H1 2023 revenue and earnings rise at Boskalis

Revenue for H1 2023 stood at EUR1.97 billion (USD2.2 billion), up from EUR1.6 billion (USD1.8 billion) in the first half of 2022. Net profit increased 56 percent year on year to EUR181 million (USD197 million). The orderbook was preserved and stood at EUR6 billion (USD6.5 billion); at the end of 2022 that figure stood at EUR6.1 billion (USD6.6 billion).   

Peter Berdowski, ceo at Boskalis, looked back on a strong first half both operationally and financially. “Very recently we were all over the headlines in the news with a number of complex salvage operations. Off the northern coast of Ameland the large car carrier Fremantle Highway caught ablaze leading to a potential significant environmental and shipping disaster. Following a tense week, we succeeded in towing the ship into a safe harbour together with our partner.  

“In recent months we were busy in the Red Sea in an attempt to avert an environmental disaster of even greater proportions. The FSO Safer has been anchored off the coast of Yemen for 40 years and this decaying storage tanker holding over 1.1 million barrels of oil had become a ticking timebomb. Last week, we succeeded in transferring all the oil from the Safer into a modern tanker. A huge compliment to our salvage teams who were able to complete these jobs under challenging conditions.” 

Boskalis’ offshore energy division was also active on numerous projects, with revenue up 50 percent year on year and EBITDA up 70 percent. “Earlier this year we completed the conversion of the Bokalift 2, our newest offshore crane vessel, in Schiedam, the Netherlands. Following the conversion she departed late May for her first wind project, Southfork in the USA.  

“Since then, all the foundations for this project off the coast of New York have been successfully installed. Furthermore, in Taiwan, we recently completed a large multi-year offshore wind project. Looking at the past six months, we can conclude that the strategic course we set several years ago to serve both the traditional offshore market and the offshore wind market is clearly bearing fruit.” 

A busy first half of the year was also reflected in a high utilisation of Boskalis’ large vessels. For instance, at its marine transport and services unit, BOKA Vanguard was part of an impressive decommissioning project where it transported a 50-year-old, 330 m-long FPSO to a scrapyard.  

The company’s dredging and inland infrastructure division saw a slight increase in revenue, with EBITDA up 26 percent compared to the first half of 2022. Both the trailing suction hopper dredgers and cutter suction dredgers were well utilised on large projects in Asia and the Middle East. Noteworthy projects in progress include the activities in Manila (Philippines), Tuas Terminal 2 and the Pulau Tekong Polder (both in Singapore), various projects in the Middle East, the Fehmarnbelt tunnel (between Denmark and Germany), the access channel to the port of Harwich (UK), the strengthening of part of the Togo and Benin coastline, the deepening of the Suriname River, and a large number of projects in the Netherlands.