Bourbon Swings to Profit in First Half on Higher Vessel Rates
Bourbon SA (GBB), owner of the biggest fleet of supply and crew ships for the oil industry, swung to a profit in the first half and said an increase in vessel rental rates was supporting growth.
Net income of 17 million euros ($21 million) compared with a loss of 21.4 million euros a year earlier, the Paris-based company said today in a statement.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization climbed 27 percent to 180.8 million euros with the addition of 22 new vessels, higher prices and a stronger dollar.
“The positive impact of the increase in average daily rates applies to an expanding fleet,” Chief Executive Officer Christian Lefevre said in the statement. The company has slowed commissioning of new vessels and is cutting costs, he said.
Bourbon had forecast demand for vessels and rental rates would improve this year to service a growing number of rigs, platforms and wellheads. The company bolstered its ship-building program last year in anticipation that explorers would choose new vessels.
Under a $2 billion expansion plan, Bourbon plans to own 600 ships by 2015, up from 437 at the end of last year.
The company reported today average daily rates for vessels, excluding crewboats, of $18,352 during the first half compared with $17,451 a year ago and $18,000 in the last six months of 2011.
“Orders for drilling rigs due to be commissioned in the next few years and the order books of offshore construction companies are set to stimulate demand for vessels,” according to today’s statement. “Demand for offshore service vessels is predicted to increase over the next two years.”
Typhoon Haikui, which hit China earlier this month, delayed the delivery schedule of 15 vessels at Sinopacific’s shipyards in Zhejiang by five to six months, Bourbon said.
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