Across the board, 2014 was an operationally strong year with in addition a large number of exceptional items for a total amount on balance of EUR200m before tax.
Dredging & Inland Infra had a busy year with good fleet utilisation, good project margins and substantial settlement results on old projects. Offshore Energy also had a good year with high fleet utilization and good project margins.
Moreover, Dockwise contributed an extra quarter to earnings compared to 2013 and realised exceptional cancellation and rescheduling fees. Towage & Salvage reported a higher result with good results from the settlement of old salvage projects.
The order book remained virtually stable at EUR3.29bn compared to EUR 3.32bn a year before.
“We look back on a fantastic 2014, a year in which we achieved a very strong performance across the full breadth of our activities. In this context, it is worth noting that the result Dockwise achieved in its first full year with the group was an all-time high,” said Peter Berdowski, ceo of Boskalis.
“The great result in 2014 has enabled us to strengthen our balance sheet sooner than we expected, with the solvency ratio now exceeding 53%. And so amid turbulent conditions we came to the end of a fantastic year, with a strong balance sheet and a streamlined organisation,” he added.
The markets in which Boskalis operate are driven by growth in the world's population and prosperity, pushing up global trade and energy consumption. In addition there are the irreversible effects of climate change. Boskalis responds to these trends.
The extent to which these trends show positive development in the coming years will be strongly dependent on geopolitical stability and macro-economic growth. Positive investment decisions in relation to large maritime infrastructure projects, which generate work for Boskalis, are closely linked to this.
“We see a stable market picture in terms of large-scale maritime infrastructure projects and the developments in and around ports. The tender pipeline with capital dredging projects for the expansion and deepening of ports and waterways, land reclamation projects and tunnel developments looks positive, while maintenance work has a strong recurring nature.
“In large ports the development of the number of shipping movements and thus the demand for towage services is likely to remain stable in the coming years. Based on this market assessment, conditions in the Dredging & Inland Infra and Towage markets are expected to remain stable,” explained Berdowski.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.
