STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Aug. 29, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Skanska:
The first six months in brief
- Order bookings SEK 69.6 billion (93.6) - Order backlog SEK 143.4 billion (191.5) - Net sales SEK 72.2 billion (79.4) - Operating income in construction-related services and project development, the Group's core business, SEK 1,050 M (1,460) - Income after financial items SEK 392 M (1,076)
Claes Bjork, President and CEO of Skanska, commented on the six month outcome: "The earnings in our construction-related operations during the first half of 2002 improved to SEK 1,097 M (217) despite lower net sales than in the same period of last year. Operating income was lower than the year-earlier period because capital gains on the sale of properties in project development operations only amounted to SEK 44 M (1,322). Continued strong interest from foreign buyers of Swedish properties will support our goal of carrying out property divestments during the autumn. During the past four years, our project development operations have generated an annual market-adjusted total return averaging 18 percent. We have sold SEK 12 billion worth of properties in the past four years and in the future, we will also continue to have a rapid, value-generating turnover rate in our project development operations.
"Order bookings generally improved in the second quarter, compared to the first quarter of 2002.
"In our American operations, earnings continued to show positive growth. Operating margin rose to 2.7 (1.7) percent during the first half. Infrastructure construction, which has higher margins than commercial construction, represented a larger proportion of overall operations, and this more than offset the lower business volume in commercial construction. The outlook for infrastructure construction in the United States is very favorable. With the acquisition of E.L. Yeager Construction in southern California, we are well-positioned to share in the increasing infrastructure investments in one of America's largest and fastest-growing states. European operations - including those in the Nordic countries - also showed improved earnings, especially our operations in the Czech Republic and Great Britain. Last year the number of employees at Exbud Skanska, our Polish operations, was reduced and adapted to a lower business volume, but the market situation in Poland remains weak. The outlook is similar in our Nordic and our other European operations: a stable trend for residential and infrastructure construction, while commercial construction is slowing.
"In light of the continued weakening of the information technology (IT) and telecom sectors, the Group's remaining operations at Business Unit Skanska Telecom Networks are being discontinued.
"The negative trend in the stock market affected the value of Skanska's Swedish pension funds. In order to safeguard Swedish pension commitments, a provision was made in the first-half accounts for the estimated full-year effect of SEK 334 M."
Skanska AB
Stockholm, August 29, 2002
For further information, please contact:
Hans Biorck, Executive Vice President and CFO, +46 (0)8 - 753 88 00 Peter Wallin, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, +46 (0)8 - 753 88 00
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