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Skanska's Interim Report, January to June 1998

8/27/1998 12:00 AM CET
Press release

"The big increase in Skanska´s order bookings and the favorable trend of operating earnings indicate that we are moving in the right direction in focusing on our core operations - construction-related services and project development," says Claes Björk, President and CEO of Skanska, in a comment to the Group's Six Month Report.

SKANSKA'S INTERIM REPORT                                 63/98JANUARY TO JUNE, 1998

 

ORDER BOOKINGS ROSE BY 34 PERCENT

 

Highlights (excluding Drott):

* Order bookings rose to SEK 42,803 M (32,051)
* Net sales rose by 20 percent to SEK 28,961 M (24,061)
* Operating income rose to SEK 2,719 M (974)
* More than two thirds of order bookings outside Sweden

"The big increase in Skanska´s order bookings and the favorable trend of operating earnings indicate that we are moving in the right direction in focusing on our core operations - construction-related services and project development," says Claes Björk, President and CEO of Skanska, in a comment to the Group's Six Month Report.

" The internationalization of the Skanska Group is continuing to increase, mainly due to good order bookings in the United States, Finland, Russia and Denmark. Markets outside Sweden accounted for more than two thirds of our order bookings during the first half." Skanska USA is now the largest business area by net sales," Mr. Björk continues.

"In view of the current restructuring of our Swedish construction operations, we expect to be even better positioned when the Swedish construction market enters a strong upswing," Mr. Björk says. "It is still too early to speak for sure of any turnaround, although during the second quarter we did witness a certain upswing in building construction.

"Our project development operations have a number of attractive projects underway. This type of commitment enables us to take full advantage of the Group's unique collective competence, local market presence and financial strength," Mr. Björk observes.

"I am optimistic about the trend during the remainder of this year. Disregarding capital gains from share divestments and other items affecting comparability, I anticipate higher full-year 1998 earnings in our business operations than last year," Claes Björk concludes.

 

Danderyd, August 27, 1998

SKANSKA AB
Group Corporate Communications

 


For further information, please contact:
Cecilia Schön, SVP, Corporate Communications, Skanska AB, telephone +46 8 753 87 99
Staffan Schéle, Investor Relations, telephone +46 8 753 82 72
Erik von Hofsten, Investor Relations, telephone + 46 8 753 86 82

Enclosed: Skanska´s six month report January-June 1998