Positive trends continue at Lamprell

Oil rig services group Lamprell said that the positive trends seen last year have continued into 2011 and its year-to-date performance has been in line with management expectations.The firm noted that its strong performance in 2010 was driven by elevated oil prices and a turnaround in the new build jackup market which was triggered by the "post-Macondo effect"."We continue to see evidence of improvements in our operating markets and our bid activity remains at a historically high level. We are experiencing renewed activity in the rig refurbishment and upgrade market, representing a strong improvement from the lower levels of expenditure experienced in the second half of 2010," said chairman Jonathan Silver.Lamprell's order book (which extends to 2013) was around $933m at the end of April, primarily attributable to the $807m of orders from Engineering, Procurement and Construction projects.Furthermore, the group believes that its recent $336.1m (£208.1m) offer for United Arab Emirates-based firm Maritime Industrial Services represents a significant step for the group and will "rapidly create value for [its] shareholders".---BC