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LONDON (Alliance News) - Gulf Marine Services PLC shares were lower on Wednesday after the company said underlying trading had been in line with market expectations but said currency weakness will hit its reported results.
Shares in the company were down 9.9% on Wednesday to 99.15 pence.
The company, which provides self-propelled self-elevating support vessels to the offshore oil and gas industry, said the weakness of sterling and the euro against the dollar will mean it will take a hit of around USD8.0 million to its profit for the full year.
The group said it is relatively well-insulated from the worst effects of the oil and gas industry downturn thanks to its focus on low-cost oil production in the Gulf region, though the low oil price has had an impact on contract pricing and may continue to do so as contracts come up for renewal.
Gulf Marine said its fleet utilisation has remained strong in the second half to the end of October, with charter days broadly flat. It currently has a secured order backlog of USD615.9 million, up from USD547.0 million a year earlier.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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