Boskalis H1 profits up 21% to $338.8m

Revenues in the first half of the year rose 1.6% to $1.73bn compared to H1 2014 of $1.71bn. Results in all three segments were good in addition to which there were a number of (positive) exceptional items.
 
Dredging & Inland Infrastructure had an exceptionally busy first half from an operational point of view. Good results on the projects in progress, a very high fleet utilisation rate together with relatively low repair costs and a substantial contribution from financial settlements on projects completed earlier all contributed to the good result.Offshore Energy also had a good first half year with high utilisation of the equipment and good project results. In addition, the stronger US dollar made a positive contribution to the result.

In Towage and Salvage the result of the harbor towage activities was in line with expectations, but the result of Smit Lamnalco lagged behind. Salvage had a good first half with various wreck removal projects and a substantial contribution to the result from the financial settlement from salvage projects executed in previous years.

During the first half Boskalis increased its stake in Fugro  by 5.2% to 25.1%. In accordance with IFRS rules this stake is recognised as an associated company as from 2015.At the end of the first half of the year the orderbook stood at $3. 27bn, compared to $363bn at the of end-2014. The decline in the order book is mainly attributable to the execution of the sizable Suez Canal project and the sale of the activities of De Jong at the beginning of the year.

“We are especially proud of the successful execution and swift realisation of the Suez Canal project, which was on an unprecedented scale and had to be completed within an extremely short timeframe. Partly due to the Suez project the dredging fleet was kept busy plying the waterways in the first half of the year. The high fleet utilisation made a strong contribution to the good result. The second half of the year will be a different story in terms of utilisation in particular because we will have to catch up on vessel maintenance which will result in more expenses and less revenue. said Boskalis ceo Peter Berdowski.

“We expect a prolonged period of low energy prices and lean market conditions in the offshore oil and gas market, and are therefore tightening things up where necessary in terms of organization, fleet composition and capital expenditure,” he said. The company’s net profit outlook for FY2015 is lower than the 2014 record of $541.65m.