Strabag revenues dip but orders up

Strabag reported 2009 sales of € 13 billion, a -5,3% decrease on the € 13,7 billion recorded 12 months ago.

The company's order book grew +5,4% to € 13,9 billion, up from € 13,5 billion last year, and the number of employees increased by +3,5% to 75548, up from 73008 in 2008.

The company said that increased sales in Germany as a result of acquisitions and strong sales in Poland compensated for declines in several Eastern European markets, and most especially Russia.

Sales in the building, construction and civil engineering division of the business fell -18% to € 4,7 billion, down from € 5,8 billion in 2008, while in the transportation infrastructure division sales dipped -4% to € 6 billion, down from € 6,2 billion 12 months ago.

The special divisions and concessions side of the business recorded a +46,6% increase in sales for 2009, up to € 2 billion from € 1,4 billion last year. The company attributed the growth to acquisitions in Germany as well as major tunnelling projects in Hungary, Switzerland and Canada.

CEO Hans Peter Haselsteiner said, "We continue to expect the group's 2009 result to remain at about 2008 levels. Looking towards 2010, I would say we can see a stable trend both in terms of sales and margins.

"Projected developments in Poland mean we expect 2010 sales there to increase to € 1,5 billion, up +51% from € 993 million in 2008, while we foresee that sales in Hungary, Germany and Slovakia could fall slightly over the coming year."

Strabag will publish its full results for 2009 on 30 April 2010.