Boskalis holds steady through economic storm

The company indicated that market circumstances remain challenging, with continued pressure on revenue and margins.

For the combined Dredging and Dry Infrastructure segment revenue for the first quarter was comparable to the same period in 2011. Average utilization of the large vessels improved slightly. Utilization of the hopper fleet remained unchanged, whereas utilization of the cutter fleet was higher than the average utilization in 2011.
The Harbour Towage division showed stable revenue, with the level of activities particularly high in Brazil. Last year Boskalis increased its interest in Brazilian SMIT Rebras to 100%, as a result of which it is able to optimally respond to positive economic developments in that country and the corresponding increase in the number of shipping movements in the Brazilian harbours.

The Salvage, Transport & Heavy Liftsegment showed a positive picture in the first quarter, with salvage experiencing high demand for wreck removal services and the transport and subsea activities also developed well. Demand for heavy lift services showed a mixed picture, with demand for floating sheerlegs in Asia picking up as it lagged behind in Europe.

Activity levels at both the Terminal Servicesand Maritime Infrastructuresegments developed in line with expectations with the latter, through a 40% stake in Archirodon, acquiring a few large new contracts in Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

At the end of March, the order bookamounted to €3.55bn, excluding recently acquired contracts in Australia and northwest Europe (West of Duddon Sands windfarm, Meerwind windfarm, and subsea maintenance work for Maersk Oil) with a combined value of €310m. On balance the order book increased slightly compared to the 2011 year end level of €3.49bn.

Given the current market conditions Boskalis expects that 2012 will be affected by a slowdown on the positive drivers that underpin its strategy. This situation, combined with the project based nature of a significant part of its activities, did not allow the company to provide quantitative guidance for the 2012 annual result, although it does not expect able to match the 2011 result. The market environment in 2012 was seen to be much the same as for 2011, but prospects for the medium term were more positive.