Image: APA/Roland Schlager
Despite the disproportionate increase in construction costs (15.4 percent), profit increased by a good third to EUR 82.6 million, as the company announced on Thursday. Production output grew by 8.7 percent to EUR 6.2 billion and sales by 11.9 percent to EUR 5.8 billion. The dividend for the past financial year is now to be raised from 50 to 60 cents per share. Earnings per share (EPS) rose from EUR 1.18 to EUR 1.65.
These construction projects were in demand
“The European construction industry initially got off to a good start and was then again faced with challenges due to the Ukraine conflict and rising material and energy prices,” said CEO Karl-Heinz Strauss, summarizing the developments in the past financial year. Nevertheless, Porr has grown in almost all key areas.
Projects from all areas contributed to the increased production output. In addition to structural engineering, civil engineering and infrastructure construction, environmental technology projects were also increasingly in demand, such as Austrian railway construction with the slab track unit and major projects in Romania.
Germany and Poland important markets
The seven European “home markets” accounted for 95.6 percent of production output. Austria remained the most important market with a share of 45.8 percent, followed by Germany and Poland.
The number of employees was stable in the past financial year with an international average of 20,232 employees (plus 0.3 percent). According to the information, sales increased by 11.9 percent to 5.8 billion euros.
Before taxes, a profit (EBT) of 110 million euros remained – an increase of 28.9 percent compared to the corona year 2021, but also “significantly above the pre-crisis level of 2019”. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved by 10.9 percent to EUR 318.9 million.
Thick order pad
With a “strong order backlog” of EUR 8.2 billion (plus 5.7 percent), the construction company is “confidently starting the new 2023 financial year”. The backlog of orders is once again higher than the value of an annual output.
The growth can be attributed to the entire group. This also includes the acquisition of some projects in industrial construction, such as the recent demolition and new construction of buildings at the BMW Group plant in Munich, two new data centers in Berlin and Jawczyce (Poland) and the new company headquarters of the Polish electricity network operator PSE. Order intake increased by 3.8 percent to EUR 6.7 billion.
At EUR 799 million, equity as of the reporting date was 3.1 percent below the previous year’s figure. The equity ratio fell from 20.3 to 19.3 percent. Net debt fell from 65 to 59 million euros. According to Porr, the net cash position was “at the same level as the previous year” at EUR 59 million. Free cash flow fell by 27.5 percent to EUR 190.6 million. Cash and cash equivalents amounted to EUR 656 million as of the reporting date.
In view of the full order books, management expects construction output in 2023 to be “at least at the level of the previous year” and “a further improvement in earnings”. Both the geopolitical situation and the situation with regard to energy supply have recently stabilized. However, any assessment of economic development is subject to forecast risks.
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