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.

Canaccord Genuity Hold 96.25 70.00 100.00 Reiterates

StockMarketWire.com
Lamprell has welcomed recent change in oil and gas market sentiment but believes 2017 will prove a particularly cautious environment and will continue to maintain tight control over expenditure.

In a pre-close trading update Lampress said it has retained its focus on operational performance and, during 2H 2016, three rigs had been delivered on time, with the three further rigs currently under construction in its Hamriyah yard progressing to plan for delivery in the first half of this year.

The update continued: "The group's strong safety performance continued with the Jebel Ali yard achieving over 15 million manhours and over 1,500 days without a Day Away From Work Case.

"Our safety track record strengthens our competitive position with top tier clients. Lamprell was also recognised by being awarded a regional Corporate Health and Wellness Award for a third consecutive year."

Lamprell said it has adapted to market pressures by continuing its programme of cost-cutting in overheads.

It aid that following the announcement in May, the group had undertaken a further 20% reduction in its administrative staff headcount which included some redundancies at the senior management level.

It added: "Further, as several large projects have progressed to delivery or final stages of construction, Lamprell has released the related yard workforce, resulting in an overall reduction in headcount to around 4,000 people at the end of 2016.

"While making these reductions, we have deliberately retained our core competitive strengths, to ensure that Lamprell is well-positioned as the market recovers.

"As expected, 2016 saw lower levels of walk-in work than the previous year.

"Most of the rigs stacked in Lamprell's facilities throughout the year remained inactive, having generated only limited refurbishment revenue. Consequently, Lamprell's revenue for the year is expected to be approximately US$700m."

Executive chairman John Kennedy said: "The board recognises and welcomes recent change in oil & gas market sentiment and the likelihood of stronger product pricing in 2017, especially as the year elapses.

"However, we also recognise that all our customer 2017 capital budgets are already established and in place, and that there is little expansive flexibility in the associated expenditures.

"For these reasons, the company continues to believe that 2017 will prove a particularly cautious environment, and will continue to maintain tight control over expenditure and expenses and, more especially, continue to position Lamprell for work in future years."

Lamprell will announce its full year 2016 financial results on 24 March.

StockMarketWire.com
Lamprell's revenues fell to $705.0m in 2016 from $871.1m the previous year and the group posted a loss from continuing operations after income tax and exceptional items of $182.2m against a profit of $66.5m in 2015.

But the group said its underlying performance was in line with expectations and it made a profit from continuing operations after income tax and before exceptional items of $44.3m.

EBITDA fell to $30.6m from $90.0m with margins of 4.3% down from 10.3% in 2015.

The group said revenue was in line with guidance, reduced by the $25m settlement with Ensco as a result of Cameron equipment issues.

It said profit after tax was impacted by an exceptional non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $180.5m arising on the acquisition of Maritime Industrial Services in 2011, in line with continued market downturn.

It said EBITDA decreased as a result of the impact on profitability of the settlement with Ensco, slightly offset by cost savings and improved efficiencies.

Other highlights:

- Total impact of the settlement with Ensco revised to $42.6 million as a result of a finalised cost estimate of additional services ($17.6 million from $10.0 million) comprised in the settlement, in addition to the price reduction of $25 million

- Management actions on costs to align the business with near-term outlook, whilst retaining core strengths to enable Lamprell to rebound quickly; administrative reductions (20%) and other overhead cuts expected to deliver the full benefit of $23.4 million of annualised savings in 2017

- Robust net cash position of $275.2 million; strengthened with inflow from final milestones on project deliveries in 2H 2016

Chairman John Kennedy said: "2016 was an extremely busy year for Lamprell on all fronts: operationally, commercially and strategically.

"Our yards remained at record-high activity levels throughout the year with seven concurrent jackup rigs and a large onshore modules project.

"The past year's underlying performance was strong, albeit affected by one-off events, with market challenges expected to continue in the upcoming year.

" We are now fully focused on building a clear path to medium and long-term growth of the business. With this goal in mind, the board has worked hard to progress one of our key strategic priorities: the step-change opportunity offered by our potential participation in the Maritime Complex in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"Lamprell's board is focused on progressing the partnership negotiations on this impressive project."

StockMarketWire.com
Lamprell has agreed a proposed joint venture to establish a maritime yard for the construction, maintenance and repair of offshore drilling rigs and vessels in Saudi Arabia.

