25 July 2014, News Wires – Singapore shipyard Keppel saw its profits rise in the second quarter on the back of improved results from its core business of building jack-up rigs and other offshore vessels.
It also gave an update on progress building a trio of rigs for Sete Brasil.
Keppel posted profit for the three months ending in June of S$406 million ($328 million), up 17% from S$347 million in the 2013 quarter.
That came on revenues of S$3.18 billion, up 3% from a year ago.
Keppel’s offshore and marine segment led the way with revenues of S$2.06 billion, up about 14% from a year earlier.
The unit took in S$3.2 billion worth of new orders in the first half of the year, raising the company’s total outstanding order book to S$14.1 billion.
“Amidst concerns of capital expenditure cutbacks and softening day rates particularly in the ultra deep-water sector, we continue to experience good enquiries for jackups and semi-submersibles in addition to other offshore vessels in our suite of proprietary offerings,” chief executive Loh Chin Hua said in a statement.
Keppel recently announced it had clinched a landmark US$735 million contract from Golar for the world’s first floating liquefied natural gas vessel conversion.
Keppel will be responsible for the design, detailed engineering and procurement of the marine systems and all of the conversion-related construction services.
The contract comes with options for two similar units.
It has also partnered with Seafox Group on a study to develop one of the world’s first plug-and-abandonment jack-ups.
Keppel said it is 70% complete with the first of three DSSTM38E semisubs that it is building for Sete Brasil, and are “progressing efficiently and on schedule” with the order. The second unit is 30% complete and is scheduled to depart Singapore for Brazil in the fourth quarter of this year, the company said.
Brazilian projects contributed nearly a fifth of the offshore and marine divisions revenue in the first half of 2014.
– Upstream