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Moreld (MORLD.OL)
Energy · Norwegian offshore energy services · LTM Q1 2026 · borsdata→djupanalys
Analysis date: 2026-06-15
Price at analysis: NOK 19.36
Method: mttssn_streamlined_v1
Conviction: LOW
HOLD
Conviction: LOW
Full djupanalys refresh on the Q1 2026 interim (the escalation name). Q1 confirmed the FY2025 note's own warning: revenue −52% YoY to NOK 1.38bn, EBITDA excl IFRS-16 −NOK 98m and operating result −NOK 167m, driven almost entirely by Ocean Installer (−NOK 137m: North Sea Giant dry-docking + soft spot market in its seasonally weakest quarter). On LTM Q1 2026 the adjusted ROIC re-derives to ~8.5% — BELOW the 11% WACC, EP ≈ −NOK 70m — vs the 21.6% / +NOK 320m the live FY2025 extraction still carries. The 21.6% was a cycle peak. Balance sheet is sound (NIBD ex-leases 0.6x, goodwill unimpaired) — a cyclical earnings reset, not a thesis break. HOLD/LOW, cyclical-peak; base NOK 19 — own only for the ~10% dividend.
Adj. ROIC
21.6%
WACC 11% → spread +10.6pp
Economic Profit
+NOK 320M
LTM Q1'26 ≈ −NOK 70M (ROIC ~8.5% < 11% WACC) — FY2025 +320M was the peak
FCF Yield
7.3%
IFRS-16-flattered; owner-FCF modest
Price / Target
NOK 19 → NOK 19
-2% base; HOLD
Revenue (LTM)
NOK 9.8B
LTM Q1'26 ~NOK 8.3bn; Q1'26 NOK 1.38bn (−52% YoY)
EBIT Margin
8.2%
Q1'26 EBITDA ex-IFRS-16 −NOK 98m (Ocean Installer −137m)
EV / IC
1.72×
Enterprise value / invested capital
Net Debt
NOK 1.7B
NIBD ex-leases NOK 335m (0.6x); incl leases NOK 1.73bn
Thesis

Moreld provides offshore energy services — engineering, fabrication, maintenance/modifications and, via Ocean Installer, subsea construction. The FY2025 screen surfaced it as a ~22%-ROIC, +NOK 320m-EP value-creator at ~12x P/E. The FY2025 note flagged that figure as a cycle peak that overstated the forward run-rate; the Q1 2026 print confirms it — operating result swung to −NOK 167m and the company's own LTM EBITDA excl IFRS-16 fell to NOK 558m (from NOK 1,075m at FY2025).

Re-deriving on the same lease-in-invested-capital basis as the FY2025 note: LTM adjusted EBIT ~NOK 291m, NOPAT ~NOK 227m on adjusted IC ~NOK 2,689m → adjusted ROIC ~8.5%, now BELOW the 11% WACC, with economic profit ≈ −NOK 70m. The cyclical, single-engine, IFRS-16-heavy quality the FY2025 note priced is intact; what changed is that the trailing return has reverted through (below) the cost of capital — exactly the peak-reversion the prior note warned about.

Valuation · reverse-DCF & scenarios

The Q1 trough is partly seasonal and one-off: Ocean Installer's weakest quarter, deepened by the North Sea Giant dry-docking — both key vessels are back in operation from Q2 and management maintains FY2026 EBITDA guidance of NOK 0.7–0.9bn. So trailing LTM now UNDERstates a normalized forward just as FY2025 OVERstated it. On the consistent lease-in-IC basis, a guided-recovery ROIC lands around the cost of capital (low-double-digits) — not back to 21.6%. Moreld is a roughly WACC-clearing, deeply cyclical project business, not the high-ROIC compounder the screen's fund leg implies.

Base NOK 19 (≈ current; trough offset by the guided H2 recovery, dividend support); bull NOK 26 if the FY2026 guidance is met and backlog (NOK 6.3bn, Ocean Installer 3.7bn) converts; bear NOK 12 if the recovery stalls into an offshore downcycle and the payout is cut.

Market-implied growth
-9.2%
NOPAT CAGR over 5y the EV already requires
No-growth value / share
NOK 27
138% of price; rest = priced-in growth
ROIC − WACC
+10.6 pp
ROIC 21.6% vs WACC 11.0% — positive = value creation
CAP (priced-in)
0.0 yrs
years of excess returns the price implies (fades to WACC)

The market pays today’s enterprise value for roughly -9.2% NOPAT growth over 5 years. The business earns 22% on capital against a 11% cost of capital (spread +10.6 pp); the no-growth value is NOK 27/share (138% of price), so the rest is priced-in growth.