Lamprell, through a wholly owned subsidiary, said it had entered into a conditional agreement with Saudi Aramco Development Co, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Oil Company; the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co to participate in a joint venture for the establishment, development and operation of a maritime yard as part of the complex known as 'The King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries & Services'.

Lamprell said this would provide a critical point of entry to the Saudi market with exposure to Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company and would enable Lamprell to diversify its global reach and to broaden its sector and product expertise.

Chief executive Christopher McDonald said: "We are excited to announce this transformational transaction which will not only make Lamprell a participant in potentially one of the largest yards in the Arabian Gulf but also provide access to the most important market in the industry and one of the largest players in the sector.

"The transaction will enable growth in scale beyond Lamprell's capability as a stand-alone entity and will allow the Company to strengthen its competitive position through efficiencies, diversification and broader reach.

"Participation in the Maritime Yard also secures access to one of a limited number of companies globally that we believe will be receiving orders for and building new jackup drilling rigs in the near-to-medium term with significant component parts of the first two jackup drilling rigs expected to be subcontracted to Lamprell.

"The transaction is aligned with the Board's long-term vision of broadening the Company's client base and addressable markets and developing strategic partnerships, and we look forward to working with our JV Partners to establish the Maritime Yard."

Norges Bank go above 5%.

StockMarketWire.com
Lamprell's total first half revenue fell to $159.2m - down from $451.3m a year ago - due to adverse market conditions, particularly in the new build jack-up rig sector and low levels of contract awards in 2016 and so far this year.

Gross profit decreased to $20.6m from $27.5m but the gross margin was 13.0%, an increase on the figure of 6.1% reported for the corresponding period last year, and in line with the 13.1% underlying margin before the impact of the Ensco settlement in 2016.

Lamprell said the gross margin in 1H 2017 was driven by the successful completion of the three new build jack-up rigs and the HMC Kaombo project.

These project completions offset the impact that the low revenue levels had on recovery of the Group's fixed cost base. It added: 'Further cost reduction measures, announced in March 2017, have led to a reduction in overheads as we continue to align the business with the market outlook.

'Our overheads in 1H have reduced accordingly by $14.5 million in line with our expectations.

'EBITDA, from continuing operations and including exceptional items for the period, was $13.5m (1H 2016: $10.0m).

'The group's EBITDA margin was 8.5% reflecting the stable gross margin and reduction in overhead.'

Chief executive Christopher McDonald said: "The business continues to deliver solid results broadly in line with our expectations despite the challenging market environment.

'Our balance sheet remains robust due to the combination of the efficiency measures we have taken over the past two years and our tight cost control measures.

'This places us in a good position to be cost competitive and maintain our discipline in bidding for new work. Lamprell continues to be well positioned with a strong balance sheet, and our strategy is designed to support near-term resilience and secure long-term sustainable growth.

'In particular, I am delighted that we secured an unprecedented opportunity to partner with Saudi Aramco, Bahri and Hyundai Heavy Industries to create a major new maritime yard in Saudi Arabia, establishing a significant long-term foothold in the largest and one of the most dynamic oil and gas markets.

'The project will further strengthen our position in the region and will provide exposure to significant new opportunities in a key market for the energy industry.'

you seem to have missed the following ......

Oil rig builder Lamprell Plc cut its full-year forecast and said it did not expect revenue growth from potential contract awards until 2019 as lower activity levels continued to plague the industry.

Lamprell shares fell more than 23 percent to their lowest in nearly a year. The stock recovered partially and was down 11.6 percent at 0830 GMT.

Like its peers, Lamprell has been cutting costs as oil explorers have slashed spending and cancelled contracts to counter weak oil prices. The company is also expanding into renewable energy business to bolster its portfolio.

Any potential improvement in market conditions will not boost its business in 2018 due to a lag between better market conditions and project awards, said Lamprell, which earlier forecast a recovery in 2018.

The company now expects 2017 revenue of $370 million to $390 million, as it sees continuing low levels of walk-in work. Lamprell had forecast full-year revenue in the lower half of the $400 million-$500 million range in March. ...

The United Arab Emirates-based company expects 2018 revenue to be 10 percent lower

Thanks for the extra.
I only posted the summary produced by Stockmarketwire. I probably should have read the original RNS from LAM.
Fortunately I don't hold this stock, so the original post was just research.

The Oil Man: Lamprell - Profit warning today, jam tomorrow - Malcolm Graham-Wood

Lamprell
Interims from Lamprell (LAM) this morning were a true curate's egg, very mixed with the word challenging being used all over the place and downgrades to guidance for the second half of 2017 due to a low level of walk in work, and for 2018.

