Van Oord posts 2014 results
From a financial perspective, Van Oord achieved a record turnover of EUR 2.104 billion (2013: EUR 1.641 billion). It is the first time in the company’s history that its turnover has exceeded EUR 2 billion, the company said in its press release.
This year, with the award of the Gemini project (EUR 1.3 billion in turnover), Van Oord became one of the major players in the European offshore wind industry. Van Oord’s turnover was not the only thing that broke records: its order portfolio was well-filled, and was valued at EUR 3.222 billion at year-end 2014 (2013: EUR 1.944 billion). The net profit for 2014 amounted to EUR 119 million (2013: EUR 130 million; the profit for 2013 was considerably influenced by settlements reached on outstanding claims that arose in the Dubai era).
Van Oord’s strategy continues to focus on its three current activities: dredging, offshore oil & gas, and offshore wind. Pieter Van Oord, CEO: ‘This strategy is aimed at both strengthening and investing in our position in our existing main activities. In addition to the investments in new vessels, the acquisitions of J.T. Mackley & Co. (United Kingdom), the staff and equipment from Ballast Nedam Offshore, and all of the shares in Dravo S.A. (Spain) in 2014 fit right into this strategy.’
According to Van Oord’s 2013-2018 Strategic Plan, the company will be investing more than EUR 1 billion in building new vessels and modernising and replacing the fleet. In 2014, this investment included an order for a new fallpipe vessel, Bravenes, which is currently being built by the Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group Shanghai at its shipyard in Ningbo, China. Two trailing suction hopper dredgers are also being developed and have been ordered; these vessels are now under construction at the LaNaval shipyard in Spain. The offshore wind division was also strengthened by the acquisition of the staff and equipment from Ballast Nedam Offshore. Investments made earlier also paid off in 2014, with events such as the successful introduction of the Aeolus, a vessel designed for offshore and wind projects, and the construction of the Nexus, the cable-laying vessel that was launched on 7 March 2015. The Aeolus was delivered in July 2014 and was first deployed to the Eneco Luchterduinen offshore wind park project. The introduction of the Aeolus to the fleet was incredibly successful. After Eneco Luchterduinen is completed, the Aeolus will be deployed to the Gemini project. The Nexus will also be deployed to this project after being launched in spring 2015.
Van Oord N.V. is a public limited company with its head office in the Netherlands. MerweOord BV, the holding company owned by the Van Oord family, holds 78.5% of its shares. The remaining shares are held by Cobepa (Nederland) N.V. (10.75%) and ConsOord B.V. (10.75%).
