Skanska profits up

Its latest results show the UK arm of the Swedish Skanska firm made a profit of £14.6million on turnover of £747million in the six months to 30 June 2009. Turnover at the group fell by 2% from £5.5billion to £5.35billion over the period and profit stood at £130million, down 18% from £158m last year.

Johan Karlstrom, the global chief executive, said: "The second quarter was strong, both in terms of margins and order bookings. Operating income from construction increased by some +50% on last year, and order bookings in the second quarter mirrored last year's level....We can now foresee that the large government stimulus packages will have a positive impact on civil construction markets, especially in the US"

"Housing markets in Sweden and Norway have recovered well and prices have stabilised, so we'll be starting new projects there in the second half," he added, "While in the UK, the volume of Public Private Partnerships is still significant."