NKT Takes Delivery of Cable-Laying Newbuilding

NKT Cables has taken delivery of the newly built cable-laying vessel which was part of the recently completed acquisition of ABB HV Cables.

The 140-metre DP3 vessel was built at Kleven shipyard in Norway.

The new cable layer enables NKT Cables to offer complete turn-key solutions; from the design and production of the AC/DC offshore cables to the full installation and related cable-laying services.

Michael Hedegaard Lyng, President and CEO of NKT Cables, says: “This cutting-edge cable-laying vessel will complete our project execution set-up and cements our position as a global, leading cable solutions provider. Now, we can offer our customers turn-key solutions which provides them with increased project flexibility and lower execution risk.”

The cable-laying vessel will be at the NKT Cables plant in Karlskrona, Sweden, for a naming ceremony, including a customer seminar, on 4 May 2017.

The acquired ABB HV Cables activities will be financially consolidated into NKT Cables as of 1 March 2017. Based on this, NKT Cables expects revenue in 2017 of approximately EUR 1.1bn, corresponding to approximately EUR 1.4bn in market prices depending on the development of metal prices during the remaining part of 2017.

The company’s operational EBITDA for 2017 is expected to be approx. EUR 140m against previous outlook of an operational EBITDA margin of approx. 9.5%, equivalent to approx. EUR 70m. The composition of the new consolidated project portfolio and the timing of closing of the acquisition results in earnings expected to be significantly lower in Q1 2017 compared with the remaining three quarters, NKT said.