Royal Boskalis Westminster nv International Dredging Contractors

Transcription

1 Royal Boskalis Westminster nv International Dredging Contractors P.O. Box 43, 3350 AA Papendrecht Telephone +31 (0) , telefax +31 (0) August 2008 Strong first half year for Boskalis Sharp increase in net profit Headlines first half 2008 Net profit increases to 202 million Net profit excluding non-recurring income up by 40% to 110 million Record revenue of 938 million: +24% Non-recurring net income from the settlement of the insurance claim for the W.D. Fairway of 92 million Order book stable well-filled: 3.4 billion Structurally high market demand, with broad spread across the world Prospects for 2008 Profitability for second half year expected to be comparable to strong second half year of 2007 Higher revenue, high equipment utilization, healthy operating margins Level of investments approximately 300 million In the first half of 2008, the net profit of Royal Boskalis Westminster nv rose to 202 million (first half year 2007: 78.8 million). The net profit excluding non-recurring income rose 40% to 110 million. The net profit was boosted by 92 million non-recurring income (pre tax: 97 million) as a result of the settlement of the insurance claim for the W.D. Fairway. Boskalis benefited from the strong demand in the international dredging market, which led to good margins and sound equipment utilization, particularly of the large hoppers. Boskalis also reaped the harvest of its selective contracting strategy, so that a number of projects returned above-average margins. Revenue rose to a record level of 938 million, with growth being particularly evident in the core activity of dredging and earthmoving. In the first half year, Boskalis acquired 790 million in new projects, which meant that the order book was stable well-filled. The contract signed earlier this year for Maasvlakte 2 (the Netherlands) worth approximately 500 million, and the recently announced projects - Cape Lambert, Australia for 145 million and the Delfland coast, the Netherlands for 60 million - have not yet been included here. Peter Berdowski, CEO: We have had an exceptionally strong first half year. In contrast with previous years, operations were not really affected by the weather in the past winter. Furthermore, on a number of projects we achieved above average margins. Despite the rise in operating expenses such as fuel and repairs, margins on the new projects remain healthy. And our expectations for the second half of this year are also positive. With the recent projects that we have acquired in the Netherlands and Australia, our fleet will be well utilized until well into Press release Royal Boskalis Westminster nv Page 1 of 9

2 Market developments On almost all continents and in all relevant segments for Boskalis, demand for maritime infrastructure continues to be strong. That applies in particular to energy- and raw-materialrelated projects in, for example, the Middle East, West Africa and Australia. But the development of container ports, as in Europe, is also showing no let-up. Prospects for 2008 The Board of Management expects the result for the second half of the year to be comparable to the strong second half year of In addition, full year 2008 revenue is expected to be higher, accompanied by high equipment utilization and good margins. The level of investments in 2008 will be approximately 300 million. Key Figures (in millions of euros) 1 st half year st half year 2007 Revenue Operating result Net profit Net profit excluding non-recurring income from W.D. Fairway EBITDA Earnings per share (in euros) excluding nonrecurring income from W.D. Fairway June December 2007 Order book 3,414 3,562 Solvency 39.8% 35.3% For more details and information, see below. This is an English translation of the Dutch version of the 2008 half year results of Royal Boskalis Westminster nv. In the event of any disparity between the Dutch original and this translation, the Dutch text will prevail. Royal Boskalis Westminster nv is an international group with a leading position in the world market for dredging services. Its core activities are the construction and maintenance of ports and waterways, land reclamation, coastal defense and riverbank protection. The company holds important home market positions in and outside of Europe and targets all market segments in the dredging industry. It also has positions in strategic partnerships in the Middle East (Archirodon) and in offshore services (Lamnalco). Boskalis has a versatile fleet of over 300 units and operates in over 50 countries across five continents. Including its share in partnerships, Boskalis has approximately 8,000 employees. For further information please contact: Martijn Schuttevâer Director of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications Telephone: +31 (0) / +31 (0) Telefax: +31 (0) m.l.schuttevaer@boskalis.nl This press release can also be found on our website Press release Royal Boskalis Westminster nv Page 2 of 9

