Jan De Nul Group turnover in 2019 exceeded EUR 2 billion
In 2019 Jan De Nul increased its activity in dredging market though the year was a challenging one. According to diversity plan Jan De Nul has expanded in the market for offshore renewable energy and not in Europe only. The Group is now building offshore wind farms in Taiwan and soon in the United States. The civil engineering activities of the Group are holding up well, thanks to a strong real estate market in combination with some important projects on the infrastructure market. The environmental activities, the smallest branch of activity of Jan De Nul Group, remains stable.
In 2019, Jan De Nul Group’s total turnover reached 2 billion Euro. The EBITDA amounted to 342 million euro or 16.84% of the Group’s turnover. Jan De Nul Group’s capital and reserves totaled more than 2.9 billion euro with a solvency ratio of no less than 68% and a net cash surplus of 465 million euro.
At the end of 2019 the Group heavily invested in new dredging vessels – more than 700 million euro.
In 2015 and 2018 the Group’s fleet was expanded with an offshore jack-up installation vessels Vole au vent and Taillevent. Last year Jan De Nul Group ordered a third next generation offshore installation vessel, the Voltaire for installation of wind turbines with heights up to 270 metre. At the end of 2019 the Group ordered the floating installation crane vessel Les Alizés equipped with a main crane with a lifting capacity of 5,000 tonnes. Both vessels will be delivered in 2022. The Voltaire will be deployed immediately after its completion for the construction of the offshore wind farm Dogger Bank in the United Kingdom.
At the end of 2019 the Group’s order book reached 3.4 billion euro.
In the reporting period dredging activity contributed 77% of the total turnover of the Group.
Major coastal protection and dredging projects: Benin (the design and construction of a submerged dike to protect against coastal erosion; India (to deepen and widen the access channel to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai); Mauritania (for deepening and widening the large port in Nouadhibou for the export of iron ore); Argentina (for deepening of the port of Quequén to -15 metre); Vietnam (dredging works for the port facilities for the Long Son Petrochemicals Complex at Long Son Island); Qatar (the widening of the access channel to Old Doha Port).
The offshore wind farm projects: Belgium (installation of Northwester 2); Germany (the Trianel offshore wind farm); Taiwan (Changhua and Formosa 1 Phase 2). In 2019, Jan De Nul Group was awarded the Formosa 2 project. The construction of the offshore wind farm with 47 Siemens turbines of 8 MW each and a total capacity of 376 MW, will start in 2020. The installation of offshore wind turbines in the United States is in full preparation and will be carried out in 2020.
Civil construction and maintenance projects accounted for 20% of the Group’s total turnover. This included residential buildings, school infrastructure, health care institutions, road infrastructure, viaducts, quay walls and locks: Belgium (the renovation of the Leopold II tunnel in Brussels); The Netherlands (the Beatrix lock in Nieuwegein); Luxembourg city (widening and renovation of the historical Pont Passerelle). The environmental activities keep a stable 3% of the Group’s total turnover. For that Jan De Nul Group owns and operates six soil and sediment treatment centres in Belgium and France.
In the financial year 2019, Jan De Nul Group maintained its high solvency level with a ratio of 68%. The capital and reserves increased from 2,859 million euro in 2018 to 2,941 million euro in 2019, thanks to a sustained policy of complete profit reinvestment. Since 2014, Jan De Nul Group is completely net debt-free. This is pretty unique, especially considering the group’s strong investment-DNA. Our net cash position continued to improve in 2019 and amounted to 465 million euro (376 million euro in 2018).
Although Jan De Nul Group has a strong presence in Europe with 45% of its turnover realised across European countries, Jan De Nul activities grew fastest in Asia and the Middle East. The share of this region in the Group’s turnover increased from 18% in 2018 to 27% in 2019 due to the construction of the three major offshore wind farms in Taiwan. Furthermore, Jan De Nul Group was active in 2019 in America (17%), Africa (7%) and Australia (4%).
The Group’s order book, which amounted to 3.4 billion euro at the end of 2019 as compared to 3.3 billion euro at the end of 2018. The order book includes several major projects: in Ecuador, Ghana, Benin, Mozambique, Denmark, France, the USA.
Jan De Nul continued investments in small/medium-sized dredging vessels and in vessels for the offshore wind industry. In 2019, the Group took delivery of the 3,500 m3 TSHDs Afonso de Albuquerque, Diogo Cão and Tristão da Cunha (built by Keppel Shipyard in Nantong, China), the 6,000 m3 TSHD Sanderus (Keppel in Singapore). Sister vessel Ortelius is expected to be delivered mid-2020. In December of 2019, the 18,000 m3 TSHD Galileo Galilei was launched by COSCO shipyard in Dalian in China. The delivery is scheduled for 2020. A few years ago Jan De Nul Group placed order for the cutter suction dredger Willem van Rubroeck with Croatia based Uljanik shipyard. In April 2020, the vessel was transported to the shipyard Remontowa in Poland for completion. The vessel will be ready and deployable in 2021.
Luxembourg, Belgium headquartered Jan De Nul Group is a family-owned company specializing in dredging and land reclamation, rock placing, trenching, rock dumping for oil and gas related offshore pipeline projects, quay walls, marine related projects, civil engineering and large-scale environmental remediation projects. Dredging accounts for 85% of the Group's turnover. With a yearly turnover of EUR 1.9 billion, the company ranks among the international top of dredging contactors and the top of marine engineering contractors.
