Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway-Aker Kvaerner has reported what it calls "unprecedented" operating results for the 2Q 2006. Aker's revenues in the second quarter totaled NOK 14 billion, a 44% increase compared with the 2Q 2005. The company states that this increase reflects strong markets and high activity in all reporting segments.
This high activity is exemplified by the company's Subsea, Product & Technology segment, which enjoyed a NOK 15.2-billion order intake and an order backlog of NOK 56 billion at the end of June 2006.
EBITDA for the three-month period was NOK 733 million, which was a 66% increase from NOK 441 million in the 2Q 2005. The quarterly EBITDA margin was 5.2% compared to 4.5% in the second quarter last year.
Accordingly, the company's market capitalization was NOK 32.1 billion--an increase of NOK 9.3 billion from year-end 2005.
A total of 25 million Aker Kvaerner shares were traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange during the second quarter, constituting 45% of total outstanding shares.
Aker Kvaerner expects the market to stay strong in the foreseeable future. In a statement announcing the quarterly results, Aker Kvaerner said: "With the high capacity utilization in the industry, the focus for Aker Kvaerner will be to continue to select and execute the right projects successfully."
The closing price of the Aker Kvaerner share at the end of June was NOK 584.
08/02/2006
