Orders won during the period totalled $827 million, generating work in hand at December 31 of $925 million. The resulting work in hand was up 81%, up from $510.9 million for the previous corresponding period, and more than double the $407.6 million figure at June 30, 2004.
The loss mainly reflects a $19.3 million provision for the bond called by Origin in November 2004, plus provisions of $20 million.
The BassGas dispute has overshadowed Clough’s progress in a range of areas, but the company’s CEO and managing director David Singleton said he was optimistic about the future.
“The strong recovery in our order book in the first half highlights the significant progress being made in rebuilding the company, with major oil and gas contract awards in India being notable highlights,” Singleton said.
“The current work in hand figures are before any contribution from the recently announced Saudi Aramco and Gorgon awards – contracts which open the way to new earnings growth in the next few years. These two contracts are amongst the most important to have been booked over the last few years, and should provide a major step in delivering our risk reduction strategy.”
Singleton said Clough’s claims against Origin and its BassGas joint venture partners would be tested through arbitration.
“However, the arbitration process will not deliver a speedy solution and we have therefore chosen to reflect the cash flow impacts from BassGas in the operating results,” he said.
The six-month reporting period again saw strong profit contributions from Clough’s Indonesian subsidiary PT Petrosea Tbk ($5.6 million consolidated result) and Clough Property ($4.7 million). Clough Ltd said the outlook for new opportunities and further growth in the performance of both subsidiaries remained positive.
