Offshore issues sink Bladt profits

Danish fabrication yard Bladt Industries sunk into the red in 2014 due in part to “a few specific offshore wind” projects.

The Aalborg company posted a net loss of Dkr6.7m, compared with a profit of Dkr186.2m in the previous year, despite revenues jumping to Dkr3.2bn in 2014 from Dkr2.97bn in 2013.

Bladt declined to identify the troubled projects, which also include a single oil and gas job. The contracts may become the subject of legal proceedings for which preparation is underway.

“There is uncertainty as to the result of any such proceedings and thus significant uncertainty as to the final financial outcome of these projects, which can have a positive or negative financial effect,” said Bladt.

It claimed the projects “were impacted negatively by adverse conditions beyond Bladt Industries control such as delayed design releases and certifications as well as a more commercially aggressive behaviour from a few customers”.

It added that on some of these projects Bladt “undertook significant additional expenses to speed up production and delivery to mitigate the delays”.

The company said “these and other factors have caused disagreements regarding the settlement of variation orders and claims between Bladt and its customers”.

Bladt said the market in 2014 was largely flat and that the trend will continue into fiscal 2015. Earnings however are expected to be higher “based on the expected project execution”.

The outlook is underpinned by orders at offshore wind projects including the 582MW Gode Wind, 288MW Sandbank, 350MW Wikinger and 330MW Nordsee 1.

“Further, it is underpinned by a strong project pipeline where an additional number of significant offshore wind projects have been firmly or conditionally contracted in the early part of 2015.”

Image: offshore wind transition pieces and monopiles ready to roll (Bladt)