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| Hochtief reports successful year Hochtief AG, Germany's largest builder, made 2008 a successful year despite the financial crisis. Consolidated net profit grew sharply by 24.4 percent to EUR 175.1 million (2007: EUR 140.7 million). Earnings per share rose by 21.7 percent to EUR 2.52 (2007: EUR 2.07). Hochtief set new records for orders and work done for the fifth time running in 2008. Group new orders climbed to EUR 25.28 billion, beating the prior-year figure by a substantial 7.5 percent (2007: EUR 23.51 billion). The group significantly boosted work done, passing the EUR 20 billion mark for the first time with a total of EUR 21.64 billion. The increase was 15.3 percent (2007: EUR 18.77 billion). In line with new orders, the order backlog grew to EUR 30.92 billion (2007: EUR 29.89 billion). This represents growth of 3.4 percent. Operating earnings improved compared with the prior year by 25.3 percent to EUR 676.1 million (2007: EUR 539.5 million). This notably reflects progress in restructuring the Hochtief Europe division. Profit before taxes, at EUR 520.1 million, was up 3.8 percent on the prior year (2007: EUR 501.3 million). Despite this positive business trend, the Hochtief stock price was unable to avoid being dragged down by the global stock markets. Hochtief stock lost value over the course of the year and closed at EUR 35.74. In spite of rising operating earnings and the group twice increasing its guidance, Hochtief stock was thus more severely affected by selling than were the relevant benchmark indices. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Construction News :: home page |