Two profit warnings in a month recently sent shares in oil rig maker Lamprell tumbling, unsurprisingly.
In May Lamprell blamed a shortage of key components, and earlier this month it downgraded profits again, with no particular excuse that time.
But the recovery could be beginning. It has added 9.2p to 88.25p, a near 12% rise which makes it the biggest climber in the FTSE 250, following news it had delivered a project called Hull 108 on time, enabling it to repay $70m of outstanding debt and reducing borrowings to around $20m. It also announced the appointment of John Kennedy, formerly of Halliburton, Schlumberger and Wellstream, as its new chairman.
Andrew Whittock of Liberum Capital issued a buy note, saying:
We see both [these announcements] as positive developments that should help towards restoring confidence.
At Oriel Securities, Nick Copeman said the rig delivery did not provide any comfort on its other recent issues, but did reaffirm its capability in rig construction:
We continue to believe the shares are underpinned at 85p a share and retain our hold recommendation.
