Early last year, Boskalis made it known that the coronavirus pandemic had left its mark on the company.

But things started looking up in the third quarter, prompting the firm to maintain its guidance at a level matching the operating result booked for 2019.

By this metric, the Dutch company's annual result may be deemed a success: Its adjusted operating result, EBITDA, not merely matches 2019 but exceeds it, ending at EUR 404m against EUR 376m.

On the top line, however, the company sees sales recede from EUR 2.645bn to EUR 2.525bn; and things are even worse on the bottom line, where a profit of EUR 75m was transformed into a deficit of EUR 97m.

This despite the Offshore Energy division's strong contribution to improving the figures: The division's revenue grew by 4.4 percent to EUR 1.06bn, while in Dredging & Inland Infra, it took a dive by 13.3 percent to EUR 1.315bn.

However, it's the divisions' operating results that really make the advancements in Offshore Energy tangible, with the latter's result having gone from a negative EUR 70.9m to a positive EUR 66.3m.

"Offshore Energy had an extra challenging year with the combination of COVID-19 and the strong oil price decline. Nevertheless, the division’s result improved significantly compared to the previous year," says Boskalis Chief Executive Peter Berdowski about the annual report, continuing:

"A lot of work was also executed in offshore wind – ranging from survey work on the east coast of the United States, transporting and installing cables and foundations in Europe to rock installation for scour protection in Taiwan. The transport and installation of the Kincardine floating offshore wind farm also demonstrates the potential of Boskalis’ unique range of equipment and expertise in this new floating wind market."

Boskalis also presents a record-setting order book with a total value of EUR 5.3bn. By the end of 2019, it came to EUR 4.72bn.

All in all, 2020 saw orders coming in for a combined value of EUR 3.4bn. The largest order came in December 2020 in the form of a dredging project at the airport of Manila worth EUR 1.5bn.

English Edit: Jonas Sahl Jørgensen

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