sranmal - 13 Oct'04 - 11:14 - 78 of 78

Backer found for gas depot

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/3270915.stm

It's a BG/Petroplus JV, but....

"Oil giant Exxon Mobil is to build a similar LNG plant on the old Esso refinery site nearby.

It says the project, granted planning permission last month, will create 700 construction jobs and a further 50 permanent posts. The firm has signed a deal to import LNG from Qatar."

Exxon are one of 2 companies trialling HMY's LNG reliquefaction plant.

sranmal - 13 Oct'04 - 12:13 - 79 of 79

Some more info (from the profusion available on the net). Exxon and Conoco are trialling HMY's LNG relquefaction plant, which is endorsed by a S. Korea shipbuilder (not sure which one).

S.Korean shipbuilders enjoy boom
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20...92541-9446r.htm

"South Korea is expected to maintain its status as the world's biggest shipbuilder for the next decade mainly on the back of bumper orders for lucrative liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, industry analysts say.

Soaring demand for LNG, driven by rising gas consumption and higher crude oil prices, has come as a boon to the shipbuilding sector in South Korea, which has more than 72 percent of the global LNG tanker market.

South Korean shipbuilders sucked more than 90 percent of global orders for new LNG tankers this year until July, according to the Korean Shipbuilders' Association.

The country's three major shipbuilders -- Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., Hyundai Heavy Industry Co., and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. -- have been awarded orders of 29 LNG carriers for the seven months."

http://www.informare.it/news/forum/2004/brs/lng-auk.asp

"ExxonMobil announced (prematurely?) that they envisage the requirement for 48 ships for their Qatari ventures. If this is to be the case, any other project with start-up scheduled for the same time frame (2007-2010) will possibly be treated as the poor relations by shipowners and the shipyards."

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=13059

"South Korean shipbuilders said they are in talks with Exxon Mobil on a multi-billion dollar deal to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for the global energy giant."

29 October 2004

HAMWORTHY (HMY)

163p - Aim - As a profitable, well-established company with a strong product range and impressive levels of demand, Hamworthy was somewhat of an anomaly when it joined Aim earlier this year. Hefty demand from institutions offered a clue to its high standing within the investment community, and the impressive rise in its share price to its current high suggests that this support was well-placed.

Hamworthy designs and manufactures innovative marine and offshore fluid-handling systems, focused on gas-handling, pumping and wastewater management. It joined Aim to move into the next stage of its development and to capitalise on market opportunities. It will now concentrate on both organic and acquisitive growth, as it looks to consolidate a fragmented industry.

And there should be plenty of opportunities for growth, given Hamworthy's strong product range. Its customers are international shipyards, ship owners, and oil and gas companies. Their need for leading technology, and the impact of increasing environmental and safety regulation, leaves Hamworthy well-placed to build on its strong foundations - dating back to 1911.

The company's emphasis is now on developing a pipeline of products to drive growth beyond 2007. To date, this is an area in which Hamworthy has excelled - it can boast 16 per cent average year-on-year annual sales growth in the past three years. During this period, sales have jumped from £64.4m to £92.9m, while profits reached £5.8m, compared with £4m in 2002. And a £98m forward order book provides good levels of visibility, which bodes well for the future.

Hamworthy is split into three divisions - pump systems, gas systems and wastewater management. Of these, the main revenue generator is gas systems, which contributed sales of £39.4m in the year ended 31 March 2004.

Its liquid petroleum gas (LPG) reliquefaction system minimises cargo loss and reduces emissions, and led this market in 2003. But because it has such a strong foothold in the market here, there is only limited scope for LPG growth. Its liquid natural gas (LNG) reliquefaction systems enable ships to be powered by more efficient and lower-cost slow-speed diesel engines, although the potential for real growth here is a few years down the line. In the nearer term, its VOC recovery systems, which reliquify hydrocarbon gas emissions from crude oil for storage, provide the most growth potential.

Pump systems accounted for around £36.5m of sales last year. The main products here are deepwell pumps, pump-room systems and engine-room systems. They're supplied to LPG carriers, product and chemical tankers, and crude oil tankers. Its deepwell pumps will dominate growth here.

Finally, the wastewater management system achieved sales of £13.5m last year. The focus is on advanced, environmentally-friendly solutions for the treatment and separation of liquid waste products. A key theme running through all offerings is environmental friendliness - and this is an area that is likely to see further legislation.

