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| Strabag posts positive semi-annual earnings for the first time Strabag SE, Central and Eastern Europe's largest construction company, announced its figures for the first six months 2011. Although the break-even point in the earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) is reached normally not until the third quarter due to the high seasonality of the construction business, it has already shown a positive € 16.67 million in the first half of 2011. Output volume and revenue Strabag generated an output volume of € 6,136.33 million in the first half of 2011, which corresponds to an increase of 17 %. Owing to unfavourable weather conditions, a significant decline in the output volume had been registered in the previous year. Increases could be seen in all segments this year. Especially worth mentioning here is the growth in the home market of Germany, in Poland and in Scandinavia. The consolidated group revenue of the first six months of the 2011 financial year grew in line with the output volume, reaching € 5,917.32 million after € 5,034.97 million in the same period the year before (+18 %). Order backlog The order backlog reached a relatively high level in a multi-year comparison; at € 14, 878.81 million, however, it was still 6 % lower than at the end of June of the previous year. This can be attributed for the most part to the cancellation of the projects in Libya due to the political unrest in that country. Poland is another factor of influence: the previous year's high order backlog in that country, in the form of large infrastructure projects, is being continuously worked off and transformed into output. In Austria and Romania, by comparison, the order backlog is on the rise with projects including the Koralm Tunnel in Styria and several new road construction orders in Romania. Financial performance The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) for the first six months of the 2011 financial year rose by 6 % to € 197.18 million on good earnings contributions from Germany and Poland. This growth is that much more remarkable as an extraordinary revaluation through profit or loss for Czech railway construction company Viamont DSP in the amount of € 24.60 million, reported in the result from associates, led to a positive distortion of the EBITDA last year. This fact, however, limited the growth opportunities of the EBITDA and led to a reduced EBITDA margin from 3.7 % to 3.3 %. write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Construction News :: home page |