Improved earnings for Strabag

Strabag has reported that it has “significantly improved” its earnings in the first half of 2015, with EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) rising by 54%.

Thomas Birtel, CEO, said, “In 2015, we want to bring our EBIT margin one step closer to our goal of 3%. And the first half of the year shows us that we are well on our way to reaching this goal.

“We are all the more pleased with the improvements in earnings as we were simultaneously able to increase both revenue and output volume. However, these growth rates cannot be translated directly to the forecast for year’s end.”

He said that for the full year, the company was confirming its outlook, with output volume predicted to reach €14.0 billion, and EBIT at least €300 million.

Austrian-based Strabag generated an output volume of €6.20 billion in the first half of the 2015 financial year. It said this increase of 7% was driven primarily by the markets of Germany, Slovakia, Poland and Chile. Group revenue, like output volume, grew by 7% to € 5.75 million.

Strabag said that different trends had been registered in the order backlog. In Poland, several expressways and a large building construction project contributed to a considerable increase of the volume of orders on the books. It recently won the contract to build a 15km stretch of the A1 motorway in Poland between Woźniki and Pyrzowice.

In Germany, on the other hand, this figure fell back from its previous level. The company said that large projects were being worked off in Hungary and in Chile. In total, the order backlog stood at €14,841.43 million on 30 June, 2015 – a decline of 4% compared to 30 June, 2014.