Scenario24m targetImpl. gUpsideProb.Driver
BullNOK 26-1%+34%30%FY2026 guidance met; backlog converts; re-rate
BaseNOK 19-10%-2%45%≈ current; trough offset by guided recovery + dividend
BearNOK 12-21%-38%25%Recovery stalls into offshore downcycle; payout cut
Prob-weightedNOK 19-0%100%Scenario-weighted expected value

Sensitivity — fair value / share at WACC × growth

WACC \ g0%3%5%8%10%15%
9.50%343841454857
10.25%303336394249
11.00% (base)273032353743
11.75%242628313338
12.50%222425272933

Green = fair value above the current price of NOK 19.36. The reverse-DCF conclusion is dominated by WACC and growth — see the whole surface, not a single fair value.

Method & data. NOPAT NOK 653, invested capital and ROIC 21.6% are observed (adjustments.json); WACC 11.0% and terminal g 2.5% are assumptions. EV→equity uses net debt NOK 1,731. The model holds ROIC constant (no fade) over the explicit horizon; the CAP figure instead fades excess returns to WACC.

⤓ Download the full model (.xlsx) — formula-driven sheets; flex the blue input cells and the model cascades in Excel.

Key drivers

1. H2 2026 recovery (the catalyst)

Both enabling vessels back offshore from Q2; FY2026 EBITDA guidance NOK 0.7–0.9bn maintained — the thesis now hinges on this delivering.

2. Dividend support

Payout RAISED to NOK 0.50/qtr (~10% yield) despite the Q1 loss — the floor while the cycle turns.

3. Backlog re-build

Order backlog up QoQ to NOK 6.3bn (Ocean Installer 3.7bn); EMOD/EPRO Equinor frame win adds near-field volume.

4. Sound ex-lease balance sheet

NIBD ex-leases only NOK 335m (0.6x); USD 130m bond to 2030; goodwill NOK 885m unimpaired — no solvency pressure through the trough.

Key risks
Conclusion

Q1 2026 confirms Moreld's FY2025 ROIC of 21.6% was a cycle peak: on LTM Q1 2026 the adjusted ROIC is ~8.5%, below the 11% WACC, with EP slightly negative. This is a cyclical earnings reset on a sound balance sheet (no impairment, 0.6x ex-lease leverage), not a broken thesis. HOLD, low conviction; cyclical-peak — own only for the ~10% dividend and buy in weakness, not at the screen's peak-earnings valuation.

Sign-off item: the live screen extraction still carries the FY2025 21.6% ROIC, inflating Moreld's composite (67.2, book rank 16). Refreshing it to the LTM-Q1'26 ~8.5% would lower the fund leg and likely drop Moreld out of the top-30 book — book-affecting. Recommendation: do NOT reprice to a single seasonal-trough quarter (the mirror of the peak error); flag the composite as peak-inflated now and re-extract + re-rank at H1 2026 (~Aug), aligned with the measurement-maturity review.

Footnote evidence & sources

Every adjustment traces to the cited note/page in the source filing — click to open it there. Latest interim: 📄 open

