Heijmans back in black

Dutch contractor Heijmans has posted a modest net profit of €2 million for 2013, compared to a loss of €88 million for the preceding year.

The firm saw good results in roads and civil in Belgium and Germany, and considerable improvements in non-residential, but declines in results in roads and civil in the Netherlands.

Heijmans’ property development remained steady with 1,082 homes sold in 2013, compared with 1,081 in 2012.

However, revenue was down 11% at €2.1 billion, compared with €2.3 billion in 2012, while the order book sat at €1.7 billion at the end of 2013, down from €1.9 billion as at end of June 2013.

Bert van der Els, chairman of Heijmans’ executive board, said, "This past year was challenging. The market remains tough and we saw a decline in revenues in our property, residential building and infra activities. I am satisfied that our result has remained close to last year's level.

“We devoted considerable attention to improving our performance in 2013, by focusing efforts on increasing the uniformity of processes and improving efficiency in tendering, project management and purchasing.

"One of our priorities in 2013 was the focus on our 'improve the core' programme as a strategic target, and this will remain a priority in 2014,” he said.