Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has concluded a good third quarter. Revenue and earnings, adjusted to reflect the deconsolidation of SAAM SMIT Towage, are in line with the first two quarters of 2014.
Overall market conditions remain challenging. Despite this the order book has risen slightly, compared to the mid-2014 level, to EUR 3.3 billion, which is on par with the level at the start of the year.
Based on current insights the second half of the year is expected to be good.
Alongside the expected contribution from current projects, the realized close-out result on a number of old dredging projects is a substantial contributor. In view of these developments Boskalis is raising its full-year net profit outlook to EUR 450 million. This does not include a possible impact related to the value of the recently acquired stake in Fugro.
The Offshore Energy segment had a third quarter without any noteworthy developments in terms of operations or results. The revenue development at both Marine Contracting and Subsea Contracting lagged in the quarter where Marine Services, including the Fairmount transport activities, enjoyed high utilization with an increase in revenue and good margins. Subsea Services had a busy period, particularly in the North Sea, with good equipment utilization rates. Following record activity levels in the first half of the year, fleet utilization at Dockwise was lower.
As a consequence, but in particular due to the absence of cancellation and rescheduling fees for previously contracted transport capacity, as were included in the first half of the year, the third quarter result declined. The Offshore Energy order book is virtually stable compared to mid-2014.
In the context of the Corporate Business Plan 2014-2016, Boskalis announced that the operating model would be realigned. An important part of this step concerns the implementation of a divisional structure around the three lines of business; Dredging & Inland Infra, Offshore Energy and Towage & Salvage, each with its own operational support functions. The roll-out of this divisional structure is progressing well and will be completed early 2015.
At the publication of the first-half results, the full-year net profit was expected to amount to at least EUR 366 million. Due to the substantial close-out results realized on old dredging projects, Boskalis is raising its full-year net profit earnings outlook to EUR 450 million. This does not include a possible impact related to the value of the recently acquired stake in Fugro.
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Press release; Image: Boskalis