PARIS, July 22 (Reuters) – French oilfield services company Technip (TECF.PA) posted an 8.7 percent drop in second-quarter net profit on Thursday after subsea sales fell almost one-fifth.
Chief Executive Thierry Pilenko said the group remained on track to meet its 2010 earnings targets, however, helped by a pickup in the North Sea, growth in Brazil and strong prospects in the Middle East and Asia. Net income fell to 106 million euros ($135.3 million) in the second quarter from 116 million in the year-earlier quarter, the company said in a statement. Sales fell 14 percent to 1.48 billion, of which 688 million came from subsea.
The company carries out infrastructure projects mostly for oil companies in the onshore, offshore and subsea sectors, and has 23,000 staff in 48 countries. It expects to have a fleet of 19 vessels by 2011.
The BP (BP.L) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has not had an impact on Technip so far, meanwhile, CEO Pilenko said, though he added that it was difficult to predict the repercussions.
U.S. authorities said last month that Technip agreed to pay $338 million to settle U.S. allegations involving a scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials for contracts to build liquefied natural gas facilities there. [ID:nN28265604]
In February, Technip set aside some $300 million for possible fines in the case.
Shares in the group have fallen slightly so far this year, giving the company a market value of around 5.3 billion euros. ($1=.7836 Euro) (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Hans Peters)