Vinci cautious as first half net profit slips

Amid a tough economic situation in Europe and globally, French contractor Vinci reported a 3.6% year-on-year fall in net income for the first six months of 2012 to €784 million.

The figure was dragged down by an exceptional 5% tax increase on French corporations and a profit sharing bonus. Stripping out these effects, Vinci said net income would have seen 1% year-on-year growth for the period.

Overall, revenue for the first half totalled €17.9 billion, up 3.6% compared to the first six months of last year.

Of this, contracting revenue - which includes sales from Vinci Energies, Eurovia (the road building division) and Vinci Construction - stood at €15.3 billion, up 1.2% year-on-year.

Vinci said contracting revenues were driven by particularly strong performances at Vinci Construction France and the start-up of work at the Tours-Bordeaux high speed rail link. Offsetting this, Eurovia recorded a 3.5% drop in revenues, reflecting poor weather conditions in France.

Meanwhile, concessions revenue rose 1.1% to €2.5 billion. Overall, revenues generated in Vinci's domestic market totalled €11.5 billion, up 3.3% compared to the first half of 2011, while revenues outside France fell 1.3% to €6.4 billion. The proportion of revenue generated outside France was 36%.

At 30 June, 2012, Vinci's order book totalled €33.2 billion, up 11% year-on-year. International orders outstripped domestic orders, with 19% growth on the international side and 5% order book growth in France.

But the contractor was cautious on prospects for the rest of the year. It said it expected to see "slight" revenue growth for the full year, and report operating income and net income levels close to last year's, before the planned increase in tax and social charges in France.