Italian oil services group Saipem said on Thursday it expected higher sales this year after beating 2018 forecasts and said it was looking for market opportunities.
The group, jointly controlled by oil major Eni and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, said it expected revenues of around 9 billion euros ($10 billion) this year from 8.5 billion euros in 2018.
Saipem had given 2018 sales guidance of about 8 billion euros, while consensus stood at 8.2 billion euros.
After years of hardship, some analysts are more optimistic for European oil services as spending rising thanks to firmer crude prices and improving order intake.
"We are now ready to exploit future market opportunities with the flexibility required," Saipem CEO Stefano Cao said in a statement.
Saipem said it expected adjusted core earnings this year to be more than 10 percent of sales, with investments of about 500 million euros.
The company reported a loss of 472 million euros for 2018 due to writedowns.
Saipem also said it could reach a long-running settlement with Gazprom over the South Stream project as early as the end of March.
($1 = 0.8794 euros)
(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes, editing by Valentina Za and Darren Schuettler)
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