Strong results from Eiffage

Eiffage has posted a 18.6% year-on-year increase in net profit for the first half of 2012 to €51 million.

The French contractor saw operating profit jump 10.6% to achieve €499 million while consolidated revenue remained stable at €6.6 billion, up 0.2% on the same period in 2011.

The group's construction activities decreased by 1.7%, due in part to the closure of Eiffage's operations in the Czech Republic. The firm's domestic market remained strong however, with construction revenue up 3.4%, which the company attributed to strong activity in the Ile-de-France region.

Eiffage also reported a backlog of €13.5 billion at the end of the first half, an increase of 19.7% over 2011 figures.