Middle East slowdown hits Impregilo revenues

Impregilo's revenues for the first quarter of the year were € 466 million (US$ 605 million), a -35% decline on the same period last year. Net profits however rose +33% to € 40 million (US$ 52 million).

The Italian contractor said the fall in revenues was largely due to its Engineering & Plant division, whose subsidiary Fisia Italimpianti completed a number of major water desalination plants last year. Although the company has since won several large tenders in the Middle East for similar work, the company said the "Continuing negative economic climate in the Middle East," meant the start of these schemes has been delayed.

Impregilo also said it saw a small decline in revenues from its Infrastructure division in the first quarter of the year, while its Concessions business saw growth.

The company also sounded a warning for the rest of the year that revenues and profits may be hit by ongoing litigation. It is involved in a complex and long-running case o f alleged illegal waste disposal in Naples, Italy that could lead to significant fines for the company.

However, Impregilo also underlined that it has a strong order backlog of € 20.9 billion across the group - equivalent to a massive 11 years' work at the current rate of revenue generation.