20. Februar 2012 
Print
Print
Strabag forecasts stable results for 2012
Strabag SE generated an output volume of € 14.3 billion in the 2011 financial year. The company had expected an increase from € 12.8 billion to € 14.0 billion and surpassed its own forecast with an actual plus of 12 %. The growth is due to the strong demand in the German building construction and civil engineering segment, the booming Polish construction sector above all in the field of transportation infrastructures and the expansion in northern Europe. Additionally, Strabag acquired two construction SMEs in Switzerland in the first quarter of 2011, which had a positive effect on the development of the output volume.
Order Backlog
The order backlog stood at € 13.4 billion, 9 % below the level at the end of 2010. For the most part, this is due to the development in Poland as the preparations for the 2012 European Football Championship had triggered large infrastructure investments from the public sector. As market leader, Strabag was awarded several of the resulting contracts and worked these off in the 2011 financial year. This transformed an order backlog of about € 1.4 billion into output, so that the order backlog in Poland alone sank from € 2.3 billion to around € 900 million.
Employees
The workforce was increased significantly in Poland because of the higher output there. The same is true for the field of property & facility services in Germany, with the addition of some 2,000 employees from the newly acquired Strabag subsidiary Rimex. The significant increase in Switzerland can also be explained by the firsttime inclusion of the employees of two acquired companies, namely Brunner Erben Holding AG and Astrada AG. In contrast, the decline of employee numbers in Hungary and the Czech Republic has market-dependent reasons. On average, a total of 4 % more people were employed in the Strabag Group during the 2011 financial year.
Outlook
The forecast from November 2011 targets earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of € 340 million for the 2011 financial year. Now Strabag is detailing its forecast for 2012: Strabag continues to see an output of approx. € 14.3 billion. The forecast by segment is as follows: Building Construction & Civil Engineering € 5.5 billion (2011: € 5.1 billion), Transportation Infrastructures € 6.1 billion (€ 6.7 billion), Special Division & Concessions € 2.6 billion (€ 2.3 billion) and Other € 100 million. Strabag assumes to be able to compensate the expected declines in Poland through output growth in several other countries.
The ongoing process of working off earlier orders prevented the lack of public-sector infrastructure investments in Europe from affecting output in the 2011 financial year, although a negative effect on returns in the construction sector could be seen. Strabag expects a continued unfavourable environment for transportation infrastructures in 2012. An additional burden will be the weakened demand for construction in Poland after the European Football Championship. On the other hand, Strabag expects to see continued solid business in the German building construction and civil engineering segment, improved results in niche markets such as railway construction or environmental technology, and a slight relaxation of the situation in the Czech Republic.
Even if uncertainties regarding the actual economic environment – economic growth in the individual markets, the height of public spending, and the financing environment for our clients – make planning difficult, Strabag is targeting an EBIT of more than € 300 million and therewith relatively stable results for the 2012 financial year.
Order Backlog
The order backlog stood at € 13.4 billion, 9 % below the level at the end of 2010. For the most part, this is due to the development in Poland as the preparations for the 2012 European Football Championship had triggered large infrastructure investments from the public sector. As market leader, Strabag was awarded several of the resulting contracts and worked these off in the 2011 financial year. This transformed an order backlog of about € 1.4 billion into output, so that the order backlog in Poland alone sank from € 2.3 billion to around € 900 million.
Employees
The workforce was increased significantly in Poland because of the higher output there. The same is true for the field of property & facility services in Germany, with the addition of some 2,000 employees from the newly acquired Strabag subsidiary Rimex. The significant increase in Switzerland can also be explained by the firsttime inclusion of the employees of two acquired companies, namely Brunner Erben Holding AG and Astrada AG. In contrast, the decline of employee numbers in Hungary and the Czech Republic has market-dependent reasons. On average, a total of 4 % more people were employed in the Strabag Group during the 2011 financial year.
Outlook
The forecast from November 2011 targets earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of € 340 million for the 2011 financial year. Now Strabag is detailing its forecast for 2012: Strabag continues to see an output of approx. € 14.3 billion. The forecast by segment is as follows: Building Construction & Civil Engineering € 5.5 billion (2011: € 5.1 billion), Transportation Infrastructures € 6.1 billion (€ 6.7 billion), Special Division & Concessions € 2.6 billion (€ 2.3 billion) and Other € 100 million. Strabag assumes to be able to compensate the expected declines in Poland through output growth in several other countries.
The ongoing process of working off earlier orders prevented the lack of public-sector infrastructure investments in Europe from affecting output in the 2011 financial year, although a negative effect on returns in the construction sector could be seen. Strabag expects a continued unfavourable environment for transportation infrastructures in 2012. An additional burden will be the weakened demand for construction in Poland after the European Football Championship. On the other hand, Strabag expects to see continued solid business in the German building construction and civil engineering segment, improved results in niche markets such as railway construction or environmental technology, and a slight relaxation of the situation in the Czech Republic.
Even if uncertainties regarding the actual economic environment – economic growth in the individual markets, the height of public spending, and the financing environment for our clients – make planning difficult, Strabag is targeting an EBIT of more than € 300 million and therewith relatively stable results for the 2012 financial year.
