Peab stable

Swedish contractor Peab has said its market conditions were continuing to be good, which was reflected in an increase in orders received during the first half of 2015.

The company said that in terms of results, it saw “stability with a certain improvement in operations”.

Its operative net sales for the first half were SEK20.45 billion (€2.14 billion), compared to SEK20.89 billion (€2.18 billion) for the same period a year earlier.

It said its pre-tax profit for the first six months of this year were SEK586 million (€61.29 million), which was up from SEK493 million (€51.56 million) last year.

Orders received totalled SEK18.97 billion (€1.98 billion), up from SEK16.67 billion (€1.74 billion) and order backlog was SEK27.16 billion (€2.84 billion) compared to SEK27.50 billion (€2.88 billion) last year.

CEO and president Jesper Göransson said, “A strong Swedish economy, the population growth and low interest rates are all circumstances that signal good opportunities for Peab in the coming years.

“There are, however, a number of challenges to deal with in a strong business cycle. A shortage of resources primarily in the big city regions, higher costs for subcontractors as well as hiked up land prices affect our profitability.”