Aker Yards Asa News

Fincantieri SpA, the Italian state-controlled shipbuilder, is among final bidders for a stake in STX OSV Holdings Ltd., the world’s largest maker of offshore support vessels, said two people with knowledge of the matter. An investment fund also made an offer, one person said, declining to identify the bidder. South Korea’s STX Group, which is seeking to sell its 51 percent stake in Singapore-listed STX OSV, may conclude a deal next month, the person said, asking not to be identified because the process is confidential. STX Group’s stake is worth $809 million based on yesterday’s closing price, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Singapore’s takeover guidelines require any buyer of more than 30 percent of a publicly-traded company to make an offer for the rest of the stock.

Karl Erik Kjelstad has been appointed executive vice president and member of the executive management team at Aker Solutions. Kjelstad will lead the development of the strategic initiative related to oilfield services and the company's fleet of marine vessels. Kjelstad will report directly to the CEO, and will work with Aker Oilfield Services and marine partner DOF to realize the potential of recent investments. Kjelstad, formerly Senior Partner & President, Maritime Technologies of Aker ASA, has been with the Aker group since 1998. He was President & CEO of Aker Yards ASA from January 2003-June 2007 and currently serves as Chairman of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard ASA, Aker Oilfield Services Ltd, and Aker DOF Deepwater.

STX Europe has refinanced its revolving credit facility. The new facility is a 3 year financing of $86.8m, provided by Nordea. Woori Bank of Korea, is participating with 50 percent. "For a capital intensive industry like ours, where we continuously take on and complete new shipbuilding projects, the ability to constantly renew our financial platform is important. I am pleased to see that we have been able to work with and secure this significant credit facility in October, while there has been much focus on the international financial turbulence. I believe that our ability to finalize this transaction is an illustration of the importance of close and long-term relationship with financial institutions…

Aker Yards, builder of cruise and offshore vessels, changed its name to STX Europe. The name change reflects the entry of the South Korean-based STX Business Group as principal shareholder in the company during summer 2008. Effective Nov. 3, the international shipbuilding group Aker Yards, with head office in Oslo, Norway, and all its subsidiaries, will share the common brand STX Europe.STX Europe specializes in designing and building advanced cruise ships and purpose-built vessels for offshore oil and gas operations, and other specialized ships. All the largest cruise ships in the world were built or are currently under construction at STX Europe's yards.

Aker Yards and FLC West have completed the previously announced transaction in which FLC West comes in as a 70 percent shareholder in three shipyards in Germany and Ukraine. The agreement has been approved by all relevant regulatory authorities. The transaction strengthens Aker Yards' financial capacity and liquidity, and it improves the potential for further development of the three involved yards. Aker Yards ASA has consisted of 18 shipyards around the world. At 25 March 2008, the group announced that it intended to take the Russian controlled company FLC West in as a majority shareholder in Aker Yards Ukraine Holding AS which owns the Okean shipyard in Ukraine and the shipyards in Wismar and Warnemünde in Germany.

Reference is made to the announcement by STX concerning the mandatory offer for all issued shares in Aker Yards ASA at a price of NOK 63 per share. Aker Yards' Board of Directors has not been advised of the details of the bid prior to the launch of the offer to the market and the shareholders. The board will now carefully review the offer and in cooperation with its advisors , JP Morgan and Wikborg Rein evaluate the offer price and details. Aker Yards will move the presentation of its second quarter financial results forward from the original schedule 15 August to now being presented August 8, to provide shareholders with the most updated information on the company as a foundation for their evaluation of the offer from STX.

Aker Yards ASA is considering to issue bonds in NOK (1 and 3 years respectively) of minimum NOK 250 million and maximum NOK 1BN in each loan. The combined size for both loans is to not exceed NOK 1.2BN. The loans would be used for refinancing of existing debt and general corporate financing.  Arctic Securities will act as Lead Manager and DNB NOR will act as Co-Manager of the issuance.

Torstein Dale Sjøtveit has been appointed new president and CEO for Aker Yards ASA. Sjøtveit comes from the global industrial company Norsk Hydro, and brings a strong international top management experience. He will start in his new position with Aker Yards at the latest 1 September 2008.In March 2008, Aker Yards announced the start of a recruitment process for a new CEO. In the intermediate period, the chairman of the board of directors, Svein Sivertsen, has acted as CEO.

