KHL Group - Construction Europe

Hochtief forecasts €160 million loss for 2011

Written by Helen Wright - 30 Jan 2012

Contractor Hochtief said it expected to report a consolidated net loss of €160 million for full-year 2011, after being hit by extraordinary costs at its Australian subsidiary, Leighton.

Hochtief - which is majority owned by Spanish contractor ACS - said that, despite a "good solid" operating performance, it was not able to offset losses of €89 million from Leighton.

Project overruns and poor returns from Leighton's Middle East business were also largely responsible for dragging the group to a first half loss last year.

Hochtief said its full-year result was also impacted by pay-outs to a number of executive board members who left the company in the wake of its hostile takeover by ACS. It said these departures had cost it €35 million in the fourth quarter of last year.

Nevertheless, Hochtief said it was well-positioned for 2012 and reported an order backlog at year-end of €48 billion.

Hochtief CEO Frank Stieler said, "We have completed a year in which we have handled many changes and burdens of the past. We continue to expect an operative profit [in 2012] that will be slightly below the previous record year 2010."