The market is indeed "challenging", not just for the rest of this year but for next year as well.

The good news comes in varying places, the first half of 2017 was good with rig deliveries securing cash in and margins up to 13% which is very good indeed.

With only two major projects to deliver between now and the end of next year, rations are becoming shorter, even though in the longer term there is plenty of good news to come.

In the jam tomorrow department the foundation is the balance sheet which is very strong and has net cash of $305.9 million (£225.6 million) on board, even old Lamps couldn't spend that in a hurry.

The next piece of good news appears to be in the bid pipeline which is now up at $3.1 billion having been $2.5 billion in December.

This is where the jam comes in, any contracts coming from this pipeline will not likely materialise until 2019 in terms of money in.

Another piece of good news is around the big JV, which is signed and all the details are being worked out; again 2019 at the very earliest for the early stage of the Saudi yard, although the pre-qualifying process with Saudi Aramco is under way.

Overall the longer-term outlook for Lamprell is very favourable indeed. Cashed up and with wealthy partners in the JV and a lean operation at home ready to challenge in a mix of markets, any reasonable conversion of that bid pipeline will result in lots of work - in 2019 and onwards though.

Shorter-term investors have sold today and may be able to finesse their return but should remember to buy back in as, all being well, there really is a decent prospect of jam tomorrow.

despite its well publicised problems, i'ld rather hold PFC than LAM
have you ever dealt with saudi or aramco?
both are more fickle than the most skittish of fillies, and as noted above "2019 at the very earliest for the early stage of the Saudi yard"

StockMarketWire.com
Lamprell expects to book a significant loss on the East Anglia One offshore windfarm project this year and warned that full year earnings would be materially below forecasts.

Lamprell remains confident of meeting its client's expectations in terms of schedule and quality but said it would incur extra costs to achieve this.

Lamprell previously announced that there were start-up costs and inefficiencies in relation to the project and the learning curve had proven to be steeper than anticipated.

An update said: 'We are working with our client and supply chain to mitigate the additional costs.

'As the Company continues to work through the variable factors that will ultimately affect the costs on this project, the Company will be in a position to make an announcement with respect to the financial impact in due course.

'While we expect revenue for FY2017 to be in line with current guidance, we now expect earnings and EBITDA to be materially below current market expectations.

'The company continues to maintain a strong balance sheet and its robust cash position provides confidence in its future.

'We remain of the view that the renewables market presents significant potential for the growth of the Group and we are convinced that the lessons learned from this first project in the sector have strengthened our capabilities.

'This will help to position us competitively for future project awards.'

I've got a soft spot for LAM as I made a decent return on it a couple of years ago but in retrospect I was probably lucky.

It seems the management have an ability to find problem contracts and it's always jam tomorrow, although sometimes the jam does actually arrive.

I need to run the numbers on this one again but for the moment I'll pass - I've got enough risk in my portfolio right now. I'm sure there's money to made here at some point...

Numis today reaffirms its buy investment rating on Lamprell PLC (LON:LAM) and cut its price target to 99p (from 119p).

JP Morgan Cazenove today reaffirms its neutral investment rating on Lamprell PLC (LON:LAM) and cut its price target to 77p (from 78p).

StockMarketWire.com
Lamprell said Thursday performance was in-line with revenue guidance on the back of a strengthened order book.

The backlog increased from $61.7m at the end of the first half 2018 to around $540m as at 31 December 2018 and the bid pipeline grew to approximately $6.4bn from $4.1bn last year.

Against the ongoing, difficult energy industry backdrop, the group said it was 'pleased' to end the year with two contract wins: USD200m+ contract award from GeoSea Procurement & Shipping and a Letter of Intent from IMI.

The company said it anticipated the first opportunities from the Saudi Aramco's LTA programme to materialise in 2019.

Revenues for 2018 are expected to be consistent with previous guidance at around $235m, the company added.

'We finished the year with a major renewables project added to our order book and two new build jackup rigs committed for construction at Lamprell's yards in the UAE, Christopher McDonald, Chief Executive Officer.'

'The quality and size of our bid pipeline is improving and we look forward to adding further significant projects as part of Saudi Aramco's LTA programme during the course of the year. Given the ongoing uncertainty in the industry, this reconfirms our confidence that Lamprell's strategy will deliver growth for the business from 2019 onwards.'