Petrofac this morning confirmed its net profit for the first half the year is expected to be between $135million and $145million.
The service company said full year profits are expected to be “weighted in the second half of the year”.
The firm made a net profit of $416million in 2016. It would need post a net profit of $281million in the second half of the year to remain on par.
Its group chief executive said the firm had “made a positive start”.
“We have made a positive start to the year, driven by good project execution and financial discipline,” said Ayman Asfari.
“Our core business continues to trade in line with expectations and we remain competitive, securing new contract awards in both our E&C and EPS divisions throughout the last six months. The high level of tendering activity is evidence of greater confidence in our core markets and we continue to have a very good pipeline of bidding opportunities. In IES, performance in the first half of 2017 has been impacted by lower realised oil prices, lower capital investment in Mexico and our delayed entry onto the Greater Stella Area development licence.
“Our clear strategy – focused on best in class execution, maintaining our cost-competitiveness to secure new awards and reducing capital intensity – positions us well for the remainder of the year.”
Petrofac is currently under investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The firm made no mention of the investigation, which was launched in May, in today’s trading statement.
The SFO’s probe covers suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering and is linked to a wider investigation into Unaoil, a Monaco-based business.
In the wake of the investigation, Petrofac suspended its chief operating office Marwan Chedid. Mr Chedid is barred from having any contact with the wider leadership team.
In today’s trading statement, Petrofac recorded $1.7billion worth of new order intake. It has a backlog totaling $13billion. Its net debt is $1.1billion.
Rijnhard van Tets, Petrofac’s chairman, added:”Everyone within Petrofac is completely focused on delivering operational excellence for our clients and winning new contracts. In addition, we are committed to maintaining our strong balance sheet and reducing net debt. The Board has great confidence in Petrofac’s ability to continue to deliver, and is fully supportive of the work being done to serve our clients and deliver our strategy.
“An independent committee of the Board will continue to engage with the SFO and its investigation.”
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