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* Backlog at end-April $8.2 bln vs $4 bln at end-Dec
* Wins $5 bln new contracts in first quarter
* CFO says comfortable with current market forecasts
* Shares rise as much as 3.6 percent
(Adds CFO comments, shares, analyst)
LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Oil services group Petrofac (PFC.L) said its order book more than doubled to $8.2 billion in the four months to April 30 after its core engineering and construction unit won $5 billion in new contracts in the first quarter.
The group, whose key markets are in the Middle East and North Africa, said on Friday that the new contracts in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Algeria gave it high revenue visibility through to 2011.
"We've got a business that's very busy and successful despite the oil price fall," Chief Financial Officer Keith Roberts told Reuters in a telephone interview.
The sharp fall in oil prices from a peak of $147 a barrel in July 2008 has prompted fears that oil services companies will suffer as producers and explorers cut back on discretionary spending.
Roberts said the group was benefitting from continued investment from national oil companies, such as Saudi Aramco and Algeria's Sonatrach, and it remained confident in strong growth for 2009.
"The market has something like mid-teens percent growth for us this year and we're not seeking to change that," Roberts said.
Its shares, which have gained 70 percent so far this year after hitting a two-year low in December, rose as much as 3.6 percent following the statement and were up 2 percent at 601.5 pence by 0847 GMT. The wider FTSE 100 benchmark was up 0.4 percent .FTSE.
Evolution Securities said its Engineering and Construction business and the start-up of the West Don North Sea field, in which Petrofac is investing, would drive growth in 2009.
"Petrofac's business mix is giving the company resilience in a tough external market," Evolution's Keith Morris wrote in a note. "Stronger oil prices in the second half could cause Energy Developments to surprise on the upside."
Analysts currently expect Petrofac to report an 18 percent increase in pretax profit to $410 million, according to data from Reuters Estimates. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; editing by Paul Sandle and Karen Foster)
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