ABG Shipyard does not see fresh orders in 2009 - CFO

Shipbuilder ABG Shipyard does not expect fresh orders in 2009 due to a slowdown in demand after shipping costs slumped, but it has already booked orders till 2013/14, a senior official said.

Shipping firms are cutting their acquisition plans on tight financing and as freight rates across different export routes have fallen 40-70 percent over last year.

"I don't see great momentum in orders for now" Chief Financial Officer Dhananjay Datar told Reuters on Thursday. "There could be some orders from coast guard, defence but not from private liners."

ABG, which has an order book of 115 billion rupees, is running at full capacity and expects earnings outlook to remain stable till 2013/14, Datar said in an interview.

(Reporting by Swati Pandey; editing by Sunil Nair)

((swati.pandey@thomsonreuters.com; +91-22-6636-9123, Reuters Messaging: swati.pandey.reuters.com@reuters.net))

((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)) Keywords: ABG ORDERS/

(C) Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution ofReuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expresslyprohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuterssphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group ofcompanies around the world.