Polarcus reported a $9.2m profit for the second quarter, a 46% improvement on the $6.3m profit it made in Q2 2013.

In what the company referred to as a "testing market", the offshore geophysical company improved revenues by 5.4% compared to the same period 2013, earning $137.6m.

The improved revenues were driven by improvements in utilisation and efficiency, although total revenues fell for the first half of the year from $275.3m in 2013 to $259m this year.

The reduction in revenues, and a drop in first half profit to $10.2m from $16.1m in 2013, was caused by a drop in multi-client revenue as customers delayed their purchasing decisions.

Across the first half of the year utilisation held steady at 72%, although multi-client utilisation dropped from 13% to 8%.

Polarcus estimates its contact backlog at $155m for the end of July, falling form $250m at the end of the first quarter. The company expects a full year EBITDA of $200m.