Dredging company Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. saw a net profit of US$341 million in the first half of 2015, a rise of 21% on the previous year.
The company has recently released a video, showing its efforts with building the Suez Canal, where around one million cubic metres of sand was being dredged before the completion of the canal after ten months.
Revenue in the first half of the year rose 1.6% to $1.6 billion, adjusted for (de)consolidation and currency translation effects, revenue was stable.
The decline in Boskalis 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 2015.
Peter Berdowski, CEO Boskalis: “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 utilization in particular because we will have to catch up on vessel maintenance which will result in more expenses and less revenue.”
Across the portfolio Boskalis believe that it remains crucial that it makes every possible effort to maintain the level of the order book, whereby it is are selective in taking on projects, with an acceptable risk profile.
Boskalis capital expenditure is expected to amount to $250-278 million, which will be financed from the company's own cash flow.
(Source: Boskalis)
