Oil and gas sector woe for James Fisher

BARROW-based marine engineering services provider James Fisher is forecasting a worse than expected performance as revenues from offshore oil activities continue to take a hit.

Revenue for the four months from July 1 was 4% lower than the comparable period last year.

“Trading conditions in offshore oil continue to be tough, particularly in the Norwegian market,” a company statement said.

Its Specialist Technical division made good progress with delivery against its order book and Tankships had a particularly strong quarter.

Marine Support benefited from the businesses acquired in the first half and from growth in the ship to ship transfer market.

But the statement went on: “Revenues in Offshore Oil were sharply lower compared with the prior year as customers continued to postpone discretionary expenditures in the inspection, maintenance and repair markets served by our businesses.

“We continue to scale our businesses to reflect the challenging conditions in the oil & gas sector.

“The Group remains well placed on a number of significant contract bids for which final confirmation continues to be awaited.

“With decisions on these contracts still pending, earnings for the full year ending 31 December 2015 are likely to be at the lower end of market expectations.”