French oil services provider, Technip, posted net income of €114.4 million for the first quarter 2016 compared to €86.1 million in the same period last year.

Adjusted revenue for the first quarter was €2.76 billion, down 4.2 percent from €2.88 billion a year ago.

In addition, the company reported a record 82% vessel utilization rate in the subsea segment, backed by West African offshore campaigns.

Thierry Pilenko, chairman and CEO, said: “At the start of the year, Technip set out to execute our projects, sustain our balance sheet strength, reduce our costs and progress our strategy – all in response to the harsh and prolonged downturn in our industry. The first quarter shows that our teams are following through on these objectives.”

During first quarter, the company’s order intake was €930 million, down from €1.5 billion a year earlier.

At the end of first quarter 2016, Technip’s backlog was €14.9 billion, compared to €17.0 billion at the end of fourth quarter 2015 and €20.6 billion at the end of first quarter 2015.

Pilenko added: “Our views on the market outlook are unchanged compared to mid-February. With a low and volatile oil price and their cashflows under pressure, our clients are more than ever focused on cutting their capex and costs to substantially below 2014 levels. Project awards are therefore being postponed and even cancelled, putting visible strain on some parts of our industry. Overall, we are seeing continued interest worldwide in investing, revamping and upgrading downstream, but upstream - even if we may see momentum on a few strategic developments - will be less resilient with front-end work only gaining momentum from late 2016 into 2017.”