3 Operational and financial developments In millions of euros unless stated otherwise Revenue by segments 1 st half year st half year 2007 Home markets in Europe Home markets outside Europe International projects ( hit and run ) Specialist niche markets Total Dredging and earthmoving Maritime infrastructure Maritime and terminal services Group Revenue by region 1 st half year st half year 2007 The Netherlands Rest of Europe Australia / Asia Middle East Africa North and South America Group Order book by segments 30 June December 2007 Home markets in Europe Home markets outside Europe International projects ( hit and run ) 1,733 1,954 Specialist niche markets Total Dredging and earthmoving 2,580 2,694 Maritime infrastructure Maritime and terminal services Group 3,414 3,562 Press release Royal Boskalis Westminster nv Page 3 of 9

4 Revenue Revenue in the first half year increased by 24% to 938 million (first half year 2007: 756 million), with most of the increase attributable to the core activity of Dredging and earthmoving. Revenue also developed positively in Maritime and terminal services. The revenue was geographically widely spread and it increased in both existing and new markets. Dredging and earthmoving - Home markets (revenue 228 million) Revenue in the European home markets was down by 1% at 204 million (first half year 2007: 206 million). The limited revenue increase in Germany and Scandinavia was offset by a similarly limited decrease in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Outside Europe, revenue for the home markets was down by 25% at 24 million (first half year 2007: 32 million). Outside Europe, revenue was lower in Mexico and particularly the United States, where the cooperation with our local partner was terminated in mid As a consequence of the strong revenue increase in large-scale projects on the international projects market, the revenue share of the home markets fell to 24% (first half year 2007: 31%). The Boskalis home markets are the Netherlands, North-West Europe (Germany, United Kingdom, Nordic), Nigeria and Mexico. Dredging and earthmoving - International projects market (revenue 526 million) Dredging revenue from the international projects market rose by almost 60% to 526 million (first half year 2007: 334 million). This increase was spread widely across projects in Australia, the Middle East, West Africa and South America. Dredging and earthmoving - Specialist niche markets (revenue 69 million) Revenue from the specialist offshore services for the oil and gas industry was 69 million (first half year 2007: 68 million). The services included energy projects in the Middle East and India, as well as stone-dumping activities for oil and gas pipelines elsewhere in the world. Maritime infrastructure (revenue 87 million) Particularly as a result of the lower US dollar, the revenue from the 40% Boskalis share in Archirodon fell to 87 million (first half year 2007: 90 million). Maritime and terminal services (revenue 28 million) Lamnalco revenue also continued to rise in this half year. The increase was achieved despite the lower US dollar, and was driven in part by the demand for LNG terminal services. The 50% share in the revenue for Boskalis amounted to 28 million (first half year 2007: 26 million). Order book Orders worth 790 million with a broad spread across the global market were acquired in the first half year. They included the 200 million for Port Rashid in Dubai (Boskalis share). The order book amounted to 3,414 million (year-end 2007: 3,562 million). This includes the remaining component, worth 214 million, of the large three-year LNG harbor assignment in Ras Laffan (Qatar), as well as the as yet uncompleted land reclamation work in Singapore amounting to 214 million. The contract signed early this year for Maasvlakte 2, the Netherlands (Boskalis share approximately 500 million), and the recently announced projects in Cape Lambert, Australia ( 145 million) and the Delfland coast, the Netherlands (Boskalis share 60 million) have not yet been included in the order book. Approximately 65% of the order book will be executed after Results Net profit rose to 202 million (first half year 2007: 78.8 million). The net profit excluding nonrecurring income rose 40% to 110 million. The net profit was boosted by 92 million non-recurring income (pre tax: 97 million) as a result of the settlement of the insurance claim for the W.D. Fairway. The group result before the result of associated companies, interest, taxation and depreciation (EBITDA) and excluding the non-recurring income rose by 38% to 179,0 million (first half year 2007: million). This increase is primarily attributable to the higher revenue and the good margins in the core activity of Dredging and earthmoving. Press release Royal Boskalis Westminster nv Page 4 of 9

