French engineering giant Technip’s second-quarter numbers are certainly nothing to sneeze at, as they show a massive build-up in its backlog of work — but the most telling aspect of the quarter is the clear shift in attitude, say analysts.

For the second quarter of 2014, Euronext Paris-listed Technip saw strong improvements of 15.3% in its subsea margin, a record intake of contracts amounting to EUR 7.1bn