Adjustment / figureValueSourceWhy mttssn treats it this way
Revenue and other operating income9,838Consolidated statement of profit and loss / Note 4Revenue from contracts with customers 9,828,694 + other operating income 9,635 = 9,838,329 (NOK thousand) = 9,838.3m. Prior year 7,136.4 (Ocean Installer only from Q3 2024). Note 4 splits by segment: Moreld Apply 4,616, Ocean Installer 4,413, Global Maritime 828.
EBITDA (reported, IFRS-16)2,225Consolidated statement of profit and lossEBITDA subtotal 2,225,089 (NOK thousand). IFRS-16-inflated; the APM reconciliation (p.162) bridges to EBITDA excl IFRS-16 of 1,074,591 after removing 1,150,498 of lease cost.
Adjusted EBITDA excl. IFRS 161,101Key figures 2025 / APM (p.162)Company headline APM: EBITDA excl IFRS-16 1,074,591 + non-recurring transaction cost 26,384 = 1,100,975 (NOK thousand) = ~1,101m ('~NOK 1.1bn'); the figure used for the 0.2x leverage ratio and the company's EBITDA guidance. Margin 11.2%.
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment1,403Statement of profit and loss / Notes 13-15Total D&A 1,403,418 (NOK thousand). Of this, IFRS-16 right-of-use depreciation is 1,183,281 (Note 15, p.140) — so PP&E + intangible amortisation is only ~220.1. No impairment recognised.
Operating result (EBIT)811Consolidated statement of profit and lossOperating result (EBIT) 810,512 (NOK thousand) after D&A and share of associates loss (11,160). Used as the base; adjusted EBIT = 810.5 + 26.4 transaction cost = 836.9.
Non-recurring transaction cost (add-back)26.38Alternative Performance Measures (Adjusted EBITDA excl IFRS 16 bridge)Non-recurring transaction cost 26,384 (NOK thousand) — Ocean Installer integration, Feb-2025 bond refinancing and June-2025 uplisting costs. One-off; added back to derive clean run-rate EBIT/NOPAT.
Income tax expense / nominal rate-92.63Note 20 Taxes (rate reconciliation)Tax expense 92,626 (NOK thousand) on PBT 377,280 = 24.6% effective. Reconciliation uses 22% nominal Norwegian rate (expected tax 83,002). Confirms ordinary 22% regime, not the 78% petroleum tax. Statutory 22% used for NOPAT.
Net profit for the year / EPS285Statement of profit and loss / Note 29Profit of the year 284,654 (NOK thousand), all attributable to parent. Basic & diluted EPS NOK 1.59 (vs -4.05 in 2024, which carried 439.7 FV losses and 172.0 from discontinued ops).
Total equity (incl. NCI)790Consolidated statement of financial position / Note 28, 31Total equity 790,482 (NOK thousand): equity attributable to parent 791,104 + non-controlling interests (622). Paid-in capital 683,981 + retained earnings 107,122.
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings (bond)1,281Note 16 Interest-bearing liabilitiesSingle USD 130m senior secured bond, net book value 1,280,745 (NOK thousand): nominal 1,310,283 less 29,538 unamortised fees. Coupon 9.875%, matures 11 Feb 2030. RCF (200 undrawn) excluded. No other financial debt.
Lease liabilities (IFRS-16, total)1,541Note 15 LeasingCurrent 745,602 + non-current 795,824 = 1,541,425 (NOK thousand); present value of vessel/office charters. Right-of-use assets 1,476,653 (of which vessels 1,133,656). INCLUDED in invested capital — chartered vessels are core operating assets.
Cash and short-term deposits1,091Consolidated statement of financial position / Note 27Cash and short-term deposits 1,090,859 (NOK thousand) at 31 Dec 2025 (down from 1,500,144). 491.9 (~5% of revenue) retained as operational cash for a milestone-billed services model; 599.0 treated as excess and stripped from IC.
Net interest-bearing debt (company NIBD)1,761Alternative Performance Measures (NIBD)Company NIBD = GIBD 2,851,708 - cash 1,090,859 = 1,760,849 (NOK thousand), INCLUDING IFRS-16 leases. NIBD excl IFRS-16 = 219,424 (the 0.2x leverage-ratio basis). File net_debt 1,731.3 = bond NBV + leases - cash (29.5 lower than company NIBD because company adds back amortised bond fees in GIBD).
Order backlog (total contracted)5,929Note 4 segment reporting (order backlog table)Total contracted backlog 5,928,866 (NOK thousand): Apply 2,134,666, Ocean Installer 3,320,000, Global Maritime 474,200; of which 4,574,702 for delivery in 2026. Down from 9,941 a year earlier (book-to-bill <1x).
Analysis history

How the mttssn view has evolved — each prior dated note is preserved.

Quality · Buffett tenets7 / 15
Understandable business
Moreld — Norwegian offshore energy-services group (engineering, fabrication, maintenance/mods; Ocean Installer subsea); acquisition-built, IFRS-16-heavy.
Durable moat
Low: project/services, cyclical with offshore activity; the edge is capability + installed relationships, not pricing power.
Able & honest management
Active consolidator (Ocean Installer); deleveraged ex-leases; high payout; raised the dividend into a loss-making quarter.
Financial strength
Sound ex-leases (NIBD 0.6x) but IFRS-16 dominates (chartered vessels); single profit engine (Ocean Installer) swung to −NOK 137m EBITDA in Q1; goodwill NOK 885m unimpaired.
Margin of safety
Thin: the ~12x P/E was on FY2025 PEAK earnings; on the LTM-Q1'26 reset (ROIC ~8.5% < 11% WACC) the cheapness largely evaporates — the dividend is the support, not the multiple.