5 The operating result (EBIT) of follows: million, excluding non-recurring income, breaks down as Segment results (in million) 1 st half year st half year 2007 Dredging and earthmoving Maritime infrastructure Maritime and terminal services Non-allocated group costs EBIT excluding non-recurring income for the W.D. Fairway Dredging and earthmoving The result from the Dredging and earthmoving segment rose to million (first half year 2007: 76.1 million). The increase was mainly attributable to the underlying increase in revenue and the good operating margins. In addition, a number of attractive projects generated above-average margins. The sharp increase in revenue in the first half year was achieved with a strong equipment utilization rate. The average utilization rate for the hopper fleet was 41 weeks on an annual basis, as compared to the 43 weeks for the first half year of This decrease was primarily caused by hopper maintenance. In late 2007, additional cutter capacity was added to the fleet when the jumbo cutter Phoenix went into operation. Nevertheless, the utilization rate for the expanded cutter fleet rose to 31 weeks annually, as compared to 25 weeks in the first half of This increase was primarily associated with the deployment of the jumbo cutters on large projects in Australia and the Middle East. Maritime infrastructure The contribution from Archirodon was down at 5.0 million (first half year 2007: 6.6 million), in part as the result of the weaker US dollar. Maritime and terminal services The Lamnalco terminal services managed again to achieve excellent margins despite the weaker US dollar. The result for the segment rose to 6.0 million (first half year 2007: 5.5 million). Other Depreciation amounted to 48.4 million (first half year 2007: 45.1 million). The increase was primarily caused by higher depreciation for project related equipment. The result from associated companies fell to 1.0 million (first half year 2007: 6.8 million). The 2007 result was particularly affected by results associated with the termination of the partnership in the United States. The tax burden of 12% was relatively low because of the low rate on the result for the W.D. Fairway. The tax burden in the first six months of 2007 was 13%, primarily because of the effect of the favorable settlement of a number of foreign tax assessments. In line with the development of the net profit, excluding non-recurring income, earnings per share increased to 1.28 (first half year 2007: 0.92). Investments and balance sheet The net investments in equipment amounted to 55 million. After elimination of the effect of the W.D. Fairway, net investments amounted to 115 million. Investments related primarily to the construction of a new fallpipe vessel, the construction of new hoppers, the additional section used to extend the jumbo hopper the Queen of the Netherlands, project related investments and expansion investments made by Lamnalco. The cash flow rose to million (first half year 2007: million). On balance, the cash position in the first six months rose to 441 million (year-end 2007: 352 million), of which 245 million was freely available (year-end 2007: 198 million) and 96 million was tied up in participating interests and projects being executed in combination with third parties (year-end 2007: 154 million). Equity to total assets (solvency) as at 30 June 2008 was 39.8% (year-end 2007: 35.3%). Press release Royal Boskalis Westminster nv Page 5 of 9

6 Annex: Financial Statements In millions of euros unless stated otherwise Summarized consolidated profit and loss account 1 st half year st half year 2007 Revenue Other income Total operating revenue 1, Operational costs and personnel expenses ( ) ( ) Depreciation and amortization ( 48.4 ) ( 45.1 ) Total operating expenses ( ) ( ) Operating result Finance income and expenses 2.5 ( 0.9 ) Share in result of associated companies Profit before taxation Taxation ( 28.4 ) ( 10.9 ) Net group profit Net profit attributable to minority interests Net profit attributable to shareholders Earnings per share (in euros) Diluted earnings per share (in euros) Average number of outstanding shares (x 1,000) 85,799 85,799 EBITDA Summarized consolidated balance sheet 30 June December 2007 Intangible assets Property, plant and equipment Other non-current assets Non-current assets Inventory and receivables Cash and cash equivalents Current assets 1, ,321.6 Total assets 2, ,200.1 Shareholders Minority interests Total group Non-current liabilities and provisions Current liabilities and provisions 1, ,309.4 Total liabilities 1, ,423.3 Total group and liabilities 2, ,200.1 Solvency 39.8% 35.3% Press release Royal Boskalis Westminster nv Page 6 of 9

