DEME: Dredging & Infra segment raises the bar

DEME said that they delivered a strong performance for the first half of 2024, adding that their Dredging & Infra segment reported a turnover of almost one billion euro, 39% higher than a year ago.

In Europe, Dredging & Infra continued working on maintenance contracts in Belgium and Germany, securing access to some of the most important ports in Europe. In Germany, the segment is working on widening the Kiel Canal.

In the UK, Dredging & Infra secured a new contract to maintain the access channel to London Gateway Port along the River Thames, following the successful completion of a berth construction.

In Italy, Dredging & Infra is executing modernisation works in Ravenna, as well as in Augusta, Sicily, and is preparing extension works for the ports of Livorno, Naples and Cagliari, Sardinia.

In France, Dredging & Infra completed rock dredging works at La Pallice, La Rochelle, and continued deepening works at the harbour of Port-La Nouvelle. At Port-La Nouvelle, civil works advanced to the next phase with the construction of a new jetty.

Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, in Leiden, the Rijnlandroute, including the bore ‘Corbulotunnel’, was officially opened in July. The New Lock Terneuzen as well as the Blankenburg Connection projects are nearing completion, marking important milestones given the size, complexity and duration of such projects and demonstrating DEME’s ability to leverage synergies across various activities.

In Belgium, good progress was made in constructing tunnel elements for the Scheldt Tunnel, part of the Oosterweel Connection project in Antwerp, Belgium. For the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Island, the first caissons are being built and the first marine works have started, including seabed preparation and foundation layer installation.

Related to the same project, DEME’s Offshore Energy segment won a new large subsea cabling contract to connect the energy island with the Belgian onshore electricity grid.

In Denmark, the Fehmarnbelt tunnel project is progressing, with the first tunnel element inaugurated by the King of Denmark in June, and the delivery of project-specific designed marine equipment.

Overseas, Dredging & Infra made notable progress establishing its presence in Asia Pacific with port maintenance projects in both India and Malaysia as well as land reclamation works in the Maldives. The Dredging & Infra segment is also further executing seabed preparation dredging works for some offshore energy projects in Malaysia, Taiwan and Australia.

In West Africa, Dredging & Infra is initiating a coastal protection project in the Ivory Coast, remains active with land reclamation works in Nigeria, and has maintenance dredging projects underway in Congo, Angola, Gabon and Guinea.

In the Middle East, the segment continued capital dredging and land reclamation works for the extension of the port of Abu Qir in Egypt. In Abu Dhabi multiple hopper and cutter suction dredgers remained in operation.

For the port of Oxagon Phase 2 project in Saudi Arabia, a large multi-year project awarded in the last quarter of 2023, the dry earth excavation works are advancing well in anticipation of the upcoming cutter suction dredging works.

Vessel occupancy for the first half of the year for both the trailing suction hopper dredger fleet and the cutter fleet increased compared to the first and the second half of last year, driven by recent contract wins and strong backlog.

The EBITDA margin in the Dredging & Infra segment increased to 19% for the first half 2024 from 14% for the first half of 2023, mainly driven by higher activity levels and strong project execution.