Lamprell in calmer waters after waiver talk success

The company said its working capital position had improved significantly in recent months and it had ended the year with net cash of about $100m due to improved revenue and tighter financial controls.

Founded by UAE-based businessman Steven Lamprell, the business provides engineering and contracting services to the onshore and offshore oil and gas and renewable energy industries in the Gulf region.

Shares in Lamprell rose almost 20 per cent to close at 113.25p after losing nearly two thirds of their value last year.

John Kennedy, chairman, said: “We have made excellent progress in stabilising the group’s financial position.”

Lamprell had said in November its full-year loss would be seven times greater than it previously forecast.

In total the company issued five profit warnings in 2012 and suffered the departure of its chief executive along with two other senior managers.

November’s bleaker forecast arose following a review conducted by an external accountancy and consultancy firm.

A Caspian Sea project is causing the biggest hit to the tune of nearly $25m, with the company citing low labour productivity and restricted availability of equipment at a third-party facility as the reasons for the loss.

Lamprell said it had launched the rig into the water, marking a critical milestone for the project.

The company also said it had secured a $40m contract for a North Sea-related project and said it would implement a wider financing which will be completed by mid-2013.

Steven Lamprell founded the business in Dubai in the late 1970s.

The entrepreneur is said to have made £230m when he floated the business in 2006.