Mixed first half for Eiffage

Falling sales from its construction division have weighed on French contractor Eiffage’s first half results, with overall revenues down 1.3% year-on-year to €6.53 billion.

Operating profit was up 3.8% year-on-year in the first half to €518 million, as gains on the concessions side of the business offset declines in construction.

The drop in sales was also driven by the construction division, where revenues were down 7.8% year-on-year to €1.7 billion. The public works business reported a 2.4% increase in sales to €1.81 billion, while the energy division saw a 0.5% increase to €1.6 billion, and the metal business reported a 6.1% drop to €401 billion.

The concessions division reported a 3% year-on-year increase in revenues for the first six months of the year to €1.1 billion.

Eiffage said overall revenues generated within its domestic market fell 1.5% for the first half to €6.53 billion, while sales from the rest of Europe fell 3.4% compared to 2012 to €5.6 billion. In contrast, international revenues jumped 24% to €129 million.

The order backlog stood at €12.5 billion at the end of June, compared to €13.5 billion at the same point in 2012.

For the full-year, Eiffage said it expected to generate sales of €14.2 billion, which would be a 1.2% increase on last year. Overall contracting revenues – which include the construction, public works, energy and metal businesses – are expected to rise 0.8% year-on-year to €11.9 billion, while concessions revenues are forecast to increase 3.4% to €2.25 billion.