Shearwater focuses on cutting costs, reducing headcount as it awaits a tender uptick

Announcing results for Q4 2025 and preliminary results for the full year, Shearwater said that, as anticipated, marine seismic activity in Q4 2025 remained low as muted intake and uncertainty related to project timing continued to weigh on fleet scheduling and profitability.

Shearwater chief executive Irene Basili said, “While marine acquisition activity remained low in the quarter, strong multi‑client revenues drove a significant improvement in our results, underscoring the value‑creation potential of our multi‑client strategy.

“Recent client discussions increasingly emphasise reserve replacement, which is encouraging for the industry’s long‑term fundamentals because, over time, rebuilding reserves to sustain production and energy security will require renewed investment in seismic acquisition and imaging, which is fully aligned with our strategic direction.”

“However,” she said, “to date, this shift has not translated into increased activity in our tendering pipeline, and we therefore expect the sideways‑trending market and competitive landscape to continue into 2026.”

Against this backdrop, Ms Basili said Shearwater has taken ‘decisive measures’ to strengthen liquidity, simplify the organisation and deliver material cost reduction to improve cash flow development.

The company said its headcount reductions, implemented in 2025, ‘while demanding,’ were necessary to streamline the organisation and align the company’s cost base with near‑term market conditions. “Together with broader cost‑reduction initiatives, structural efficiency measures, and the continued expansion of our multi‑client portfolio, these actions position Shearwater well for a future market recovery and long‑term value creation,” Ms Basili said. 

Shearwater said it is continuing to strengthen its position in deepwater ocean bottom seismic, supported by the broad client adoption of the Pearl node platform, with SW Tasman. This has enabled the company to generate a continuous project pipeline exceeding 24 months. 

The company’s multi‑client business model remains key to its success, having increased backlog, broadened the revenue base, and built a profitable, cash‑generative library. “Building on this position of strength, we are prioritising growth in the converted contract market while remaining selective in pursuing high‑quality multi‑client investments,” Mr Basili said.

Revenue in the quarter was US$169M compared to US$104M in Q4 2024. EBITDA was US$44M, an increase from the year-ago period (US$13M), reflecting several multi-client sales. The company said its strategic improvement programme is progressing well, with the implementation of cost and efficiency measures on track. The company had a backlog of US$316M at the end of Q4, including multi-client commitments.