Vard's Q4 profit, revenue rise on high activity at its yards and with subcontractors

VARD Holdings on Friday reported a net profit of 154 million Norwegian kroner (S$27.5 million) for the fourth quarter, up 36.3 per cent from a year ago.

Revenue rose 45.5 per cent to 4.5 billion kroner, on the back of high activity at its yards and with subcontractors, the shipbuilder said.

Full-year net profit dipped 2.2 per cent to 349 million kroner due to higher operational expenses, while revenue rose 15.8 per cent to 12.9 billion kroner.

Vard's year-end 2014 order book value of 17.7 billion kroner comprises 39 firm vessel orders.

The company said that the recent oil price decline has profoundly altered the exploration and production spending outlook for oil companies, in particular for the North Sea, which is Vard's home market.

"Oil service companies and offshore support vessel owners have been directly impacted. On the back of the unfavourable short-term market situation, new order intake for 2015 is expected to be weak, although Vard's existing order book ensures good revenue coverage for the majority of the year."

A company-wide cost improvement programme is underway, aimed at boosting flexibility and reducing fixed and variable costs to strengthen Vard's position in the highly competitive market, it said.