Austal's earnings for the first six months of fiscal 2018 skyrocketed amid almost AUD 2bn ($1.57bn) in orders consisting of US Navy ships and car ferries for other countries.

The Australian shipbuilder saw its net profit gain 174% to AUD 25.6m during the first half, in part due to winning its 15th contract for a US Navy littoral combat ship (LCS) trimaran, a multi-hull vessel with two outrigger hulls.