Royal Boskalis Releases Half Year Results

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has released its operating results from the first half of 2018. Overall there was a decrease in the first half, as compared to 2017, mostly due to a drop in the Offshore Energy division, which has prompted Boskalis to terminate these activities.

The company reported a net operating profit of EUR 34.5 million ($39.68 million) for the first half of the year and a net loss of EUR 361.4 million ($415.7 million). Revenue amounted to EUR 1.17 billion ($1.35 billion), a 6.6 percent increase compared to the first half of last year. The order book, excluding the company’s share in the order book of joint ventures and associated companies, increased to EUR 3.89 billion ($4.47 billion) at the end of the first half of the year.

The Dredging and Inland Infra segment had a revenue increase and the use of the hopper fleet increased as well. Large ongoing projects in Oman and India contributed to this. The margins and result were stable compared to 2017. Boskalis anticipates a good number of tenders and volume of dredging work going forward with a large part of the fleet in use over the next six to nine months. The Board of Management expects sharp improvement in net operating profit in the second half of 2018, although it will still fall short of 2017’s second half figures.

Boskalis’ financial position continues to be strong, with a solvency ratio of 56.2 percent and a modest net debt position of EUR 239 million ($275 million).