The Netherlands: Boskalis Posts Record Revenue for 2012

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) achieved a record revenue of EUR 3.1 billion in 2012 (2011: EUR 2.8 billion).

Net profit amounted to EUR 250 million, thus remaining virtually stable compared to 2011 (EUR 254 million). Despite the slight decline in net profit and a substantial increase in the number of outstanding shares as a consequence of the recent equity issue in connection with the acquisition of Dockwise, Boskalis intends to pay-out an unchanged dividend of EUR 1.24 per share.

EBITDA dropped to EUR 568 million (2011: EUR 591 million) and the operating result (EBIT) fell to EUR 337 million (2011: EUR 354 million). The contribution from Dredging declined as a consequence of lower volume of work. Challenging market conditions in Inland Infra led to a lower result with an increase in revenue. The remaining activities, Offshore Energy and Towage & Salvage, achieved a respectively virtually stable and slightly higher operating result.

The order book increased to EUR 4.106 million as per end-2012 (end-2011: EUR EUR 3.489 million). Compared to the 2012 mid-year level the order book was also higher at the end of the year.

Peter Berdowski, CEO Boskalis:

“Despite the challenging market conditions we look back on a fine year in which we took major steps in further strengthening and expanding the company. 2012 was a year in which a broad recovery of the global economy failed to materialize. Against that background we turned in a good performance with record revenue and an all-time high order book of EUR 4.1 billion, evenly spread across all our activities.

While executing and acquiring works kept us busy, we continued to expand the business within the strategic framework of our business plan. In addition to completing the integration with SMIT we took an important step with the acquisition of Dockwise. The combination will sharply grow our position in the offshore energy sector and allow us to offer new perspectives to both our clients and our staff.

No material change is expected in market conditions in 2013, with volumes and margins remaining under pressure. Based on the current level of the order book we expect healthy utilization levels of the equipment, in particular the hoppers. Furthermore 2013 will revolve around the integration and consolidation of Dockwise. Together with the management of Dockwise we have already taken the first concrete steps in this direction.”

MARKET DEVELOPMENTS

The markets in which Boskalis operates are driven in the long term by growth in global trade, energy consumption and the world’s population, as well as by the effects of climate change.

The medium-term picture is mixed for the markets in which we operate. On the one hand Boskalis is seeing continued reluctance on the part of governments, particularly in Europe, to invest. On the other Boskalis is seeing private initiatives for new infrastructure projects being developed by clients in various regions of the world and across the different market segments. This applies in particular to energy and raw materials-related projects in South America, West Africa and Australasia as well as to port developments outside of Europe.

Market developments in the offshore energy market have a bearing on a substantial part of our business. Boskalis expects demand for and construction of new oil and LNG import and export terminals (Dredging and Dockwise) to lead to growth in terminal services (Smit Lamnalco).

For the rest, developments at Offshore Energy are strongly dependent on an upturn in demand from the energy markets, particularly those in North-West Europe, Brazil and Southeast Asia.

OUTLOOK

Capital expenditure for the coming year is expected to be around EUR 325 million, excluding Dockwise which can be funded form the cash flow. The acquisition financing for Dockwise and the refinancing of existing Dockwise and Boskalis bank facilities will push up the total debt position. Subsequent to the (re)financing, Boskalis will retain a solid financial position.

For 2013, Boskalis expects that the current market developments will once again have a dampening effect on the structurally positive trends that underpin the strategy. Current information suggests that the year ahead will bring little change to the market picture compared to 2012. At Dredging Boskalis expects to see healthy fleet utilization levels and a stable operating margin development. The same outlook also applies to the other activities Offshore Energy, Inland Infra and Towage & Salvage.

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Press Release, March 14, 2013