Increase in turnover for Veidekke
Veidekke increased its turnover for the first quarter 2000 by seven per cent compared with the same period last year. The company has won new market shares in all business areas. In the Building Division, growth in turnover was as high as 30 per cent. Pre-tax profit for the period was NOK 11.8 million, as against NOK 33.4 million last year. Earnings per share were NOK 0.43 (NOK 1.03).
"We are particularly pleased with the progress in the Building Division," says Veidekke's President and CEO Terje R. Venold. "We are also pleased that we have increased our market shares in all our business areas," says Mr Venold and adds, "Our goal is to consolidate our market position by acquiring new companies and we continued to pursue this goal in the first quarter."
Profit performance
The Veidekke Group posted an operating profit of NOK 24.9 million (NOK 37.9 million) for the first quarter, after depreciation of goodwill at NOK 9.8 million (NOK 5.1 million), as a result of the extensive acquisitions made by Veidekke in 1999 and in the first quarter of this year.
Veidekke also has very healthy order books, which show a total of NOK 3,406 million at the end of the first quarter compared with NOK 3,210 million at the end of last year and NOK 2,833 million at 31 March 1999.
Employees on strike
Many of Veidekke's employees have been called out on strike by their unions. It is difficult to say at this early stage how this will affect Veidekke's projects.
We also refer to the attached Board of Directors' Report for the First Quarter 2000.