Aker Yards ASA has been informed that the EU Commission has granted STX an exemption from the suspension of voting rights attached to its shares in Aker Yards ASA, due to the pending merger control approval, to the effect that STX will be allowed to vote for its shares at the extraordinary shareholders' meeting to be held 1 April 2008 provided that it exercises the voting rights for the purpose of seeking to secure that the existing members of the Board remains as such. As announced 7 March 2008, the shareholder Havyard Invest AS has called for an extraordinary shareholders' meeting 1 April where they will propose to elect a new Board of Directors. Further information regarding the extraordinary shareholders' meeting may be found at the company's web page

Aker Yards ASA sold 70 percent of the ownership in three of the yards within its business area Merchant Vessels to FLC West, a Russian owned investment company. When the deal is approved an consummated, Aker Yards will receive EUR 291.9 million from FLC West. Aker Yards ASA has three business areas; Cruise & Ferries, Offshore & Specialized Vessels and Merchant Vessels. The business area Merchant Vessels has shipyards in Florø, Norway, Nikolaev in Ukraine, and in Wismar and Warnemünde in Germany.

The troubles at Aker Yards now have a number to them, as the company reported a loss for the year and that its CEO has been forced out. Aker Yards ASA reported an EBITDA result of NOK -500 million ($96,000) for the 4Q of 2007. The EBITDA result for 2007 was NOK -16 million ($3m), down from NOK 1 443 ($277m) in 2006. Earnings per share (EPS) were NOK -2.81 for the quarter, and NOK 0.95 for the full year 2007. Fast growth in the very heated environment has, as previously announced, resulted in operational challenges in the quarter, and affected the 2007 results negatively.

According to www.euro2day.gr, reformed communist politician and parliament member Maurizio Zipponi has proposed to the Italian government a merger of Fincantieri SpA and Aker Yards ASA in a move aimed at blocking Korea's STX Shipbuilding, which recently bought a major stake in the Norwegian shipyard, Il Sole 24 Ore said, citing Zipponi. On Oct 23, STX said it bought a 39.2 pct stake mln in Aker Yards, becoming the company''s largest shareholder. Since then, Aker Yards management has sought ways to defend itself from the Korean company and hired Arctic Securities and JP Morgan to examine "strategic alternatives", including the possible entrance of other European companies into its share capital, Il.

Aker Yards ASA was listed on the Main List of Oslo Stock Exchange as of Tuesday June 1, 2004. Aker Yards is listed under the ticker AKY. A prospectus for the listing of the Aker Yards shares has been prepared, and is available with the company and investment firms registered exchange members, including the Managers in connection with the Listing. The prospectus has been distributed to all Aker Yards shareholders, and disclosed with the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Aker Yards and Color Line have signed a contract to build a sister vessel to MS Color Fantasy, the worlds largest cruise ship with car deck, that was delivered in December 2004. The agreement includes a buyers option to purchase a third vessel. The new vessel will be named MS Color Magic, and will traffic the route Oslo - Kiel as from the fourth quarter 2007. The contract value is EUR 325 million. MS Color Magic will be Color Lines second cruise ship with a car deck, and will have a wide variety of entertainment and conference areas. The number of cabins will be higher than on Color Fantasy. The vessel will be 223.7 meters long and 35 meters wide. MS Color Magic will be built partly at the yard in Turku, and partly at the yard in Rauma.

Following the announcement on October 23 regarding the new ownership situation in Aker Yards ASA the Board of Directors has decided to explore the company's strategic options. The Board has earlier announced that it has engaged Arctic Securities ASA as financial advisors, and has further engaged JP Morgan as the international financial advisor.

Aker Yards ASA reported an EBITDA result of $37.83m for the third quarter of 2007, compared to $57.5m in the corresponding quarter of 2006. The fast growth in the heated environment has, as previously announced, resulted in operational challenges. Significant operational improvement measures are under implementation. The very high loading will continue until next summer, and will gradually be taken down to a more normalized level. Both revenues and profit are expected to increase in the fourth quarter, mainly as a result of normal seasonal fluctuations between the quarters. Aker Yards saw 15.4 percent increase in revenues in the third quarter compared to the corresponding period of 2006. The EBITDA margin for the third quarter of 2007 was 2.7 percent.

