BAM delivers

Dutch-based construction firm BAM felt positive about the future after reporting an increase in both its profits and order book over the first nine months of 2017, compared to the equivalent period in 2016.

The company’s adjusted profits for the first nine months of the year rose by 18% to €75.1 million, compared to €63.6 million in the first nine months of 2016.

CEO Rob van Wingerden said, “We are delivering on our strategy ‘building the present, creating the future’, with most businesses performing according to our expectations.”

He added, “The conditions in most of our markets are stable or moving in a positive direction.”

In the construction and property sector, revenue fell from just over €3 billion in the first nine months of 2016 to €2.64 billion in the same period this year. Revenue declined in most countries except for Ireland, where BAM said it was positioned in a market that was recovering strongly.

However, the company went from making a loss of €4.1 million last year to securing a profit of €40.5 million in the first nine months of 2017. This was attributed primarily to the refocusing of BAM’s German business in 2016, while positive contributions from all other businesses helped.

For the civil engineering sector, revenue increased from €2.08 billion in the first nine months of 2016 to €2.13 billion in 2017, while profits fell from €51.4 million in the first nine months of 2016 to €23.6 million in the corresponding period of this year.

There was said to be a strong contribution from the UK, which was partly offset by small losses in the Netherlands and Belgium.

BAM said although the impact from Brexit had been limited so far, it was monitoring developments closely.

Also, the new government in the Netherlands was said to have set out plans for additional infrastructure investment, as well as initiatives to boost housing production and make the built environment more sustainable, which was encouraging for BAM.

The company’s overall order book increased from €10.1 billion in first nine months of 2016 to €10.8 billion this year. Within that, the construction sector’s order book rose by €157 million. This was supported by a strong order intake in Ireland and for Dutch residential projects. However, the UK order book fell.

van Wingerden said, “The result for the first nine months was well ahead of last year and we aim for a strong fourth quarter.

“For the full year 2017, we expect revenue to be slightly lower and the adjusted result before tax to be higher than the level of 2016.”