Rising oil price fuels SBO earnings
Oil industry equipment maker Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment AG (SBO) said its earnings improved by almost 75 per cent last year.SBO announced it achieved earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) of 49.4 million Euros in 2010, up by 74.8 per cent in a year. The Ternitz-based firms turnover rose by 22.3 per cent to 307.7 million Euros at the same time.SBO which benefited from increasing crude oil trade prices said it expected the demand for oil and gas to rise further in 2011. The company, however, also stressed that “geopolitical developments” in the Arabian area must be observed closely. The unrest in several states of the region “has the potential to cause unforeseeable consequences for the global economy”, according to SBO.The company, which has around 1,100 employees worldwide, took over Dubai-based competitor Drilling Systems International Ltd. (DSI) in full last year. SBO is quoted on the Prime Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange (WBAG). One share was worth 63.68 Euros at 3pm today.Meanwhile, OMV has ruled out withdrawing from Libya despite the ongoing bloodshed in the country.The firm Austrias leading oil and gas provider argued it would consider the sanctions which were recently implemented by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) in its operations in the North African country.Non-government organisations (NGOs) and the Green Party recently called on OMV to stop doing business in Libya.