Nexans has ended 2014 with a net attributable loss of 168 million euros, compared with a 333 million euro net loss in 2013.
According to the company, the loss is mainly because of the recognition of a non-recurring 197 million euro net asset impairment, notably for goodwill in Australia, North America and Brazil.
“By implementing our strategic initiatives in 2014 we were able to deliver a better performance than the previous year despite a more difficult economic environment in certain businesses and geographic regions,” says Arnaud Poupart-Lafarge , Nexans’ Chief Executive Officer.
The company reported that sales of submarine high-voltage cables rose 9% year on year on an organic basis.
2014 saw a number of deliveries of umbilical cables under contracts signed with BP and Statoil. Momentum was also brisk in the interconnection business, with the manufacture of the Monita cable (linking Italy and Montenegro) and Skagerrak 4 (Denmark-Norway link), as well as cables for the power links between Mallorca and Ibiza and Malta and Sicily.
Operating margin for the submarine high-voltage business climbed sharply, in line with the Group’s targets for 2014.
The order book represented around 1.5 billion euros at December 31, 2014, including the NordLink contract win on February 12, 2015 for approximately 0.5 billion euros.
Operating margin for the Transmission, Distribution & Operators division as a whole amounted to 98 million euros, or 5.0% of sales at constant metal prices, up 40% on 2013. This year-on-year increase was mainly due to the contribution of the submarine high-voltage business returning to its customary level.
Arnaud Poupart-Lafarge, Nexans’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “The challenge for 2015 will be to relentlessly pursue and intensify the implementation of our strategic plan in order to speed up the Group’s recovery and lay the foundations for sustainable growth in the cable market which has favorable long-term prospects.”