Petrofac buoyed by record order levels

Oil and gas services group Petrofac today stuck to its full-year earnings guidance after racking up record orders during the first half.

The firm said the backlog at its engineering, construction, operations and maintenance (Ecom) arm stood at $20.3 billion (£12.2bn) at the end of June, up from $15bn a year earlier.

Despite enjoying record orders, underlying operating profits fell 16 per cent to $340 million, but Petrofac said revenues and profits would be “significantly” weighted towards the second half, reflecting the timing of projects.