UPDATE 1-Technip confirms 2009 forecast, sees tough 2010
* Q3 net income 108 million euros
* Group revenue for 2009 seen near 6.4 billion
* Order backlog at 7.541 billion euros
* Trends weigh on industry, future reduction in revenues
(adds details)
PARIS, Nov 13 (Reuters) - French oil engineering group Technip SA (TECF.PA) said on Friday it expected to hit its targets for 2009 but competition for business from cost-conscious oil companies would make 2010 a difficult year.
While revenue for the year will come in around 6.4 billion euros, as the company forecast, Technip said the market remained tough as its oil major clients waited until they could see further ahead and as oil services companies competed for fewer contracts.
"These trends will weigh on the industry in 2010 ... We likewise expect for Technip lower group revenues and margins," Technip said in a statement. The group did not specify by how much revenues would decline.
The company said it would still make its targets for 2009.
In Technip's high-growth and high-margin subsea engineering division, which supplies underwater pipelines and construction vessels, the company said operating margins would likely be 18 percent, at the top end of Technip's earlier disclosed range of 16-18 percent.
Subsea revenue should also show moderate growth the company said, confirming an earlier forecast, and that growth should pick up in the second half of 2010 if oil prices stabilise. For the third quarter, net income was down 11.1 percent from a year earlier to 108 million and the operating margin was 10.1 percent. The order backlog was 7.541 billion euros.
Oil majors have pressed oil and gas services groups to cut prices as the economic downturn has pushed steel and labour costs lower and contractors have competed for fewer projects.
In July, Technip posted a surprise rise in second quarter profits and gave an improved outlook for the year, bucking a trend of weak demand and profits in the oil services sector.
Technip has been less affected than many rivals because its business involves large engineering projects that cannot be quickly cancelled.