Across all three divisions, spares and services account for 20 per cent of revenues, and 40 per cent of profits.

So, overall, Hamworthy is well-positioned in its markets and is well-run by a strong board. Legislation should help to underpin strong demand, while low-cost production should keep it competitive. Dividends are expected next year, and the is stock trading on an undemanding multiple. Buy.

Buy Hamworthy at 171p
Rob Cullum of TrendWatch.co.uk
When you think of big, successful, world-class engineering companies, what springs into your mind? Germany, perhaps? Or maybe one of the giant Far East trading houses such as Hyundai, Mitsubishi or Hitachi. Despite our proud post-industrial revolution heritage, you don't normally think of engineering and Britain in the same breath, except perhaps for Rolls-Royce.

But we do have many world-class engineering businesses. One of them surprisingly only floated on AIM in July. Even more surprising, it's a business that the average person on that other engineering marvel, the Clapham omnibus, has probably never heard of.

The company is Hamworthy. Its speciality is marine engineering, with the emphasis on fluid handling. So, for example, it makes pumps and equipment for getting crude oil and natural gas onto and off tanker ships. It also makes systems for handling dry cargoes. It makes the refrigeration systems for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and liquid natural gas (LNG) carriers. It's the world's leading manufacturer of marine sewerage treatment systems, fitted to ferries all the way up to the world's biggest cruise liners. It supplies specialised equipment to military naval fleets worldwide, where requirements in terms of reliability, shock resistance and fire resistance are especially onerous. It supplies equipment for all types of vessels involved in offshore oil exploration, including seismic vessels, drill ships, oil rigs, shuttle tankers and pipe-laying craft.



The company has major establishments in the UK, Norway, Denmark, Singapore and a modern assembly plant in China, which helps to keep its products highly competitive.

Given the recent flotation on AIM, it may come as a surprise that the company's history goes back nearly a century, to 1911. It was acquired by engineering conglomerate Powell Duffryn in 1962. Powell was the subject of a private equity takeover in 2000. Its owners refloated Hamworthy in July via a placing at 109p.

These days, you should never be put off by the fact that this is an AIM company. Many AIM companies are bigger than their fully listed brethren. Hamworthy is capitalised at 60 million pounds and rising. Its annual turnover has risen from 64 million pounds in 2002 to almost 100 million pounds now; pre-tax profit rose from 4.0 million pounds to 5.8 million pounds over the same period and in May its order book stood at a record 98 million pounds.

There are several drivers for this growth:

· The ever-tightening environmental, safety and noise regulation. The days when ship operators could treat the sea with contempt as their private cesspit and waste oil dump have long gone.

· The demand for oil and gas transportation is growing.

· The market for cruise tourism is expanding.

· There is a growing trend to utilise FPSOs (floating production, storage and offshore loading) vessels, which are full of the sort of equipment in which Hamworthy specialises.



Furthermore, thanks to the extreme conservatism of the marine industry, there are serious barriers to entry for would-be competitors. Given the potential for disaster at sea involving explosive cargos, it isn't surprising that Hamworthy's customers often require extensive lists of user references and evidence of years of successful operation before they'll even consider ordering a particular marine system.

Despite that fact, this is a fragmented industry, giving Hamworthy plenty of opportunities to grow via acquisitions as well as organically.

This combination of a long history, major growth drivers and barriers to entry has resulted in Hamworthy becoming the world's number 1 in deepwell pumps (for pumping gas and oil cargoes), with 95% of the global market. It's also no.1 in gas reliquefaction systems and in water treatment systems. It's the global no.2 or no.3 in most of the other products that it supplies.

Its new gas reliquefaction system could turn out to be a real winner. Exxon and Conoco are currently testing it. Some gas boils off from the LNG cargo during the voyage. Currently, liquid gas carriers use this boiled-off gas to power steam generators to power the vessel. This is actually an inefficient use of energy. Hamworthy has developed an on-board gas reliquefaction system, enabling the ships to use more efficient, low maintenance diesel engines. The reliquefaction system costs 2 million pounds - 5 million pounds but should save 3 million pounds p.a. for each LPG vessel.

