French oil services group Technip said it was sticking to its 2013 financial targets after bigger rival Saipem this week issued its second profit warning in recent months.
Milan-listed Saipem took an axe to its outlook for the second time in under five months as deteriorating relations with Algeria prompted it to forecast full-year net losses.
Europe’s largest oil services group surprised markets in January when it slashed its profit forecasts for 2013, blaming lower margins on new contracts.
The profit warning also hit shares in its Paris-based competitor Technip at the time.
“Technip has received a number of questions in the last couple of days concerning business trends,” Technip chief executive Thierry Pilenko said today.
He added: “We reiterate what we have been saying since the first quarter results and in recent investor meetings, including last week, namely that we see no significant change in business trends and conditions.”
Saipem shares have lost around 35% this year, while Technip stock is down about 3%, in line with the broader European oil and gas sector.
Technip said earlier this year it expected group sales to grow between 11% and 16% in 2013 and its operating margin to be around 15% at its subsea unit and 6-7% at its onshore/offshore unit.
The group is scheduled to report second-quarter results on July 25.
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