Royal Boskalis Westminster has seen its first half profit halved on the back of stormy market conditions.

The dredging giant posted net earnings of EUR 147.5m ($166.8m), down from EUR 306.5m a year earlier.

Peter Berdowski, chief executive of Boskalis, said: "Falling prices of oil, gas and commodities are the dark clouds on the horizon that ultimately also affect late-cyclical companies such as Boskalis.

"The