Skanska optimistic after profitable 2009

Skanska reported sales in 2009 of SEK 136,8 billion (€ 13,3 billion), down -4,7% on the SEK 143,6 billion (€ 14 billion) recorded 12 months ago. Despite the drop in revenues the company reported pre-tax profits for 2009 of SEK 5,2 billion (€ 510 million), up +27,8% on the SEK 4 billion (€ 399 million) recorded in 2008.

Pre-tax profits from construction increased +34% from SEK 3,7 billion (€ 367 million) to SEK 5 billion (€ 494 million). Order bookings for the year grew +2% to total SEK 128,8 billion (€ 12,5 billion), up from SEK 126,5 billion (€ 12,3 billion) in 2008, while the order backlog declined -4,1% to SEK 136,5 billion (€ 13,3 billion), down from SEK 142,4 billion (€ 13,9 billion).

President and CEO, Johan Karlström said, "The fourth quarter and 2009 as a whole showed strong earnings and margins in several construction business units showed record levels, with strong cash flow.

"Sales of both completed and ongoing projects have developed well and we are now focusing on increasing the number of new projects in order to meet demand," he said.

Looking ahead, Mr Karlström believes there is good potential in both construction and project development. "We see clear signs that residential construction activity in the Nordic countries is increasing and in the US there is relatively good demand from the healthcare, education and public administration segments.

"Civil construction markets continue to show a relatively stable trend and we now see the large government stimulus packages will have a positive impact on civil construction markets, especially in the US," he said.

Regarding public private partnership (PPP) projects, Mr Karlström is optimistic. "The volume of PPP projects in the UK is still significant," he said. "In other markets, the supply of projects is more limited, but there is increasing interest in PPP solutions. As financial markets have improved, the potential for new PPP projects has also increased."