STX Europe Announces 2Q 2010 Interim Report

Wednesday, Sep 01, 2010

STX Europe reported an EBITDA of NOK 205 million for the second quarter of 2010 which is an increase from NOK 75 million in the second quarter 2009. The Offshore & Specialized Vessels business area had a record EBITDA in the second quarter of NOK 298 million and the Cruise & Ferries business area had an EBITDA of NOK -92 million. During the second quarter 2010 STX Europe received orders for NOK 12.4 billion and increased its order backlog to NOK 28.8 billion. After the end of the second quarter the order intake has been 17 vessels with a total contract value of approximately NOK 6.9 billion.

In the second quarter of 2010, STX Europe posted operating revenues of NOK 6.3 billion compared with NOK 6.6 billion in the corresponding period last year. The EBITDA result was NOK 205 million, compared with NOK 75 million in the second quarter 2009. The year-to-date EBITDA as per second quarter 2010 is NOK 292 million compared with NOK 81 million for the same period 2009.

The overall operational performance of STX Europe's shipyards has been good during the first half 2010 and the company delivered a total of 14 vessels, of which seven were delivered in the second quarter. The order intake was NOK 12.4 billion during the second quarter, giving an order backlog of NOK 28.8 billion comprising 50 vessels. The order backlog has increased by 29 percent or NOK 6.5 billion during second quarter 2010.

The Offshore & Specialized Vessels business area achieved a solid EBITDA result of NOK 298 million compared with NOK 154 million in the second quarter of 2009. The business area continued its strong operationalperformance and was able to secure six new contracts for a total of NOK 2.9 billion during the quarter.After the end of the second quarter 2010 the Offshore & Specialized

Vessels business area has entered into 16 new shipbuilding contracts with a total value of approximately NOK 6.7 billion. Based on the strong earnings improvement, increased order backlog and solid operational performance, the outlook for the business area is considered to be good.

The Cruise & Ferries business area posted an EBITDA result of NOK -92 million in Q2 2010 compared with NOK -73 million in the same period last year. The losses are mainly caused by low capacity utilization at the shipyards and losses on one cruise vessel which has now been delivered. The business area was successfully able to secure two large new cruise orders during the second quarter. The market conditions are still challenging in this business area, but the long-term market outlook has improved during 2010.  

The Board is pleased that the comprehensive improvement measures which have been implemented in the last 18 months are now showing results. The Board is committed to continue the improvement processes and to strengthen STX Europe's position as the global leader for the construction of advanced offshore services vessels and large cruise and ferry vessels

Please find enclosed the full version of the second quarter and half year report for 2010.

Source: STX Europe