Its transport and heavy lift division reported revenues of 174m, up from 123m in 2005, with a profit of EUR 29m. It reported good utilisation of sheerlegs.

“It was a record year for SMIT,” said CEO Ben Vree. “In 2006, we nearly doubled our net profit. We had the wind in our sails in nearly all our divisions, particularly during the second half of the year. Our associated companies also performed exceedingly well.”