Vard Holdings warns of 'marginally negative Ebitda' in Q3

VARD Holdings late on Tuesday warned that it will likely report "marginally negative Ebitda" (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) for its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2014.

The shipbuilder said that although it had made significant investments to strengthen the company in order to reach production targets at the new Vard Promar in Brazil, "slower-than-expected improvements in throughput and productivity at the new shipyard are impacting profitability during the ramp-up phase".

"Additional cost was also incurred for the two vessels in the Promar order book that were built at a third-party yard and are currently undergoing outfitting at Vard Niterói," it noted.

"During the third quarter, the overall performance of the European shipyards was stable ... Nevertheless, the group has revised its estimates for a limited number of projects in its European order book where cost overruns were incurred," it said.

It added, however, that no impact on the delivery schedule is expected as a result of mitigating actions taken.