We don't yet have the benefit of broker research for this company, though no doubt that will change quite quickly, given the attention the flotation attracted from institutional shareholders (the placing was oversubscribed). House broker Collins Stewart reckons that profits will rise from 5.8 million pounds to 7 million pounds this year and to 9 million in 2005-06. If correct, this puts the shares on a lowly p/e of under 7 for 2005-06. We'd expect to see a share like this rated at more like 12 at the very least.

It also suggests that the company was floated too cheaply. This is the earliest opportunity we've had to recommend the share, which has performed strongly since flotation. There's a window of opportunity here to pick up the share while they still look seriously underpriced. Don't delay too long, though. At the rate the shares are rising, the window won't be open that much longer. BUY

Key Data

EPIC: HMY
NMS 5,000
Spread 169p - 173p
Market Cap 62.16 million pounds

On the face of it eps restated at 12.1p look exceptional and imply a full year 25p or so giving a p/e of 7.

This is underpinned by a £80.9 million order book at 30 September 2004 (31 March 2004 £84.6 million)

Note 4. Earnings per share

The calculations of the unaudited earnings per ordinary share are based on the
following data.  In July 2004 as part of the Group's flotation the fully paid
share capital was increased from £550,000 to £1,850,000 of 5p ordinary shares
and the Group reorganised its loan structure including the settlement of various
balances with associated companies.  A pro forma basic earnings per share figure
has been calculated which eliminates the effect of these changes, assumes the
present share capital and loan structure had been in existence throughout the
period and adjusts for certain exceptional or non recurring items.  These
non-recurring items were adjusted for in the presentation of the Group results
in the Prospectus and Admission to Aim document for reasons of consistency. The
directors believe presentation of this pro forma figure provides a more
informative reflection of the earnings per share performance.

New boy Hamworthy is cooking on gas

  Published: November 2004 
By Graeme Davies, Companies Correspondent

Hamworthy, which develops systems to handle fluids such as waste and liquefied gas at sea, is enjoying growing demand thanks to booming industrial activity in Asia and strength in the shipping market.

Hamworthy , which floated at 109p in July, saw turnover increase from £46 million to £55.9 million in the first half producing profits of £3.4 million compared with £1.9 million last time. The significant increase in profitability is partly a result of unusually low profits in the first half of last year.

The company's products range from a vacuum flush toilet for use on board ship to systems that handle liquefied gases on board tanker ships and offshore oil and gas facilities.

Chief executive Kelvyn Derrick told Citywire: 'We are tied into the shipping, oil and gas markets and industrial growth. The shipping market is in a very strong state. Last year there was a substantial number of ships ordered and its held up very well. In fact it looks very strong through to 2007.'

The strength of the oil and gas market coupled to booming industrial activity, most notably in Asia, has fed straight into Hamworthy's hands. The company has responded to the recent pattern of global economic growth by moving operations eastwards and cutting jobs in its Norwegian operations. This makes commercial sense now that 70% of the world's shipbuilding is in China, Japan and Korea.

According to Derrick the 'hot' segment of the market is the transportation of liquefied natural gas. This is where Derrick sees Hamworthy's most promising opportunities. Gas systems provided 48% of turnover in the first half and as countries such as the UK and US import more natural gas, demand for transportation systems will increase.

Pump systems provides more than a quarter of turnover and Derrick is particularly excited about the company's CKL pump, which is used on offshore liquefied natural gas vessels.

Wastewater systems, based in Poole, provides advanced environmentally friendly ways of dealing with waste products on ships. The business has been hampered by a quiet period for the cruise industry although Derrick reckons it may finally be beginning to crawl out of its trough with the recent order of four new cruise liners by Carnival.

Progress is hampered slightly by the stalling retrofit market, which awaits legislation from the US as a federal level that could force cruise ships to adopt more environmentally friendly wastewater treatments and could open up a lot of business for Hamworthy.

Citywire Verdict:

Hamworthy is vulnerable to weakness in the global industrial economy but the diversity of its products and markets offers some protection against this. It also has few competitors in the liquefied natural gas sector so should not have to share the benefits of growing demand. The health of its prospects is underlined by a number of shrewd investors who have bought shares in the company, including AAA-rated fund manager John Dodd, of Artemis.

Hamworthy shares have risen as high as 187p since July and are off 3.5p at 174.5p today which reflects some profit taking. If market conditions are set fair through to 2007, as Derrick believes, then Hamworthy should continue its progress.