BOURBON (EPA:GBB) BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy : A 2 billion US$ vessels new building program to renew the old and obsolete continental offshore fleet and meet demand in deepwater

Transparency directive : regulatory news

25/06/2010 08:15

Paris, June 25, 2010

BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy

A 2 billion US$ vessels new building program to renew the old and obsolete
continental offshore fleet and meet demand in deepwater

"With this plan covering 2011 to 2015, BOURBON wants to achieve leadership
under the flag of excellence" says Jacques de Chateauvieux, CEO of BOURBON,
"It relies on innovative and cost efficient vessels and above all, on the women
and men who deliver BOURBON services every day, striving to achieve the highest
safety and operations standards, personally committed and united to attain
excellence".

- Focus on Offshore

" BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy" consists in further investing in innovative
and cost effective vessels to satisfy customers' increasing focus on safe and
efficient vessels to support their offshore activities, and to enable them to
reduce their overall operation costs. By adding 80 supply vessels and 64
crewboats through a 2 billion US$ investment plan in new buildings, BOURBON
will be operating a fleet of 600 vessels for deepwater and shallow water
logistics services by 2015.

                               Horizon 2012       BOURBON 2015         2015
                Fleet as of   Strategic Plan   Leadership Strategy Total number
                12.31.2009  Under construction     Newbuildings     of vessels
Deep water           82             22                  30              134
Shallow water        52             44                  50              146
Total supply
vessels             134             66                  80              280
Crewboats           223             33                  64              320
Total fleet         357             99                 144              600

"BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy" will be built on the success of its Bourbon
Liberty series of vessels, to speed up the renewal of the old and obsolete
existing shallow water fleet and on the proven expertise of its deepwater
operations for exploration and production, including subsea activities.

"BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy" will also mean increasing efficiency and
reducing BOURBON's operating costs. The target for vessel availability rate
should reach 95% and running costs index should be reduced by 4% at constant
rate by 2015.

- Key financial objectives

Based on the existing fleet and the delivery of new vessels including those
built under the new investment plan, BOURBON's key financial and operational
objectives can be summarized as follows:

                                                 2011-2015
                                                  5 years
New buildings investment in offshore vessels  2 billions US$
Average yearly growth of offshore revenues          17%
Vessel availability rate                          > 95%

By 2015

EBITDA / Revenues for the Offshore activity         45%
EBITDA / Capital employed                           20%
Offshore running costs index at constant rate       -4%

Following the 28% average annual growth of the BOURBON Offshore Division
revenues between 2002 and 2009, the new plan provides for a 17% average annual
growth from 2011 to 2015 (based on 1.30 US$ for 1EUR). The combined effect of
improved utilization rates, increased vessel availability rate, and reduced
costs of operation will contribute to the significant increase of the gross
return on revenues and capital employed ratios.

- Strong financing for "BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy"

This new investment financing will benefit from:

    * 500 million EUR of assets disposal in 2010, mainly consisting of sales of
      BOURBON fleet of 16 supramaxes and of the remaining non-core assets;

    * reduced installments paid on vessels under construction, 75% of the
      vessel price being paid on delivery;

    * a 400 million US$ 12-year loan provided by China Exim Bank.

The combined effect of cash flow generated by operations, of the disposal of
assets in 2010 and the new payment terms policy will result in an expected
gearing of less than 0.5 and a net debt to EBITDA ratio of less than 2 by 2015.
This means BOURBON will be generating positive cash flows as from 2013.

BOURBON dividend policy will be to pay out about 40% of its consolidated
profit.

- DELIVERING " BOURBON 2015 LEADERSHIP STRATEGY "

BOURBON benefits from proven track records and commitment to continuous
improvements.

BOURBON team is fully engaged to:

    * deliver growth;

    * operate a full range of innovative and cost efficient vessels for
      demanding customers trough a global network;

    * generate strong cash flow and secure long term financing.

To deliver "BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy", 5,000 new recruits will be added
to the 7,000 existing women and men already working to the highest standards of
safety and operations and personally commited to perform under the flag of
excellence.

By delivering BOURBON 2015 leadership strategy, the company expects continuous
value creation for BOURBON shareholders.

BOURBON FINANCIAL CALENDAR

  - Group strategy presentation in Shanghai                   June 25, 2010

  - 2nd quarter and 1st half 2010 revenues                   August, 9 2010

  - 1st half 2010 financial results                         August 31, 2010

  - Presentation of 1st half 2010 results               September 1st, 2010

About BOURBON

BOURBON offers a full range of deep and shallow offshore oil and gas marine
services. Under its "BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy", BOURBON will invest
2 billion US$ to offer the most demanding clients, 600 innovative, high
performance, new-generation and efficient vessels and the highest standards of
quality worldwide.

BOURBON also specializes in bulk transport and protects the French coastline
for the French Navy. Classified by ICB (Industry Classification Benchmark) in
the "Oil Services" sector, BOURBON is listed for trading on Euronext Paris,
Compartment A, and is included in the Deferred Settlement Service SRD and in
the SBF 120 and Dow Jones Stoxx 600 indices..

Contacts

Publicis Consultants / Press Relations

Jérôme Goaer     +33 (0)1 40 71 32 35   jerome.goaer@consultants.publicis.fr
Elodie Woillez   +33 (0)1 57 32 86 97   elodie.woillez@consultants.publicis.fr

BOURBON

Investors - Analysts - Shareholders Relations
Patrick Mangaud    +33 (0)1 40 13 86 09     patrick.mangaud@bourbon-online.com

Communications Department
Christa Roqueblave +33 (0)1 40 13 86 06  christa.roqueblave@bourbon-online.com

                  All information on www.bourbon-online.com

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BOURBON (EPA:GBB) BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy : A 2 billion US$ vessels new building program to renew the old and obsolete continental offshore fleet and meet demand in deepwater

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