Strabag 2010 profit up

Contractor Strabag reported a +2% year-on-year increase in net income to € 188 million for 2010 on revenues of € 12,4 billion, compared to revenues of € 12,5 billion in 2009.

The company said the construction boom in Poland made up for the disadvantageous weather conditions in Europe at the beginning of the year. Strabag's order backlog at the end of 2010 stood at € 14,7 billion, up +6% from the same point in 2009.

The Austria-based company expressed cautious optimism about this year's business prospects in Europe, despite government austerity measures replacing stimulus packages.

Strabag forecast its output volume to rise from € 12,7 billion at the end of 2010 to € 13,5 billion in 2011, increasing to € 13,7 billion in 2012. The company said its building construction and civil engineering segment, which relies mainly on private clients, will be of greater importance in the future.

In addition, the contractor said it would seek to further diversify its business and spread the risk of a slowdown in certain markets by expanding its activities in property and facility management as well as in niche markets such as railway and waterway construction.

Strabag CEO Peter Haselsteiner said, "In 2010 we were surprised twice, once positively and once negatively. On the one hand, construction related spending from the economic stimulus programmes was stopped earlier than expected or not passed at all, instead being replaced by austerity packages to help slow the national debt. On the other hand, unexpectedly strong demand for construction services from private clients and project developers was registered in the home market of Germany."