Steady Performance in 2016 for Jan De Nul, Stable Order Book

Jan De Nul Group has just released its 2016 Annual Report, saying that the company achieved steady performance in a highly volatile market.

“With a turnover exceeding the 2 billion Euro mark for the sixth year in a row, Jan De Nul Group confirms its position as a global player in its target markets,” the company said.

“In 2016, we executed major port infrastructure works in France (Dunkirk and Calais), Congo (Pointe-Noire), Ghana (Takoradi), Morocco (Nador), Mozambique (Maputo), Panama, Russia (Sabetta), Egypt (Abu Qir) and Belize. We also had large land reclamation projects in the Netherlands, France, Guinea, Nigeria, Italy and Turkey.”

The Jan De Nul Group’s Board of Directors said that 2016 was a year of transition for Jan De Nul Group.

“The world economy is far from booming, we still feel the crisis of 2008 in our cyclically driven business. The oil industry still goes through difficult times because of low oil prices so that our related activities are still under considerable pressure,” the board said.

“Fortunately, we can compensate for this in other fields, among others, thanks to our activities for the renewable offshore wind energy industry. There is a worldwide ambition to increase the share of sustainable energy sources in the overall energy production to 60% by 2040. This is a new market and is a major focus for Jan De Nul.”

Key figures

• Turnover exceeding the 2 billion Euro mark for the sixth year in a row;
• EBITDA of 339 million Euro;
• Net profit totaling 102 million Euro;
• Record solvency ratio of over 60% thanks to continuous profit reservations;
• No net debt for the third year in a row;
• Stable order portfolio of 2.55 billion Euro;
• Consistent and targeted investment policy.

Strategic investments 

In July 2016, Jan De Nul Group ordered two hopper dredgers with a capacity of 3,500m³ each. The vessels will be built on the shipyard of Keppel Singmarine in China. In January 2007, the company gave the final go-ahead for the construction of a third similar hopper dredger. The vessels will be delivered in the second half of 2018.

In mid-May 2017, the company placed a new order with the same shipyard for a 6,000m³ trailing suction hopper dredger, also including an option for a sister vessel.

In China, on the AVIC Weihai shipyard, the multipurpose vessels Adhémar de Saint-Venant and Daniel Bernoulli are being outfitted. Their delivery is scheduled for mid-2017, after which they will both be sent off to their first job: one for rock installation works in Denmark, the other as trenching vessel in the Persian Gulf.

At the Uljanik shipyard in Croatia, Jan De Nul Group’s newest and largest self-propelled cutter suction dredger is being built. It’s installed diesel power amounts to more than 40,000kW, about 50% more than the current most powerful cutter suction in the Group’s fleet, the J.F.J. De Nul.

The launch of this new vessel is scheduled for the summer of 2017.

Environment

Jan De Nul Group deliberately chooses not to invest in vessels with LNG fuel, for which emissions are not subject to any regulation at all, but rather relies on optimizing its diesel engines and on strongly improving the after-treatment of exhaust gases so as to observe the most stringent European emission regulations.

The group permanently monitors the emission of greenhouse gases, both on a technical and operational level. The hull of JDN vessels is designed so as to ensure minimal drag and the engines are continuously adjusted and optimized, as are the relevant instructions for use for the crew.

“On an operational level, we plan in detail the best shipping route for every vessel taking into account currents and weather forecasts. In this way, fuel consumption is strongly decreased,” JDN said.

Stable order book

2016 was concluded with an order book of 2.55 billion Euro, which is a stable result compared to 2015 and a strong performance considering the persistently lowered level of investments worldwide in their target markets.