Lamprell interim losses widen as revenue drops

Lamprell posted a widening of its first-half losses on Thursday as revenue fell and the oilfield services company said it was focused on oil and gas opportunities in the Middle East and Europe.

In the six months to the end of June, the net loss widened to $51.9m from $21.9m in the first half of last year as revenue fell to $106.4m from $155.1m.

Lamprell said its bid pipeline was steady at $6.3bn, with a focus on oil and gas opportunities in the Middle East and offshore wind farm projects in Europe.

The company maintained revenue guidance for 2019 at between $275m and $350m.

It said the timing of contract award remains "challenging" and represents "a material uncertainty", with the extent of 2020 revenue growth contingent on the pace of awards over the next six months.

Chief executive officer Christopher McDonald said: "I am pleased to see work returning to our yards with both Moray East project ramping up and the rig refurbishment segment providing a steady flow of projects. Our focus and effort in delivering strategic opportunities in Saudi Arabia has intensified since being added to Saudi Aramco's LTA list and I am confident that, despite delays, we will see results from this effort.

"The renewables industry continues to demonstrate encouraging growth and we are also beginning to see early but solid interest in the newbuild jackup rig market. These developments will underpin our gradual recovery over the coming years."

At 1140 BST, the shares were down 2.4% at 47.45p.