Housing sales help Heijmans

Dutch contractor Heijmans said in a trading update that it saw a modest increase in revenues for the first quarter of 2015, compared to the same period last year. The company’s order book at the end of March stood at € 2.3 billion, the same as a year previously.

CEO Bert van der Els said, “We are seeing a continued gradual improvement in the residential market, but market conditions in non-residential and infra remain difficult. We have made a solid start on a complete package of measures aiming to realise a serious improvement in our operating results. The organisational adjustments at Non-Residential, Civil and at Oevermann in Germany are an essential component of these measures.

“We are making clear moves in the right direction but do not expect to see improvements in operating results before the second half of the year. We will continue to follow our strategy to improve and renew in order to achieve better results after a long period of time.”

In the residential sector, Heijmans said it sold 387 houses in the first quarter of the year, compared to 234 for the same period last year. However, it said the non-residential market remained challenging and that success increasingly depended on winning large, integrated projects where design and engineering were key components.