Vinci sales up +8%

Vinci, Europe's Largest Construction contractor has announced sales of € 19,56 billion for 2004, a +8% increase on 2003. The company's order backlog at the end of 2004 stood at € 14 billion, a +17% increase on the position 12 months previously.

The company's sales in its home market of France stood at € 12,2 billion, a +10,7% increase on 2003. The company statement said, “Activity was brisk across all business lines, especially construction, where net sales increased +12,6%.” Revenues from outside France were € 7,4 billion, a +3,8% increase, which Vinci attributes to its construction and roads divisions.

Indeed, out of its four divisions – Concessions, Energy, Roads and Construction – it was the latter two that made the biggest contribution to revenues and saw the greatest growth in 2004.

The Construction division had sales of € 8,36 billion, an +8,3% increase on the previous year. Growth in France was the main contributor to this, although Vinci also reported a strong final quarter of the year in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in the infrustructure sector. The +8% increase in road building activity to € 5,76 billion was also driven by France, although the company reported positive developments in the UK, Czech Republic and US.