France: Bourbon Reports 15 pct Increase in 3Q Revenues

BOURBON today announces that  in the third quarter of 2011, the company’s revenues totaled 252.2 million euros, up 14% (+20% at constant exchange rate) over the same period in 2010, buoyed by the steady improvement in daily rates and the good performance of shallow water offshore vessels.

Compared with the second quarter of 2011, BOURBON revenues were up 2% (+2.5% at constant exchange rate). While “Other” revenues mainly issued from chartered vessels were cut by one third, revenues of Marine and Subsea Services owned vessels activity were up 4%.

In the first 9 months of 2011, revenues were up 17% (+20% at constant exchange rate) compared with the same period in 2010 thanks to good performance in the shallow water offshore segment (+62%) and the crewboat segment (+17%). This is partly due to expansion of the fleet and to a slight improvement in prices.

During the quarter, BOURBON took delivery of 15 new vessels (6 shallow water offshore vessels and 9 crewboats), while 3 crewboats, each around 18 years old, were taken out of the fleet in the period.

The average utilization rate for the fleet rose to 83.4% in the third quarter of 2011 (+4.2 points compared with the third quarter of 2010), logically posting a slight decline compared with the second quarter of 2011 (-1.3 points) due to a large number of vessels joining the fleet.

In the first 9 months of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010, the average utilization rate was 4.4 points higher at 83.8%.

“In a favorable oil & gas environment the price per barrel of Brent (113 US$ over the quarter) remains at a high level and the North Sea activity started to recover before the steady upturn in rates for offshore vessels worldwide. Prospects for increasing utilization rates and daily rates are set fair for the fourth quarter in deep and shallow water offshore” says Christian Lefèvre, Chief Executive Officer of BOURBON. “Backed by the success of our Bourbon Liberty series with our oil & gas clients, BOURBON is and should continue to be one of the main services companies to benefit from this recovery. However, BOURBON’s financial performance will only be impacted gradually,as contracts are renewed, and will be offset by the costs of commissioning new vessels.”

[mappress]
Source:Bourbon , November 10, 2011