Oil services contractor Lamprell (LAM) beat expectations by moving back into profit during the first half of 2013, but warned that new business has been harder to secure than anticipated this year and, as a consequence, revenues in 2014 would be slightly down on this year.
Lamprell recorded a net profit (after exceptional items) of $7.25m (£4.68m) at the interim stage, against a comparable loss of $51.1m in 2012, while a gross margin of 8.2 per cent stands in contrast to a negative figure of 3 per cent a year earlier. It's quite a turnaround considering that the Dubai-based group issued five profit warnings last year. The problems (and subsequent late delivery penalties) were due to construction delays linked to a $320m order from Norwegian shipping group Fred Olsen for two of Lamprell's second generation wind turbine installation vessels, the Windcarrier.
The group revealed that it has won a major contract with an international drilling contractor for a new LeTourneau design jack-up rig during the first half. Lamprell had an order book of $1.1bn at the interim stage, a contraction of $100,000 on the first quarter, together with a potential bid pipeline of $4.6bn.
Liberum Capital anticipates adjusted full-year EPS of 6.8¢ (from a loss of 40.6¢ in 2012), rising to 15.7¢ in 2014.
| LAMPRELL (LAM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 146p | MARKET VALUE: | £379m | |
| TOUCH: | 145p-146p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 183p | LOW: 62p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 159¢* | NET CASH: | $151m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 528 | -50.8 | -19.7 | nil |
| 2013 | 521 | 7.8 | 2.8 | nil |
| % change | -1 | - | - | - |
£1=$1.55 *Includes intangible assets of $216m, or 83¢ a share | ||||
