Egypt's Maridive posts $36mn profit

CAIRO: Egypt's Maridive and Oil Services posted a 37 percent increase in first-half profit and analysts said it had secured more construction contracts than in the same period of 2010.

The biggest oil services firm by fleet size in the Middle East said earnings before minority interests were $36.2 million, up from $26.4 million a year earlier.

Revenue for the first half soared 45 percent to $204.8 million, up from $141 million a year earlier.

However, quarter-on-quarter earnings declined by 12 percent as operations at Maridive's Indian ONGC project stopped in mid-May during the monsoon rainy season.

The firm said operations there would resume in October.

"The results are of no surprise and make us confident it will near our year-end estimates, especially in that Maridive's operations are offshore and not impacted by events happening in Egypt," said Ahmed Khalil, an analyst at Beltone Financial.

"Maridive's second quarter for 2011 had contracts so it was able to offset a terrible second-quarter last year when margins were suppressed with no construction projects," he said.

Maridive said it was able to win contracts for two marine units for Tunisia and Nigeria while a third unit from India would be used this month in Saudi Arabia.

The firm said in a statement it had finished a large section of its Saudi Arabian Aramco project and expected it to finish by the fourth-quarter of 2011.

"In the second quarter, Maridive usually focuses on Gulf market projects to make up for monsoon season in India in the summer when construction work comes to a halt," Khalil said.

Maridive, which serves BP Plc , Kuwait Oil Company, Royal Dutch Shell Plc , Saudi Aramco, Qatargas, Total and other oil companies, owns over 60 marine units and has contracted to receive about six vessels and one barge by 2012.

Shares in Maridive closed 1.4 percent lower before the results were announced, while Egypt's benchmark share index added 0.4 percent on Monday.

Copyright Reuters, 2011