Heijmans CEO ‘not satisfied’

A “moderate” first half to the year has been reported by Dutch contractor Heijmans, with CEO Bert van der Els saying he was not satisfied with the result.

However, the company, which operates in its home market plus Belgium and Germany, is claiming substantial growth in its order book.

It described 2014 as a transition year. Its net loss of €8 million compared to a loss of €5 million in the first half of 2013. This year’s first half revenues were €823 million, down from €912 million last year.

Heijmans reported order book increases across the board, with a figure of €2.3 billion at the end of June 2014 against €1.6 billion at end of 2013.

It reported a negative result for infrastructure in The Netherlands, although infrastructure in Belgium showed an improvement over figures at the end of the same period a year ago.

The number of homes sold in first half of 2014 increased to 482, up from 386 homes in the first half of 2013. The share of homes sold to private buyers increased to 244 compared to 172 homes a year earlier.

Net debt of €99 million at the end of June 2014 compared with €121 million at the end of June 2013.

"I am not satisfied with our result. It simply has to improve,” said van der Els.

“We believe that the strong growth in our order book right across the board and the increasingly stronger recovery in the residential market offer a clear perspective for improvements.”

He said the company would continue to improve and that its core programme, which focuses on purchasing, tender and project management, would help to achieve this.

He said, “We are fully committed to this course and I expect the operating result to improve the coming periods. The acquisition of prestigious and integrated projects, such as the N23 and Eurojust, plus the PPP projects A9, RIVM and A12 demonstrate the quality of our business and the opportunities for the future.