UK-headquartered TechnipFMC reported a narrower net loss in the third quarter, as its Surface Technologies segment continued to take a hit from lower US activity amid the downturn.

TechnipFMC posted a quarterly net loss of $3.9 million, compared to a loss of $119.1 million in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, revenues remained almost unchanged year-over-year at around $3.34 billion.

Overall, the company’s backlog fell by about 19% in the quarter to $24.12 billion, while inbound orders also fell by almost 15% to $2.23 billion.

"As our clients continue to re-prioritise their portfolio investments, we have seen an increase in our award activity," chief executive Doug Pferdehirt said in a news release.

"Inbound orders of more than $2.2 billion represent our strongest quarter of the year and a sequential increase of 45%, largely driven by Subsea where we were awarded notable projects in South America and Norway. With the services and project activity forecast for the remainder of the year, we remain confident in achieving $4 billion of Subsea inbound orders for 2020."

Strong execution drives Subsea gains

TechnipFMC said continued strong execution of its backlog drove an almost 12% increase in its Subsea segment’s third quarter revenues to total $1.5 billion. Inbound orders were $1.61 billion for the quarter, a book-to-bill of 1.1, and operating profit totalled $20.3 million.

Decline in US activity hits Surface Technologies

Meanwhile, the Surface Technologies segment suffered a 43% drop in revenues year-over-year to total $225.6 million. The decline was driven primarily by the sharp reduction in activity from operators in North America, the company said. TechnipFMC reported an operating loss of $7 million for the segment.

Inbound orders for Surface Technologies also suffered from a decline in activity, dropping by almost 49% year-over-year to $207.5 million, while the backlog also fell by some 14% to $386.9 million in total.

Technip Energies sees revenue boost

However, TechnipFMC’s liquefied natural gas segment, Technip Energies, posted an operating profit of $129.5 million despite a decrease of about 55% compared to the prior-year quarter. The fall was mainly due to a reduced contribution from Yamal LNG, TechnipFMC said, along with a lower margin realisation on early phase projects, which includes Arctic LNG 2.

The Arctic LNG 2 project helped boost TechnipFMC’s revenues to $1.61 billion, which remained unchanged year-over-year. Inbound orders for the segment totalled $412.8 million for the quarter, a book-to-bill of 0.3, as Technip Energies reported an operating profit of $129.5 million.

Finance

TechnipFMC narrows loss in third quarter