USC plans doubling of business

According to Alexander Neugebauer, the company’s vice president for economics and finance, USC hopes to double its revenue up to 350 billion rubles (US$11 billion).

Although in previous years the majority of revenue was generated by defence state orders, the yard hopes to achieve its 2014 target through a significant increase in merchant contracts.

Referring to Russia’s commercial shipbuilding, Deputy Industry Minister Alexey Rakhmanov noted that in 2013, Russian shipbuilders produced 72 units, up from 47 in the previous year. According to Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade, by 2030 the company plans to supply 2,200 vessels across all segments of civil shipbuilding. There is a strong possibility that in 2014, USC will achieve a significant increase over the previous best of 75 merchant ships per year.

USC claims to have a full orderbook in both military and civil sectors. The largest civilian contracts are for cebreakers and offshore drilling platforms, for both domestic and foreign customers. Within Russia, USC already has preliminary agreements for supply of its vessels and equipment to the country’s main oil and gas producers, such as Rosneft and Gazprom. The foreign customers are as yet undisclosed, but according to government analysts foreign partners of Rosneft and Gazprom are likely to include the likes of ExxonMobil, BP, Total and others.

The current modernisation process in USC’s yards is expected to increase productivity by 30% to 40% this year, while at the same time, an increase in engineering services is planned. Under the plans, the Krylov State Research Centre will become a centre for the design of new shipbuilding and marine equipment technologies.

Ministry analysts expect the offshore vessel market to prove the most profitable for USC in the near future. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s earlier estimates, USC’s portfolio in this segment may reach 512 vessels by 2030, with a total value of 6.5 trillion rubles (US$180 billion).