Austal hits record revenues and profits for 2019

Australian shipbuilder Austal posted record-high revenues and profits for fiscal year (FY) 2019, the company announced on 30 August.

It said revenues for the year were AUD1.85 billion (USD1.24 billion), an increase of 33% compared to FY 2018, while net profits after tax were AUD61.4 million, up 64%. EBIT was AUD92.8 million, an increase of 46%.

Austal CEO David Singleton attributed the company's strong growth to its continuing success in the US market and its expansion in Asia.

Australian shipbuilder Austal said 80% of its record revenues in FY 2019 were sourced from its US business, which includes the ongoing programme to build Littoral Combat Ships (pictured) for the US Navy. (US Navy)

Austal’s US business contributed 80% of revenues, with the remainder from Australasia. In terms of business activities, the revenue split was 84:16 across shipbuilding and ship support respectively.

“This year,” said Singleton, “we’ve seen strong contributions from right across Austal’s shipbuilding and support programmes in the USA and Australasia all of which combined to deliver a substantial uplift in revenue and profit.”

The geographical mix is also reflected in Austal’s order book.

Austal said it ended FY 2019 with an order book worth AUD4.9 billion, securing work through to 2024, with 54 vessels under construction or scheduled to be constructed across seven shipyards in the US, Australia, Philippines, Vietnam, and China.

By comparison, Austal’s order book in FY 2018 was valued at AUD3 billion.

For guidance in FY 2020, Austal said it expects revenues of “no less than” AUD1.9 billion and group EBIT worth at least AUD105 million.