7 Summarized consolidated statement of cash flows 1 st half year st half year 2007 Net group profit Depreciation and amortization Cash flow Adjustments for: Interest, taxation, book results, results associated companies ( 74.7 ) ( 1.7 ) Movement in other financial fixed assets ( 1.1 ) 5.5 Movement in non-current liabilities and provisions (including direct movements) ( 0.9 ) ( 2.7 ) Movement in working capital (including inventory, excluding taxation and interest) ( 30.2 ) ( ) Cash generated from operations Interest received and paid 2.5 ( 0.9 ) Income taxes paid ( 10.1 ) ( 4.0 ) Net cash from operating activities Net investments in (in)tangible fixed assets 41.5 ( 88.3 ) Net investment in associated companies ( 1.8 ) ( 1.0 ) Dividends received Net cash used in investing activities 41.2 ( 82.9 ) Proceeds from loans Repayment of loans ( 4.8 ) ( 7.2 ) Dividends paid ( ) ( 58.3 ) Net cash used in financing activities ( 90.0 ) ( 0.2 ) Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 87.6 ( 68.8 ) Net cash and cash equivalents as at January Movement in net cash and cash equivalents (including currency translation differences) 85.0 ( 69.1 ) Net cash and cash equivalents as at June Press release Royal Boskalis Westminster nv Page 7 of 9

8 Summarized consolidated 1 st half year st half year 2007 statement of changes in Minority interests Group Minority interests Shareholders Shareholders Group Balance as at January Cash dividend ( 102.1) ( 2.2) ( 104.3) ( 58.3) ( 58.3) Equity after dividend payment Net profit first half year Currency translation differences ( 5.7) ( 0.1) ( 5.8) ( 1.0) 0.7 ( 0.3) Actuarial gains and losses and asset limitation on defined benefit pension schemes ( 1.0) ( 1.0) Movement in fair value of cash flow hedges Total recognized income and expense first half year Balance as at June Company segments 1 st half year 2008 Dredging and earthmoving Maritime infrastructure Maritime and terminal services Group Revenue Segment result Non-allocated group costs ( 4.0) Operating result Result associated companies Non-allocated interest 2.5 Non-allocated taxes ( 28.4) Net group profit st half year 2007 Revenue Segment result Non-allocated group costs ( 3.5) Operating result 84.7 Result associated companies Non-allocated interest ( 0.9) Non-allocated taxes ( 10.9) Net group profit 79.7 Press release Royal Boskalis Westminster nv Page 8 of 9

9 Accounting principles Royal Boskalis Westminster nv draws up its financial reports in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union and the interpretations of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC). These standards are applied throughout the Group. In line with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting, this half year report does not include all of the information required by these standards. The same principles of financial reporting are applied as were used in the 2007 financial statements of Royal Boskalis Westminster nv. Unless stated otherwise, all amounts are reported in millions of euros. Dividend payments to shareholders of Royal Boskalis Westminster nv During the first half year of 2008 a cash dividend of 1.19 per share was paid out for the 2007 financial year (first half year 2007: cash dividend of 0.68). Commitments and contingent liabilities The total outstanding guarantee commitments (which are mainly for ongoing projects) were 848 million as at 30 June 2008 (31 December 2007: 747 million). The capital commitments as at 30 June 2008 have decreased by 38 million to 322 million (year-end 2007: 360 million). The other commitments and contingent liabilities have not materially changed since 31 December Auditor s report The half year figures have not been audited by the external auditor. Papendrecht, 21 August 2008 Board of Management Press release Royal Boskalis Westminster nv Page 9 of 9