Dutch fabricator Sif reported earnings up almost 21% in the 2020 financial year, despite production falling by over 11%.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were €31.8m in 2020, compared with €26.3m in the previous year.
The improvement was largely driven by the better pricing environment and more efficient execution, especially in the second half of the year, Sif said.
Production fell to 164 kilo tonnes from 185 kilo tonnes, impacted by Covid-19 in the first half of the year, but the contribution of €101.6m – revenue minus cost of sale – was on a par with 2019’s €101.5m.
Sif chief executive Fred van Beers said that in 2020 the company “quickly and proactively” aligned operations in order to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus in general without compromising the availability of personnel.
He said: “The first half-year of 2020 was an uncertain period for our employees, clients and suppliers.
“As the cancelled Vineyard Wind project in the US left a 105 Kilo tonne gap in our first half 2020 order book we had to adjust our production lines to a replacement project and to a project that we managed to pull forward.
“Orders for the oil and gas industry all but dried up owing to the downturn in this sector.
“Despite all this, improving the efficiency of our production processes remained equally high on our agenda.
“The results of our actions and policy gradually became visible during the course of the year.
“We learned to deal with Covid-19 prevention measures and saw an improvement in the efficiency of the production process, which is reflected in the production volume in the second half of 2020 of 88 Kilo tonnes compared to 76 Kilo tonnes in the first half of the year.
“The second half of 2020 led to more satisfying results in terms of safety, quality and therefore also financial performance.
“It should be noted that the finalisation of projects on or around year-end contributed positively to the final result.”