Keppel warns of tough times ahead. 4Q profit rises

Singapore’s Keppel Corporation has reported its revenue for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $3,925 million was $327 million or 9% higher than that of 4Q2013.

The company’s Offshore & Marine Division, responsible for offshore rig building, had its revenue increased by 15% to $2,376 million as a result of higher revenue recognition from ongoing projects.

Group net profit of $1,885 million was $39 million or 2% higher than that of the previous year. Profit from the Offshore & Marine Division of $1,040 million was $95 million or 10% higher than that of the previous year.

The Offshore & Marine Division secured $5.5 billion of orders for the year, bringing its net order book at the end of 2014 to $12.5 billion with deliveries extending into 2019. The healthy order book will keep the yards busy for 2015 and 2016, Keppel has said.

However, despite the positive results, the company has warned that the fall in oil prices, the expected reduction in global oil and gas upstream spending and the projected oversupply of oil rigs has created a challenging environment.

Keppel has said that its rig building business will continue to leverage technology and innovation to improve its competitive edge as well as productivity and efficiency. It will focus on expanding its near market, near customer strategy, the company has said.

Offshore Energy Today Staff

[mappress mapid=”1126″]