LNG

Swiss company Burckhardt Compression, a specialist provider of LNG sector equipment and energy industry technology, has increased annual profits and sales to record levels as the order intake surged to the equivalent of US$1.4 billion from rising demand to meet the energy transition.

Accelleron Industries AG, a market leader in high-powered turbochargers used in LNG-fuelled ships, has been successfully spun-off from ASEA Brown Boveri (ABB), the Swiss-Swedish power technology group.

Accelleron’s shares are now trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich under the ticker symbol “ACLN”.

The stock was first priced at 24.75 Swiss francs ($25.50) per share.

The listing follows the approval by ABB shareholders for the spin-off of Baden, Switzerland headquartered Accelleron at ABB’s extraordinary general shareholder meeting on September 7.

“As an independent business, Accelleron will now focus on implementing its own, independent growth strategy with an attractive cash generation profile,” said a statement.

“This will build upon Accelleron’s position as a market leader in heavy-duty turbocharging for the marine and energy industries,” it added.

The cruise liner “AIDAnova” was the first in its class to be operated on purely LNG fuel and uses Accelleron’s TPL-C turbochargers.

Legacy

“I am excited about the opportunities ahead, building on our 100-year legacy with ABB and our position as the market leader in high-power turbocharging,” said Oliver Riemenschneider, Chairman of Accelleron's Board.

“We have an impressive growth strategy driven by our leading technology and services offering, coupled with our commitment to research and development,” added Riemenschneider.

“I am confident that we are well positioned to take advantage of global megatrends and deliver compelling results for our stakeholders,” he stated.

The statement added that “sustainability” was at the center of Accelleron’s business as the company is a pioneer in reducing fuel consumption and improving the emissions profiles for customers.

“Accelleron is well placed to capitalize on the opportunities presented by renewable energy and sustainable transportation, with its best-in-class product portfolio, its leading R&D capabilities and its acknowledged innovation,” added company.

Burckhardt Compression, the Swiss-based LNG equipment-maker for LNG shipping and compressor equipment for other sectors, reported a rise in fiscal first-half operating income as sales gathered pace and earnings per share increased. 

Burckhardt reported “significantly higher’ order intake of 450.7 million Swiss francs ($493.5M), up 48.7 percent from 303M francs ($332M) in the year-ago period with the Systems Division posting a 78 percent rise in sales and the Services Division reporting an 11.2 percent increase.

Operating income (EBIT) at Group level increased to 26.3 million francs compared with 26M francs in the prior-year period.

Net profits at the Winterthur, Central Switzerland-based company were slightly lower at 17.9M francs versus 19M francs in the first-half of 2020.

“The reasons for this are higher financial expenses resulting from a 100M Swiss francs bond issued in September 2020 as well as currency effects,” added Burckhardt.

Earnings per share attributable to Burckhardt shareholders increased significantly from 4.73 francs to 5.25 francs.

One of Burckhardt’s key new products in the LNG shipping sector is its Laby GI Compressor type LP250, the world’s first oil-free reciprocating high-pressure fuel-gas compressor in service.

Burckhardt’s fuel-gas compressor system plays an important role on LNG carriers to help maximise fuel efficiency.

Expansion

In addition to its Swiss operations, Burckhardt has expanded in recent years to run businesses in the US, Japan and China.

“Markets continued to recover in the wake of the various lockdowns imposed in all parts of the world during last year,” said Burckhardt.

“Asian markets, especially China, but also Central Asia, continued to recover. The European business regained momentum as well, leading to some attractive orders,” the company added.

“The US investment climate was still weak in the markets relevant to us, except for clean fuel technologies,” stated Burckhardt.

Burckhardt gave a qualified outlook for fiscal 2021 as a whole and currently expects group sales of between 620M francs to 650M francs and higher profit margins.

“This assumes that there will be no further serious outbreaks of Covid-19 in markets relevant to Burckhardt and that the economy continues to recover,” the company concluded.