STX Shipbuilding Co., the first South Korean yard in China, had its biggest two-day gain in more than a week in Seoul on optimism the purchase of a stake in Norway's Aker Yards ASA will add cruise liners to its range of vessels. STX Shipbuilding has more than quadrupled this year, making it the fourth-best performer in South Korea's Kospi 200 index. The stake purchase in Aker Yards will allow STX Shipbuilding to use the Norwegian company's expertise in cruise liners, which are usually more profitable to build than STX Shipbuilding's main business of mid-sized oil tankers and commodity carriers. STX Shipbuilding and STX Engine Co. said they paid $800m for a 39.2 percent stake in Aker Yards, becoming the biggest shareholders in the company.

Aker Yards ASA has entered into a Contract with the Spanish company Sener Ingeniería y Sistemas S.A. for the implementation of FORAN System across the group's shipbuilding organization. The Contract was signed by Jørgen Berg (IT Vice President) on behalf of Aker Yards ASA, and by Luis Garcia (General Manager of the Marine Business Unit) on behalf of Sener. FORAN is already operating successfully at 7 sites of the group. Based on the experience using FORAN so far, Aker Yards has decided to extend the cooperation with Sener by making a FORAN Frame Contract for future investments into CAD/CAM shipbuilding solutions. Currently, Aker Yards owns more than 350 licenses of the main FORAN packages (Hull Structure and Outfitting).

Aker Yards ASA reported an EBITDA result of NOK -153 million for the second quarter of 2007. The EBITDA result for 2007 is estimated to be about NOK 900 million, and the net profit estimated about NOK 700 million. The guidance for 2008 is maintained at 5-6 percent EBITDA margin, and the long term target of 7 percent remains. A thorough review has been carried out for the Finnish yards, confirming the view issued in the July press release. The remaining portfolio has also been reviewed. A one off charge of approximately NOK 500 million has been taken in the business areas Merchant Vessels and Cruise & Ferries. The newly appointed President & CEO, Yrjö Julin said "We have been growing very fast in a heated environment, resulting in operational challenges.

Juha Heikinheimo has been appointed as President of Aker Yards' business area Cruise & Ferries and President of Aker Yards Oy in Finland. He will also be a part of the executive management team in Aker Yards. He will be based in Helsinki. Heikinheimo takes over from and reports to Mr. Yrjö Julin, who was earlier this week appointed President and CEO of Aker Yards ASA.

Aker Yards ASA reported an EBITDA of NOK 401 million for the fourth quarter of 2006, an increase of 15 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2005. The EBITDA result for 2006 was NOK 1 443 million, up 40 percent from 2005. Earnings per share (EPS) were NOK 21.77 for the quarter, and NOK 46.56 for the full year. Order intake in the fourth quarter was NOK 8906 million, giving an order backlog of NOK 79,420 million at the end of the quarter, comprising 149 vessels. Aker Yards had revenues of NOK 7 815 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, an increase of 60 percent compared with NOK 4 897 million in the corresponding period of 2005. High activity in all three business areas and the acquisition of new yards contributed to the development.

Aker Yards ASA reported an EBITDA of $64.8m for the fourth quarter of 2006, an increase of 15 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2005. The EBITDA result for 2006 was up 40 percent from 2005. Earnings per share (EPS) were $3.5m for the quarter, and $7.5m for the full year. OThe Board of Directors proposes to pay a dividend for 2006 of NOK 18 per share for the year 2006. The pressure on subcontractors is high, and demands a careful follow up in order to reduce the risk of delays on projects. Significant integration processes are ongoing in all three business areas. The order backlog increased from the previous quarter, and order intake in the fourth quarter was NOK 8 906 million.

Aker Yards ASA reported an EBITDA of NOK 304 million for the third quarter of 2006, an increase of 7.8 percent compared with the third quarter of 2005. Challenges on three RoRo container vessels gave a negative result effect in the quarter of approximately NOK 60 million for the business area Merchant Vessels. Additionally, capacity costs related to low capacity utilization in France resulted in a negative effect of NOK 90 million in the quarter, slightly more than anticipated. Order intake in the third quarter was NOK 19 995 million, giving an order backlog of NOK 77 519 million at the end of the quarter, comprising 150 vessels. Aker Yards had revenues of NOK 6 505 million in the third quarter of 2006…