Continued growth in the building and construction market in Norway
Veidekke today presented its state of the market report for the coming years, and the indicators are pointing upward. "A good housing market and continued growth in construction give us grounds for optimism when we analyse future market trends," says Rolf Albriktsen, Veidekke's director of strategy and marketing.
"When we look at the combined building and construction market in Scandinavia, we see generally good activity, but with large differences between the countries. Norway looks best, with continued growth; in Sweden we are looking for a slight growth, even from the present high levels. In Denmark, we expect a continued decline in investment in housing, but some increase in non-residential building," explains Albriktsen.
Prospects for Norway still look good, in line with our earlier forecasts. "We are forecasting overall growth of 5% in 2012 and 3.5% in 2013. We expect investment in both housing and construction to remain at the same level, while in non-residential building we expect slightly more modest growth of 4% in 2012 and 2% in 2013. In terms of housebuilding, there were 28,000 housing starts in 2011, and we have reason to believe that this level will hold up for the next two years," concludes Albriktsen.
Veidekke prepares its state of the market report twice a year. The purpose is to present the group's view of the building and construction market and the conditions for the macroeconomic trends that we use as a basis for operations in Scandinavia. The forecasts are based on current official statistics, as well as on prognoses prepared by Veidekke.
The report is accessible at http://en.veidekke.com/investor-relations/reports_and_presentations/
For more information please contact:
Rolf Albriktsen, Director of Strategy and Marketing, tel +47 21 05 75 71 / 90 69 11 10, rolf.albriktsen@veidekke.no
Jørgen Wiese Porsmyr, CFO, tel +47 21 05 76 44 / 90 75 90 58, jorgen.wiese-porsmyr@veidekke.no
Helge Dieset, Communications Manager tel. +47 21 05 77 91 / 90 55 33 22, helge.dieset@veidekke.no
Veidekke is one of Scandinavia's largest contractors with 6,100 employees and a turnover of NOK 18 billion (2011). Activities include building and construction projects, residential developments, asphalt plants, aggregates and road maintenance. Our values are professional, honest, enthusiastic and pioneering. Our goals for health, safety and the environment, HSE, have equal status with our financial goals. Veidekke is characterized by a decentralized organizational model with a strong corporate culture and a high degree of employee involvement. Over half the employees are co-owners, holding 20 % of Veidekke's shares between them. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and has never declared a loss since it was founded in 1936.