Mid-Year Summary

Published: 03.07.06

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Omega's first six months of 2006 have been anything but dull! Our CEO, Petter Aalvik, recalls the highlights, achievements and challenges of the year so far and reveals where we are heading as the second half kicks off.

Facts and Figures

Rapid Team Expansion

At the start of 2006 there were 274 of us in Omega - now there are 350; an increase of approximately 12 employees per month. We welcome the new team members and hope you have an interesting and rewarding time as part of Omega. At the same time I wish to thank everyone for their efforts, which have resulted in satisfied clients and good growth thus far in 2006.

Financial Growth

Accumulated turnover for Omega over the past 12 months is approximately 290 million NOK, including that of Omega Project Solutions Inc, and Omega IAT. This equates to growth of approximately 56 percent compared to the previous 12-month period.

The operating margin for the period is about 7.4 percent. The growth has offered us the possibility to increase effectiveness in Administration and Management, and this shows in the set costs which have been reduced from more than 10 percent of the turnover three years ago, to approximately 6.5 percent today.

An increased share of turnover from the Project Services Department has meant that the gross margin ratio has been reduced by approximately one quarter in the same three-year period. The operating margin has in the same three-year period been relatively stable, due to the fact that a reduced gross margin ratio has been offset by scale advantages in relation to set costs. 

Project Services

Positive Client Feedback

Our project consultants have put in a solid effort on assignment with clients. Professional proficiency, high competence, and drive are examples of typical feedback we receive from clients. This feedback leads to clients granting us access to interesting and challenging project positions that we can in turn offer to you.
 
One of this spring's highlights (and a result of our consultants' great efforts), was our being awarded a new frame agreement with Statoil within the areas of project management, procurement and project control services.

Increased Capacity

To be able to offer great service to our project consultants, we have established new departments to address your needs:

 

• Britt May started a new department around the turn of the year;
• Liv Hetland, another Department manager, will begin in August;
• A Business Support Unit has been established, offering more specialised services including welfare options and enquiries (Aslaug), international enquiries (Olav), and communication/marketing/e-learning (Lauren).

Project Systems

Healthy growth in the Project Systems area allowed us to establish new departments and pursue new business opportunities:

 

• Juha travelled to the Middle East and is now establishing Omega there;
• Ståle (responsible for Statoil) is now also managing Germany/TGE with Carla as the Area Manager;
• Håvard was made a Department Manager, responsible for Hydro;
• Jarle started his own department, focussing on the technical module in Pims, mainly in Statoil;
• Svein Tore's department, which is heavily involved in CMS, has had several international enquiries and is starting an installation for ProSafe in Singapore. During spring Svein Tore's department was successful in a demanding implementation for Vetco Aibel;
• Morten has, during the space of a year, built up his own department which now numbers 23. Our focus on Aker Kværner (AK), Gassco, and BP have provided considerable growth, with Pims gaining ground with these clients. Aker Kværner is interested in a global implementation of Pims cost, a project driven by both Omega PS in Houston and Morten's department in Oslo;
• Jan Marheim has worked himself into a central role in AK's ALT project (Italy), and in cooperation with the Pims team has cleared the way for Omega in AK.

Omega Project Solutions Inc

Omega PS (inclusive of our Canadian operation) now numbers 30 employees, up from 22 at the turn of the year. Here are just a few of the achievements of the company in the last six months:

 

• Provision of services to numerous ConocoPhilips projects;
• Installation of Pims at Devon Energy;
• New solutions developed for Aker Kværner, Houston;
• Completion of successful sale of Pims to Inpex Browse Ltd in Perth, Australia. Installation is now underway and it has been indicated that there are good business opportunities in Perth;
• Establishment of Omega Project Solutions Canada Inc (in January), to service the increasing workload in Canada.

Technology 

Omega in Lithuania

During spring, our Technology Department started a subsidiary company to Omega in Klaipeda, Lithuania. Two years ago we recruited, Alex and Vadim, from Klaipeda. Vadim has been central in the process of setting up the new subsidiary company. Johnny Vik has already increased the team in Klaipeda, with five new employees and two trainees (and more to come).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Developments

Increased capacity in the Technology Development Department is already paying off, in the improvement of the CMS module and more support of web programming in the System Departments.
The potential of the Teamdocuments product has also been developed. Omega PS has utilised Teamdocuments with clients ConocoPhillips, Devon and Inpex, and the product is now being tested as a cooperative solution between Statoil, M.W.Kellogg and Gassco for the KEP2010 project.

The Road Ahead

As we head into the next half of 2006, the following are just a few of the key focus areas that will contribute to another successful six month:

• Ongoing delivery of great quality service;
• Focus on high job satisfaction and well-being;
• Further development of Omega's recruitment network in all countries in which we now have a presence and the establishment of web solutions to support this process;
• Provision of good system tools to our workers, through greater investments in technology and product development;
• Improved coverage internationally, as requested by both clients and colleagues, particularly in Canada, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia;
• Further development of the Omega Advantage Programme and related teambuilding offers (the holiday house in the South of France will be the next addition).

Show consideration for others and avoid injuries and accidents during your holiday. I wish you all a happy summer!  

 

Petter Aalvik
Chief Executive Officer