(Adds more comments from company executives)
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Ayman Asfari, chief executive of Petrofac, said
the oil services group has not received any takeover approach.
"We have not received approaches from potential bidders," Asfari told
reporters in a conference call following the group's annual results.
He said the company is focused on expanding the business as it sees
"tremendous opportunities" for growth in a buoyant oil market.
The oil market boom has turned firms such as Petrofac into takeover targets.
Sondex PLC, an oilfield equipment maker, was bought by General Electric for 288
mln stg last year, while oil rig contractor Abbot Group PLC is being taken over
by private equity firm First Reserve Corp in a 906 mln stg deal. Last month,
Expro International Group PLC, the UK oil services provider, said it has
received an approach from an unnamed party.
Asfari said the group continues to build its order book, with further
contract wins expected at its Engineering and Construction business "in the
coming weeks".
Petrofac's order backlog rose 6.4 pct to over 4.4 bln usd at end-2007. The
E&C unit secured 2.5 bln usd of the total, up 14 pct from a year earlier.
"The (current) bidding pipeline in the E&C division is stronger than last
year's," Asfari said, adding it is bidding for new contracts in Algeria, Oman,
Egypt and Kazakhstan.
Keith Roberts, the chief finance officer, said capital spending will rise
"quite significantly" this year as the company progresses with the development
of the Don fields in the North Sea.
The fields, operated by Petrofac, are expected to be on stream next year.
Around 360 mln stg will be needed to develop the field, over half of which
will be contributed by Petrofac, said Roberts.
He stressed the company is generating enough cashflow to support its
spending needs.
Petrofac expects Don's development plan to secure government approval in the
first half of 2008. The fields' proved and probable reserves are estimated at
50.9 mln barrels, of which 26.4 mln barrels are recoverable.
Capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment rose to 117.2 mln usd
in 2007 from 59.4 mln last time, partly following the acquisition of the Chergui
gas field in Tunisia.
The group's 2007 net profit rose to 188.7 mln usd from 120.3 mln usd
previously, ahead of the consensus estimate of 175.9 mln usd, while revenue grew
30.9 pct to 2.4 bln usd. Net margins improved to 7.7 pct from 6.5 pct.
Petrofac is paying a final dividend of 11.50 cents per share, raising the
total for the year by 85.7 pct to 16.40 cents.
Looking ahead, the company said net profit margins at the E&C unit will be
"broadly maintained" at recent levels. At the Operations Services division, it
expects to "make further progress" in its medium-term net profit margins target
of 5 pct.
monicca.egoy@thomson.com
mbe/wj
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