Seoul: STX Shipbuilding has virtually doubled its original $5.5bn sales target for the year to $10bn as a result of a surge in orders for high-priced ships. The yard was close to hitting its target within the first half of this year, having secured orders to build 103 vessels, valued at $5.3bn. In a statement, the STX Shipbuilding said "Increasing orders for value-added vessels such as large-size container ships and very large crude carriers will help STX meet the new target," Dow Jones reports.
The increase follows in the footsteps of yards such as Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine and Engineering, all of which have increased their targets due to strong demand. HHI and SHI now aim to sign orders worth $15bn each (previously $12.8bnand $11bn respectively).
DSME, which has raised its original $11bn target to $16bn, has seen a doubling of its net profit for the first half of 2007 to £166m ?" a massive 177% increase on the same period last year. The company signed orders worth $11bn for the construction of 84 vessels and other offshore equipment during that period. It also recently announced that it secured a $1.49bn contract to build nine container vessels for an European shipowner, all of which must be delivered by March 2011.
DSME's order backlog reached $30.2 billion at the end of June this year, with production of those orders expected to take more than three years. [12/07/07]
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