Merger paid off, energy services firm TechnipFMC says

April 27 (UPI) -- In its first quarterly report as a combined entity, energy services company TechnipFMC recorded a net income, largely on the back of North American recovery.

In December, the collective shareholders approved a merger between FMC, which specializes in subsea oil and gas operations, and Technip, a leader in submarine pipeline installation and broad-based oil and gas infrastructure development.

"Our merger is completed," CEO Doug Pferdehirt said in a statement published after the close of trading Wednesday. "We are now leveraging the unparalleled breadth of capabilities of TechnipFMC – from our industry-leading front-end engineering, our culture of innovation that is bringing to market next-generation solutions, to our reputation of superior project management."

Lower crude oil prices curbed industry spending on major projects on and offshore last year, leading some of the company's peers to tie the knot in order to navigate an energy sector that's weakened by historical standards. The oil and gas division of General Electric acquired a majority stake in oilfield services company Baker Hughes late last year.

TechnipFMC said that first quarter net income attributable to the company was $190.8 million, against a comparable $147.4 million. The merger closed Jan. 16.

Some revenue segments for the company struggled, though some of that was indicative of the disclosure aspects tied to the first sixteen days of the year when both companies were functioning as individual entities. Nevertheless, the company said some of the weakness was offset by the ongoing recovery in North America.

"Although the global energy market remains challenged, we benefit from the recovery of the short-cycle North America market as well as strong execution on our backlog of longer cycle projects," Pferdehirt said.

Ahead of its first quarterly report, TechnipFMC said it secured a contract from a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil working offshore Guyana awarded for the engineering, manufacturing and delivery of equipment slated for the Liza project in deep waters.