Oliver Burkhard, CEO of the shipbuilding company TKMS, advocates for greater consolidation within the European shipyard industry. Speaking to the “Handelsblatt”, Burkhard stated that the industry needs to pool its resources and accelerate its pace, especially when considering new technologies. He expressed a desire for European shipyard groups to collaborate beyond single contracts, aiming for this cooperation to become more institutionalized. He even proposed considering a ‘Seabus’-essentially an Airbus for the maritime sector.
TKMS, a publicly traded subsidiary of Thyssenkrupp, has already established a strategic partnership with the Spanish company Navantia for submarine construction. Burkhard, who has led TKMS since May 2022, said they are currently in talks about fabricating parts of future submarine orders in Spain, if the client permits. “We might start with Navantia, and eventually, other partners could join our alliance,” he added.
Looking forward, Burkhard expects to secure business with India following a submarine tender from Canada. Although India is suffering significant economic consequences from the conflict in Iran, he reported that the Indian Ministry of Finance has already approved the budget for new submarines. Consequently, Burkhard anticipates that they will sign contracts for six submarines by the end of the year, with an option for an additional three.
Regarding the company’s stock performance, the manager expressed satisfaction despite the share price being far below its peak from earlier this year. “We can be very satisfied with a share price of 80 Euros,” stated the TKMS chief. He noted, however, that the stock movement suggests that some shareholders are currently more interested in short-term returns rather than the company’s long-term development.
