The Lamprell Group has played an important role in the development of the offshore industry in the Arabian Gulf for over 30 years, providing increasingly specialised services to the offshore oil industry. Lamprell is managed by British nationals, with its corporate headquarters in Sharjah, one of the United Arab Emirates, Lamprell operates a full service jackup rig refurbishment facility in Sharjah and a modern, well equipped fabrication facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai.

Lamprell located in the most important oil and gas region in the world, in one of the key commercial centres in the UAE.

Lamprell has its own core skilled and experienced workforce as well as access to additional skilled labour from the local labour supply market.


AIM Rule 26 Disclosure

This, in addition to the Group�s safety focused culture and experienced project management skills, helps to ensure customer satisfaction is maximised whilst risks are reduced.

Lamprell has built up its strong market position by offering a differentiated service to its clients based on safe working practices and completing projects on time, on budget and to a high quality. Accordingly, we believe that the Company has established a position of sustainable competitive advantage in the region.

..Regulator to probe Lamprell over share dealing ahead of profit warning

By Garry White and Jonathan Russell | Telegraph – 6 minutes ago

The City regulator is to ask Lamprell (Frankfurt: A0LC3A - news) to explain how senior managers sold £1.7m worth of shares just weeks before it issued a profit warning.

The company’s shares plunged by almost two thirds after the oil rig maker slashed its profit forecast by 60pc.

Two weeks ago, Kevin Isles sold 250,000 shares at 361.7p apiece, banking £904,250. Scott Doak also sold 200,000 shares after selling 21,679 shares in the previous week. Mr Doak’s two sales realised £798,985.

The share sales followed an announcement on May 1 that the company had won an order worth $227m (£143m) from an unnamed international drilling contractor.

Nigel McCue, chief executive of the FTSE 250 (FTSE: ^FTMC - news) company, said that both men had complied with company procedures.

'The company operates a strict share dealing policy in line with all appropriate disclosure and regulatory frameworks, and both these sales fell within that in the normal and entirely proper way,” Mr McCue said. “Neither employee sits on the board nor were party to the material contained in today’s announcement.”

Mr Isles is Lamprell’s executive vice president of the group’s operations at Sharjah and Hamriyah in the United Arab Emirates and Mr Doak is the company’s integration and development director.

The Financial Services Authority declined to comment.

The manufacturer of oil rigs and vessels for installing wind turbines said progressive delays in key equipment and a “slippage” in the timing of new contract awards would result in a first-half loss. The shares slumped 167.8 to 127p after the full-year profit forecast was slashed to $38m to $40m from a consensus view of $117m.

“We expect a substantial discount to the sector will persist until investor confidence is rebuilt and the company loses its 'accident prone’ reputation,” Keith Morris, an analyst at Investec Securities, said. Mr Morris cut his rating on the shares to hold from buy and slashed his price target to 200p from 450p.

The profit margins this year is expected to be 3.5pc compared with consensus of 9.5pc, before rising to 7.5pc next year.

“We see continued strength in our operating markets, our bid activity remains at a historically high level and the board remains optimistic that the long term prospects of the group remain promising,” Lamprell said. The company has a forward order book valued at $1.6bn. The company’s bidding pipeline at the end of April was $4.8bn.

..

Nigel McCue, chief executive, said that both men had complied with company procedures.
of course he did, and i wonder if these guys are ex-pats and thus effectively escape close scrutiny and censure ..... assuredly these sales were too large and profitable and recent to be triggered by other than inside information on the state of the company's trading ..... i am very sure that there are monthly internal management accounts issued and recent board meetings at which the impending dismal figures would have been discussed

This people must think that 'Joe Public' has no inkling about the machinations of a companies day to day operations.

Standard Life reduce: http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4371947

Schroders above 5%

On Thursday 7th June - Lamprell ’s management can expect a tough time from shareholders when the oil rig-maker holds its annual meeting. Last month it issued a shock profit warning, revising 2012 profit forecasts down to $40m from previous consensus of $117m, and sending shares plunging by almost two thirds. Just two weeks before, shares had been trading at a high for the year on the back of new contract wins and two of the company’s senior managers sold shares to the value of £1.7m. The company insists nothing improper went on but that is unlikely to prevent anger from investors. They will also want to hear how Lamprell plans to recover from the contract “slippage”, shortage of equipment and added costs it blamed for the profit warning and how it aims to ensure more accurate forecasts in future.

RNS trading update?

Yes - trading update.

Just had a small punt @69.5 - stop 50p 59p

You're long with a c30% stop??? This has to be oversold, imo, but hoping for a rise in the sp on a friday (after Ben B's comments yesterday)...........!

Harry - typo - stop is 59p - so that makes it less mad! :-)

How could this go so wrong?

more interesting is how did the senior management get so lucky as to sell at >350 just beforeit all fell apart

....and it should be a good indicator when they start to buy back in gain.

Or if they buy back in? personally never bothered with LAM in this sector as PFC have been so good along with their narrower spread and with no stamp duty.

Any chance of a bid at this level?

Closed @78.27 - I see Liberum have retained their buy note today, but dropped their TP from 179 to 176p.

In auction now @81.95 - I may have been a bit premature!

arguably so with hindsight, but given the gamble you took - for which congratulations also in hindsight - you should be smiling merrily to have banked such a decent profit