Dredging group Boskalis on Thursday announced a drop in earnings for 2011 with maritime services arm Smit International, taken over eighteen months ago, doing better than the dredging business.

In what Boskalis calls ‘a transitional year’, net profit dropped to €254m in 2011, down from €310.5m in the previous year. However, the company points out that 2010 included a one-off sum of €33.6m.
Turnover grew by 5% to €2.8bn. A record, according to Boskalis, attributing the rise to the take-over of Smit.
Operational profit (ebit) was down from €402m in 2010 to €354m in 2011. ‘Increased uncertainty in the international markets causes clients to think twice about investing.’ the company says in a statement.
Boskalis does not expect net profit in 2012 to equal that of 2011, but is more positive about middle and long-term prospects.