10
“Growth isneverbymere
chance; it istheresultof
forcesworkingtogether.”
-JamesCashPenney,FounderofJ.C.Penney
Chairman’sMessage
grow
BAKERTECHNOLOGYLIMITED
ANNUALREPORT2013
Dear Shareholders,
2013 is the year in which we planted the seeds for bigger
and better growth in future years. We have added to our
Group structure as well as expanded our management team
to lead theway in thisnew stageof development. Inaddition,
with the need for more space to set the foundation for our
work in the coming years, we acquired new premises in
late 2013.
AYearof Change
In June 2013, we disposed of our entire 20.29% stake in
Discovery Offshore S.A. (“DO”), an owner of ultra high-
specification jack-up drilling rigs based in Luxembourg. The
decision was prompted by DO’s major shareholder, Hercules
Offshore, Inc. (“Hercules”), acquiring additional shares from
other shareholders triggering a mandatory general offer
for all the remaining shares in DO. After carefully weighing
our options, despite having intended this investment to be
part of a longer term strategy, we decided that it would
be better to realise the return on our investment, rather
than retain our stake and become a minority shareholder.
Hence, we sold our shares to Hercules at NOK 15.00 per
share, the same price offeredduring themandatory general
offer.We recognised a gain of $8.8million on this disposal.
We have also seen a number of changes in the Board of
Directors over the last twelvemonths. Mr Anthony Sabastian
Aurol stepped down from his positions as Executive Director
and Chief Operating Officer to pursue personal interests.
Mr Wong Kwan Seng Robert, who has served as a Director
since 1998, has indicated he will not be offering himself
for re-election at the upcoming Annual General Meeting.
On behalf of the Board, we thank Mr Aurol and Mr Wong
for their invaluable contributions during their many years
of service.
The Board was bolstered by three additions in 2013 –
Ms Jeanette Chang, Executive Director, who joined the
Board on 1 September 2013 and Mr Ang Miah Khiang and
Ms Han Sah Heok Vicky, both Independent Directors who
joined theBoardon1November 2013 and1December 2013
respectively. The presence of Ms Chang and Ms Han adds
gender diversity to the Board. I am very pleased to extend a
warmwelcome to all our new Directors and I am confident
that their diverse expertise and experiencewill be invaluable.
