Here is the article from the latest issue of Smartinvestor, Alba -
"Neptune Marine
A unique underwater welding system that can substantially cut the repair bill for operators in the oil, gas and shipping industries is drawing increasing attention to Neptune Marine (NMS).
The NEPSYS Dry Underwater Welding system was developed by Neptune as an alternative to conventional offshore oil, gas and marine maintenance practices.
It's a comparatively low-cost underwater welding system that applies a permenent weld the equal of dry weld standards.
The technology has been granted patents in Australia and the US, and Neptune has NEPSYS contracts with value up to $US3 million in its forward order book.
One of the major applications for the technology is the repair and maintenance of infrastructure associated with oil and gas production. For example, an offshore production platform operated by a large US oil company in the Gulf of Mexico was repaired using NEPSYS. This solution was significantly cheaper than a conventional weld repair, doing away with the need to hire an exploration drilling rig with a price tag of as much as $US500,000 a day.
Maintaining such infrastructure has traditionally been an expensive task, but the NEPSYS technology reduces repair time and is delivered on site. This eliminates the significant cost of dry docking and equipment down time that can mean millions of dollars in lost revenue.
The NEPSYS technology has also been used to repair ship hull defects. Repairs are made on site, with no unloading of cargo required. Vessels do not have to be dry docked, minimising the impact on a ship's commercial operating schedule.
Neptune managing director Christian Lange is looking to increase recurring income by expanding activities in the inspection, repair and maintenance of oil and gas pipelines. Lange is well connected in the industry, having had senior management roles with Schlumberger, the world's largest oil and gas services company.
Lange has made three important ascquisitions since December and these are expected to broaden Neptune's range of services and give it a more diverse client base - important aspects to achieving the scale required to be successful in the services industry.
Less reliance on one-off contracts, along with increased services revenue, is expected to translate into substantial profit growth in the next two years. Neptune's earnings per share are expected to increase from 3c in 2006-07 to 5.2c the following year, reflecting a price-earnings ratio of about 12."
Nothing new to anyone close to Neppy's operations, but good publicity, nonetheless.
Cheers.
NMS Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
