Steady profits for Lamprell and Gulf Marine Services

New awards since the start of the year stood at more than $900 million, including subcontract work for Petrofac in Abu Dhabi.

A pair of UAE-based oil services companies yesterday reported strong earnings for the first half.

Lamprell, an oil rig builder with facilities at Hamriyah, Sharjah, and Jebel Ali, reported strongly higher financial results across the board for the first half of the year, with revenue up 25 per cent at US$632 million and after-tax profit from continuing operations up 2.8-fold at $46m compared to the same period last year.

New awards since the start of the year stood at more than $900m, including subcontract work for Petrofac in Abu Dhabi.

Lamprell’s chief executive, James Moffat, said: “We are delighted to have rebuilt our order book, winning significant awards from both new and existing customers. We are making good progress implementing our refreshed growth strategy based on our core markets and are already beginning to see the benefits of a stronger balance sheet.”

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Marine Services reported revenue up 5 per cent at just under $91m, with net profit (adjusted for costs of an initial public offering earlier this year) up 17 per cent at $38m. The company is now well-funded for expected expansion, said its chief executive, Duncan Anderson.

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