Eiffage sees France rebound

A rise of +2% in consolidated sales for the second quarter has been reported by the Eiffage group, although in France, Eiffage Construction enjoyed a strong rebound in activity in the period, with sales up by 11,5%.

The French-based group said that as a result of this, it made up the ground lost in France during the first months of the year.

Overall consolidated sales for the second quarter of 2011 came to € 3,6 billion, with increases of +1% for contracting activities and +7,9% for the concession activity.

Consolidated sales for the first half of 2011 came to € 6,6 billion, up by +2,3% on a reported basis and by +2,1% at constant consolidation scope and exchange rates.

First half results for the combined sectors of construction, public works, energy and metallic construction increased 1,3% on a reported basis, 1,5% at constant scope and exchange rates.

The construction sector grew by +5,3% in the first half of 2011 compared with the same period 12 months earlier. Sales were reported to be € 1,87 billion, of which property accounted for € 277 million.

In France, Eiffage Construction's first half sales came to € 1,47 billion, up +3,6%. Order intake held up, with the order book rising by more than +5% since the start of the year.

In the rest of Europe, sales came to € 399 million in total, with increases of +7,6% in the Benelux countries and +57% in Poland, whereas sales in the Czech Republic continued to decline, by -20%, as a result of still difficult market conditions.

In public works, sales of € 1,8 billion were down by -1,3% on a reported basis and by -1,5% at constant consolidation scope.

In France, the decline in sales recorded by Eiffage Travaux Publics - down -3,4% to € 1,47 billion - was said to have masked contrasted situations in road construction and related activities, which posted a +5,7% increase thanks to a good start to the year, whereas civil engineering and earthmoving recorded a decline as expected.

In the rest of Europe, first quarter public works trends carried over into the second quarter, with a +14,3% increase in sales in Germany, while there was a -9,4% decrease in Spain as a result of the country's budgetary constraints.

The Eiffage order book came to € 11,3 billion at 1 July, 2011, up by +5% compared with 1 July, 2010, and by +5,4% since the start of 2011.

Eiffage said the order book was equivalent to 11,7 months of activity. It did not include the construction work for the Brittany to Pays de la Loire high-speed rail link that will be undertaken by the group under the public-private partnership signed on 28 July by Eiffage Rail Express and RFF.