Bauer helps with Bavarian dam scheme

The groundbreaking ceremony for the largest single flood protection measure ever undertaken in Bavaria, Germany, has taken place, with the participation of Bauer, which has claimed a rise in its total group revenues in the first part of this year.

The Sylvenstein Dam claims to be using state-of-the-art technology to provide reliable protection against flooding. The first sod to mark the start of construction work was turned by the state's environment minister Dr Marcel Huber, in the company of Bauer chairman Prof Thomas Bauer.

In the current construction phase Bauer Spezialtiefbau is installing a diaphragm wall in the dam down to a depth of 70m.

The Sylvenstein Reservoir was constructed between 1954 and 1959 as the first large state reservoir in Bavaria. After 50 years in operation, it is now being updated. The state of Bavaria is investing €25 million in the upgrade of the Sylvenstein Dam through to the year 2015.

Bauer Aktiengesellschaft, the Bavarian-based international construction engineering and machinery manufacturing concern, said recently that the group was performing fully to plan as at the end of first quarter of 2012.

Total group revenues rose in the first three months of the year by 10.6% from €307.5 million to €340.0 million. Orders in hand increased by 12.0% to €751.6 million. It said the increase was primarily related to large-scale construction projects.

It said that as expected, the Bauer Group had been forced to combat the after-effects of disturbances last year such as the "Arab Spring", which hampered results. Weather conditions also had an effect, it said, as did the usual seasonal tendency of customers to be cautious in placing orders at the start of the year. It said this was a trend that had increased as a result of the financial turbulence of recent years.

As a consequence, earnings were slightly down against the previous year comparative period. While EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of €6.2 million was only slightly down on the previous year, from €6.7 million, an after-tax loss of €4.8 million was made, compared to an after-tax loss of €2.6 million the previous year. It said, however, that his was in line with the normal seasonal trend in the group's business, featuring a weaker start to the year which is then balanced out over the subsequent months.

Bauer said that with its three segments - construction, equipment and resources - the group operated a widely diversified yet well-balanced business model and an international network.

The construction segment was said to have had a good start to the year. Major projects in Hong Kong and Malaysia, especially, contributed to a 26.1% rise in total group revenues from €124.4 million to €156.9 million, said Bauer.