Boskalis maintains positive outlook
Royal Boskalis Westminster had a good first quarter of 2015, reporting increased revenue compared to the same period in 2014. Revenue was stable when adjusted for acquisitions, divestments and currency effects.
The Netherlands headquartered marine services giant reported revenue in its Dredging & Inland Infra segment was comparable to the first quarter last year despite the divestment of road maintenance company De Jong in early February. Large projects in progress include the expansion of the Suez Canal in Egypt, port developments in India, Brazil and Qatar and the reinforcement of the Hondsbossche and Pettemer Sea Defense in the Netherlands. The operational performance of the projects was generally good and the reported margins were at a comparable to a year ago.
The utilization of the hopper dredger fleet was good and the utilization of the cutter fleet was exceptionally strong due in part to the Suez Canal project. The order book of the Dredging & Inland Infra segment fell slightly compared to the end of 2014, largely attributable to the Inland Infra activities and this partly due to the deconsolidation of De Jong.
The markets in which Boskalis operates are driven by growth in the world’s population and prosperity, pushing up global trade and energy consumption. In addition there are the irreversible effects of climate change. Boskalis responds to these trends. The extent to which these trends show positive development in the coming years will be strongly dependent on geopolitical stability and macro-economic growth. Positive investment decisions in relation to large maritime infrastructure projects, which generate work for Boskalis, are closely linked to this.
Boskalis expects a stable market picture in terms of large-scale maritime infrastructure projects and the developments in and around ports. The tender pipeline with capital dredging projects for the expansion and deepening of ports and waterways, land reclamation projects and tunnel developments looks positive, while maintenance work has a strong recurring nature.
For this year and based on current insights, the company says no major changes are expected in the Dredging & Inland Infra market relative to 2014. Based on the current order book, the dredging fleet utilization levels are expected to be good.
By Larz Bourne
