President's Letter
As we move into the fifth year since General Oceans was founded, it is time to reflect on our original long-term goals and where we are on that path.
The vision was clear: to develop an underwater technology company capable of responding to significant subsea challenges. From the outset, we acknowledged that this would require size, a wide range of technologies, and significant resources. We also recognized that reaching a place of real significance would require joining forces with other companies.This meant growth through mergers and acquisitions, which is a business exercise very different from running an existing company. Looking back, it is clearly one of those things we might never have started if we had known what we were getting into. However, having now integrated five new companies in addition to Nortek, we have learned what to look for, where to put our effort, and what to avoid.
We have changed leadership where required. We have set clear strategic goals. We have worked on product roadmaps, resolved product quality issues, developed our sales and marketing organizations, and established new support entities to strengthen software development and transducer design where needed. 2025 marks the year when this work truly came to fruition. It suggests that we made the right choices – but also confirms that meaningful work takes time.
More specifically, 2025 was marked by several relocations, expansions, and investments across the Group. Nortek expanded by several thousand square meters into an adjacent building at its main location and centralized software development is now housed at Ocean Synaptics in Oslo. At the beginning of Q2, Klein Marine Systems moved from an old building in New Hampshire to a modern facility in Newburyport, Massachusetts.
In the UK, we accelerated investment in our own transducer manufacturing at Echosonics. In-house transducer capability means faster development cycles, new technological solutions, and more predictable delivery times.
We also opened a new sales office in Singapore, staffed by full-time sales personnel from Klein Marine Systems and Tritech.
At the beginning of the year, SRS was still focused on resolving legacy technical challenges. During 2025, the company turned this around by securing the largest contract in its history and by returning to profitability for the first time since 2021.
As a result of improvements across the board, topline total revenue grew by 36%, including RS Aqua, which became part of General Oceans at the end of 2024. Adjusted EBITA increased to NOK 235 million, corresponding to 18% of revenue.
Moving into 2026, we have the largest backlog in our history, in some cases extending well into the next twelve months. This gives us a level of predictability that is particularly valuable in a world where many things are changing quickly.
As I write this, we are working hard to meet the requirements for a listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange in the first half of 2026. It is a substantial amount of work, but also an exciting process in which we see how independent investors view General Oceans and the path we are on. So far, the investor response has been positive, with the usual caveat that no one can predict what the markets will do tomorrow.
As part of this process, we keep reminding ourselves – and our prospective investors – that being listed is not an end goal, but a point along the journey we laid out four years ago. A listing provides capital that can accelerate our M&A activity and gives us our own “currency”, strengthening our ability to think bigger and broader in acquisitions and partnerships. Being part of a stock exchange also strengthens internal focus and discipline, and the added visibility helps us continue to attract talented people.
In sum, 2025 was everything we hoped it would be – and then some. It is an exciting journey we are on, and we look forward to sharing more as 2026 unfolds.