Neptune Marine's half year earnings are expected to be at least $7.5 million lower after it sold its Neptune Trident vessel to an Indonesian offshore marine group for $US14 million.
Neptune said the vessel was sold to Indonesia's Wintermar Offshore Marine Group at market rates, but it had a written down value of $21.5 million, resulting in the $7.5 million loss.
The proceeds from the sale, expected to be settled in May, will be used to eliminate some of Neptune's outstanding debt, Neptune's acting chief executive, Robin King said.
Mr King said the sale of the vessel was an important part of the company's restructuring initiatives, which it announced in February.
"Two primary elements of our restructuring plan are a reduction in debt levels and a move away from the capital burden associated with vessel ownership," Mr King said in a statement to the ASX.
"The Trident sale is a significant step forward in both regards and is in line with our valuation that ownership of the vessel is no longer a strategic fit for the company moving forward.
"The emerging potential for ongoing operational losses against the vessel following the cancellation of anticipated work scopes resulted in the decision to sell being brought forward.
"Concurrently, we are investigating the establishment of an operational agreement with Wintermar that would provide for collaboration and the potential for Neptune to utilise the vessel on future projects," he added.
At 12:35PM (WST) Neptune shares had slipped 2.2 per cent, to trade at 4.3 cents.
