Van Oord Reports Challenging Year in 2019

Van Oord has announced its full-year results for 2019, saying that the last year was a challenging year for them.

As reported, the company experienced tough times in its main dredging market, combined with growth and opportunities in other markets such as the Netherlands.

In 2019, Van Oord recorded EUR 1.64 billion in revenue, 12% lower than 2018 (EUR 1.88 billion).

The dredging activities generated a revenue of EUR 690 million (EUR 852 million in 2018). The decrease in offshore wind activities (2019: EUR 571 million vs 2018: EUR 706 million) was driven by the smaller number and size of projects currently under construction.

“We remain positive about the prospects of offshore wind and do see substantial opportunities ahead in this market,” the company said.

Revenue in the Netherlands business unit increased to EUR 173 million (2018: EUR 115 million) including, amongst others, the iconic Afsluitdijk reinforcement project.

The 5 largest project awards are the land reclamation project in Dos Bocas, Mexico, the EPCI contract for the Mozambique LNG project, the cable installation contract for the Greater Changhua offshore wind farms in Taiwan, the Bacton to Walcott Coastal protection project in the UK and the A12/A15 motorway project (ViA15) in the Netherlands.

Dredging

Dredging is the traditional cornerstone of Van Oord’s business, but market conditions in 2019 remained difficult. The company’s tender and award volumes were substantially lower than 2018. Fleet capacity utilization was comparable to 2018.

To respond to these developments, Van Oord initiated actions to restore profitability and realize growth within Dredging. The result is the ‘Reinventing Dredging 2030’ strategy, which will be implemented from 2020 onwards.

A highlight in 2019 was the Dubai Harbor reclamation project, which allows Dubai to reach its goal of welcoming 20 million visitors annually.

For the full-year results please click here.