Demand for Gulf Marine Services (GMS) self-propelled jack-up barges remained high during the first half, with the well-head services group achieving 98 per cent utilisation for its fleet. Group earnings were slightly subdued by an increased level of time-consuming special projects, reducing the availability of the vessels involved. However, a significant reduction in these drawn-out projects during the second-half, plus an increase in fleet size, means that management expects the fleet's number of available days to grow a quarter.
The group's small vessel class generated the lion's share of revenue, growing 4 per cent to £53.6m. During the first-half two new self elevating support vessels (SESVs) were brought on line - both operating in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. GMS's fleet expansion programme is more than half-way completed, with plans for another three vessels to be built by the end of 2016. In Europe, two large-class SESVs continue to operate on long-term contracts in the North Sea. However, one of the vessels has had its contract extended by its current client to carry out decommissioning work - an important first step for GMS in this potentially lucrative market.
Bank of America Merril Lynch expects adjusted EPS of 27¢ for the full-year, up from 23¢ in 2014.
GULF MARINE SERVICES (GMS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 114p | MARKET VALUE: | £398m | |
| TOUCH: | 113.5-115p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 162p | LOW: 92p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.3% | PE RATIO: | 8 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 110p | NET DEBT: | 97% | |
| Half-year to 30 June | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 90.7 | 34.3 | 9.9 | 0.41 |
| 2015 | 98.2 | 36.2 | 10.0 | 0.41 |
| % change | +8 | +5 | - | - |
Ex-div: 3 Sep Payment: 28 Sep £1 = $1.56 | ||||
