Hochtief pre-tax profit up +61%
By Steve Skinner14 August 2008
Hochtief reported healthy first half results for 2008 (IHY08) with revenue up +14,7% on 2007 first half figures from € 7,9 billion to € 9 billion. Pre-tax profit rose +61% on like-for-like periods from € 182 million to € 292 million.
The company's European construction operations still made a loss in the first half of the year, although this narrowed from -€ 129,9 million in 2007 to -€ 25,7 million.
New orders across the group for the first half of the year increased +35% from € 9,1 billion to € 12,3 billion. “As a result of this trend we are raising our forecast for the year as our international construction module is on positive track,” said Dr Lütkestratkötter, chairman and CEO of Hochtief.
US subsidiaries Turner and Flatiron won a number of new orders, including large healthcare and educational facilities and transport infrastructure contracts, including the construction of a steel girder bridge in Canada.
A strong performance in the Asia-Pacific region continued for Leighton with new contracts including an expressway in New South Wales and Australia’s largest road infrastructure project in Brisbane worth in excess of € 2,9 billion.
Activities in the Arabian Gulf continued to be buoyant for the group, where Hochtief’s subsidiary is building six tourism projects in Abu Dhabi and the Trump Tower complex in Dubai is under construction by the Al Habtoor Leighton Group.
In Europe, the company continued to pursue the restructuring and refocusing path embarked upon previously. As a result, the German building construction business made great strides in operational performance.
