Offshore Oil's Still on Track
By
Toby Shute
October 10, 2008
|
Considering the shellacking given to shares of offshore engineering ace Acergy (NYSE: ACGY), one might have expected some cautionary comments on Wednesday's conference call. In fact, this is one remarkably upbeat management team.
Acergy's quarterly results were strong, with fatter revenues and earnings reported. Just as important, margins improved meaningfully. Operationally, good things appear to be happening on the new CEO's watch.
But that was all before the great storm really took hold. How do things look going forward?
At the risk of pulling an Alfred E. Neuman, I believe that this company has little to worry about.
Three reasons:
Like drillers Transocean (NYSE: RIG) and Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO), Acergy's client base is heavily skewed toward the true industry titans. The company does complex work for ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), and CNOOC (NYSE: CEO), to name but three. These companies are not going anywhere.
Neither are their large projects, which brings us to reason No. 2. These companies are extremely conservative with their commodity price forecasts, and while $80 oil may look like the end of days to peak-oil preachers, integrated oil companies like Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) -- yet another Acergy client -- love high double-digit prices. Exploration and production activities are still profitable, while refining is spared the oppressive costs of crude oil. Lower oil prices also remove the political bull's-eyes from their backs.
Third is the company's very strong financial position. Acergy stands to benefit if/when weaker competitors fold. The company will be able to buy assets at distressed prices, which is the stuff that truly outstanding returns on capital are made of. I certainly don't wish ill on its competitors, but Acergy is staying afloat no matter what happens here.
Related Foolishness:
- Remember when cheap dates in the deepwater were scarce?
- Acergy began to get its sea legs six months ago.
- It's been a year since my first bullish words on this offshore builder.
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