5
NEWS
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
SEPTEMBER 2013
■
JOBS CUT
Continued depressed
markets in The
Netherlands could
see contractor BAM
cutting up to 500 jobs
as the group filed a
4% decline in revenue
to €3.2 billion for the
first half of 2013. A
poor performance
in construction and
mechanical and
electrical services, and
civil engineering had
a negative impact on
margins.
■
LOSS REVERSED
German contractor
Hochtief reversed last
year’s first half net loss
of €50.6 million and
returned to net profit
of €126.2 million for
the first six months of
2013. The result was
boosted by asset sales
as it seeks to streamline
its business. Revenues
stood at €12.6 billion at
the end of the first half,
up 5% year-on-year,
fuelled by gains in the
company’s Americas
and Europe divisions.
However, the order
backlog at 30 June,
2013, amounted to
€45.3 billion, down
14.4% year-on-year.
■
BACKLOG UP
UK contractor Costain
has reported a 20%
increase in backlog
to £2.9 billion (€3.4
billion), following the
signing of contracts
worth more than £900
million (€1 billion)
during the first half of
2013. New business
included the £450
million (€525 million)
AMP6 programme
for Thames Water,
accounting for Costain’s
share of a landmark
£1.2 billion (€1.4 billion)
contract secured in a
joint venture. The firm
also signed a £300
million contract, in a
joint venture, to design,
fit-out and commission
the railway systems for
Crossrail. New business
took the forward
order book up to £2.9
billion (€3.4 billion), an
increase on the second
half 2012 figures of £2.4
billion (€2.8 billion).
■
MODEST RESULTS
Dutch contractor
Heijmans is claiming
“modest results in a
difficult market”, in its
interim results for 2013,
with an increase in
share capital of nearly
10%, and underlying
operating results
positive at €2 million.
There was a net loss
of €5 million, which it
said was partly a result
of reorganisation costs.
Turnover at Heijmans,
which operates in the
Netherlands, Belgium
and Germany, dropped
to €929 million in first
half of this year, from
€1.06 million in first
half of 2012, while the
number of homes sold
was 386, compared to
400 in the first half last
year.
■
STRONG QUARTER
Norwegian contractor
Veidekke reported a
strong second quarter
for 2013. Its total
order backlog stood at
NOK18.2 billion (€2.3
billion) at the end of
June, an increase of 11%
from 2012 year end.
Revenue for the quarter
was stable year-on-year
at NOK5.4 billion (€685
million) while earnings
amounted to NOK145
million (€18.4 million),
compared with NOK166
million (€21 million)
during the same period
in 2012. President and
CEO Arne Giske said,
“Earnings were boosted
by the encouraging
growth in earnings for
Construction Norway
and the Swedish
residential operations,
but unfortunately they
were also affected by
losses for construction
Sweden.”
BUSINESS NEWS
‘No worries’ ahead
in German market
A gradual improvement in Germany’s construction market means that the industry
there should not have to worry, with the Bauma show helping to lift the mood.
The VDMA, Germany’s specialist association for construction equipment and
building material machinery, said that its forecast of a weak start to the year
followed by a gradual improvement throughout the following months seemed to
be more true than ever now.
It added, though, that there were differences when looking at the individual
divisions within the industry.
At its summer meeting, held in Hameln, Northern Germany, the association’s
board said that the Bauma show in April had helped to change the industry’s mood
significantly.
It said that the show had directly or indirectly led to a great number of new orders,
but that in the meantime, a downturn had become visible again. The VDMA added
that with the restrained industry forecast, this year’s scenario could probably best
be interpreted to be a sideways movement.
The common view of the association’s board, however, in light of the industry’s
high overall current level, was that there was no reason for any worries.
Construction equipment is currently the only division within German building
construction that is growing, though. The VDMA said that in recent weeks, an
increase in demand had been visible in all areas.
It added, however, that it had to be feared that the negative figures during
the weak first quarter for earth moving and road construction machinery would
probably have been too great to lead to turnover of close to zero for the entire year.
The demand for building material machinery was higher in the first quarter of
this year, compared to the same period last year, thanks to the effects of special
projects. Even if these should wear off slightly in the next couple of months, growth
for the entire year 2013 was still very realistic, it said
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European output declines
European production in
construction continued
its downward trajectory
in May 2013 with a year-
on-year decline of 5.1%,
and a fall compared to
April 2013 too.
Seasonally-adjusted
figures from Eurostat
show that Eurozone
production in
construction was down
0.3% in May 2013
compared with April
2013, and down 0.2% in
all member states (EU27).
In April 2013,
production rose by 1.0%
in the Eurozone and 1.1%
in the EU27.
Compared with May
2012, production
decreased by 5.1% in
both zones in May 2013.
Among the member
states with data available
for May 2013, production
in construction fell in
nine, rose in four and
remained stable in the
UK.
The largest decreases
were registered in
Bulgaria, which was
down 4.2%, Poland and
Slovenia (both -2.8%) and
Germany (-2.6%). The
biggest increases were in
Spain (+4.4%), Romania
(+3.1%), Sweden (+1.7%)
and the Netherlands
(+1.1%).
Building construction
decreased 0.6% in the
Eurozone and 0.5% in the
EU27, after rises of 0.5%
for the Eurozone and
1.2% for the EU27 in April
2013.
Civil engineering rose
0.1% in the Eurozone
(+4.3% last month) and
0.5% in the EU27 (+2.3%).
On an annual
basis, member states
with available data
saw production in
construction fall in 11
and rise in three for
May 2013. The largest
decreases were registered
in Poland (-28.6%), the
Czech Republic (-15.5%),
Portugal (-12.9%) and
Slovakia (-12.1%).
Hungary saw the biggest
increase with an rise of
11.1%, followed by Spain
with 8.2% and Sweden
7.9%.
Building construction
decreased on an annual
basis by 5.2% in the
Eurozone, after a fall of
6.4% in April 2013, and
4.7% in the EU27, -5.0%
in the previous month.
Civil engineering fell 5.8%
in the Eurozone, -8.1% in
April 2013, and was down
6.8% in the EU27, -8.6% in
the previous month.
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