visibility on anticipated full-year revenue of $7.0 billion to $7.4 billion.
The company guided to an Adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 22% for 2026, continuing the upward trend. Capital expenditure is planned at $350 million to $380 million for the year, directed primarily toward fleet maintenance rather than newbuildings.
Liquidity stood at $1.6 billion at the year end, up from $1.3 billion twelve months earlier. Net debt fell by $622 million over the course of 2025 to arrive at net cash of $21 million, which includes $365 million of lease liabilities tied mainly to vessel charters. The company paid $376 million in ordinary dividends during 2025 and has indicated it plans to distribute $400 million in 2026.
Merger with Saipem Pending Clearances
The most closely watched element of the results cycle remained the proposed cross-border merger of equals with Italian contractor Saipem S.p.A., announced in 2025. The combined entity, to be named Saipem7, would operate a fleet of approximately 60 specialist vessels, employ more than 40,000 people across more than 60 countries, and offer both offshore and onshore services.
Shareholders voted in favour of the transaction at an Extraordinary General Meeting in September 2025, with 99% of votes cast in support. Pre-completion, the group is committed to returning €555 million in special dividends. Post-completion, the two companies project annualised synergies of more than €300 million by 2029.
Regulatory clearance for the transaction was still pending at the time the annual report was published. Chairman Kristian Siem confirmed the board remained focused on project execution while the clearance process continued, and Evans stated that management was committed to securing new contracts and retaining its workforce throughout the transition period.
Compliance with the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) added approximately 60 additional pages of disclosures to the 2025 annual report, requiring an estimated 12,000 extra manhours across the organisation. Siem welcomed current EU initiatives to streamline the reporting standards, saying the goal of clearer and more concise sustainability disclosure would reduce the burden on the industry while retaining value for investors.
The company ended 2025 with a fleet of 38 vessels and approximately 13,821 employees operating in 33 countries.
