Energy services giant TechnipFMC suffered a 75% drop in income in the first quarter of 2019.
But three month block was the strongest for new orders since the fourth quarter of 2014, with £4.8 billion booked.
Revenues at the company’s subsea division remained flat as TechnipFMC experienced a decline in project revenues, reflected in lower vessel utilisation, but offset by cost reduction efforts.
TechnipFMC also reported a “more competitively priced backlog” in subsea.
In surface technologies, weaker-than-expected activity in North America significantly impacted TechnipFMC’s results and led to a change in its market outlook.
Chief executive Doug Pferdehirt said: “We no longer anticipate the recovery in North America as originally forecasted.
“Outside of the Americas, our expectations remain unchanged at high-single digit to low-double digit activity growth.”
TechnipFMC’s performance was also hit by £9m worth of foreign exchange losses and £65m of increased liability payable to joint venture partners.
First-quarter revenues dropped 7% to £2.2bn, while pre-tax income sank 75% to £26m.
Mr Pferdehirt said the company was meeting notable project milestones and was prioritising five LNG projects that are “most strategic” and offer the highest probability of successful execution”.
He added: “Our company has returned to growth, and we are well-positioned to benefit from the recovery under way in many of our key end-markets.
“Our strong balance sheet ensures that we have sufficient capital to grow the business, while supporting our commitment to return excess capital to shareholders.
“When these actions are combined with strong operational execution, we can drive our capital returns higher over time.
“This focus on shareholder capital has been a part of management compensation since the formation of TechnipFMC, and it reflects how we will continue to manage our balance sheet and our business going forward.”