Veidekke presents its best results ever
A strong growth in turnover and better margins gave Veidekke a pre-tax profit for 2007 of almost BNOK 1.2. "This was a very strong finish to a good year for us at Veidekke. Performance was particularly good in Norway, where both construction and property operations achieved record-high figures," says President and CEO Terje R. Venold. Mr Venold also confirms that total orders-on-hand for the Group's construction operations remain high at more than BNOK 13.
Turnover reached BNOK 19.3 in 2007, compared with BNOK 16.4 in 2006. Profit before tax was MNOK 1,181 (MNOK 923), which gives a margin of no less than 6.1 per cent (5.6 per cent). This corresponds to earnings per share of NOK 7.1 (NOK 5), and the Board of Directors proposes a dividend of NOK 4 (NOK 2.60) per share. Veidekke's construction operations reported an order backlog of BNOK 13.3 at the end of the year (BNOK 12.4).
Record figures in Norway
"Our operations in Norway achieved very good overall results in 2007. Continued growth in profit is the result of generally good market conditions, high utilisation of our production resources and continuous improvement efforts," says Mr Venold. Turnover in Norway rose by 23 per cent to MNOK 13,369 (MNOK 10,887). This gave a profit of MNOK 1,205, which is an improvement of 48 per cent on 2006 (MNOK 811).
Disappointing in Denmark
The figures for Veidekke's Danish operations, Hoffmann A/S, show the effect of earlier and new write-downs of problem projects in two regions in Zealand. Developments in the other regions are much better. In a year marked by near collapse of the housing market and consolidation of operations, turnover ended at MNOK 2,845 (MNOK 3,113), giving a loss of MNOK 98 (MNOK +62).
Good figures in Sweden
Construction operations and property development in Sweden show a substantial increase in turnover and improvement in profits for 2007. Veidekke's Swedish operations achieved a turnover of MNOK 3,130, an increase of 32 per cent from the year before (MNOK 2,363). Profits increased by 33 per cent to MNOK 109 (MNOK 82).
HSE
Veidekke continued to focus on health, safety and environment in 2007. Sickness absence remained fairly stable, while the injury rate (lost-time injuries per million hours worked) for the whole Group unfortunately rose to 7.0 (5.7).
Prospects
"The prospects for 2008 are relatively good in all three countries. However there is some uncertainty about developments in the housing markets. We were awarded a large number of solid contracts in the fourth quarter last year and at the beginning of 2008, and our order books are extremely healthy. If we also look at Veidekke's strong financial position, I think we can feel confident that 2008 will be yet another good year for Veidekke," concludes Mr Venold.
We also refer to the Board of Directors' report for the fourth quarter 2007, which is enclosed with this press release.
You will find the HTML version of the report here
For further information, please contact:
Terje R. Venold, President & CEO,
tel. +47 21 05 77 01 / +47 905 82 323, terje.venold@veidekke.no
Arne Giske, Executive Vice President, Corporate Finance,
tel. +47 21 05 77 80 / + 47 905 89 526, arne.giske@veidekke.no
Kai Krüger Henriksen, Executive Vice President, Communication,
tel. +47 21 05 77 04 / + 47 905 19 360, kai.henriksen@veidekke.no
Veidekke ASA is a leading Scandinavian building contractor and property developer with 6,475 employees and an annual turnover of NOK 19.3 billion. Veidekke is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. It has a wide group of shareholders and 16 % of the shares are held by the company's employees. The company's activities cover a large range of building and construction contracts, development of housing and commercial projects for private and public customers, asphalt operations and road maintenance, and collection and recycling of waste.