ESSEN (dpa-AFX) - The construction group Hochtief earned more in the first nine months. In particular, the North America and Europe regions and the business of the Spanish highway operator Abertis, in which Hochtief holds a stake of around 20 percent, are performing significantly better. The company announced in Essen on Tuesday that consolidated net profit adjusted for special effects had risen by 5.9 percent year-on-year to 403.1 million euros in the first nine months.

Thanks to a good order backlog, Hochtief continues to expect net profit adjusted for special effects of 510 to 550 million euros in the current year. In 2022, adjusted profit had risen sharply to just under 522 million euros.

Including special effects, Hochtief reported a profit of 380.9 million euros in the first nine months of 2023. This was 7.2 percent more than a year earlier. Turnover climbed by 6.5 percent to just under 20.4 billion euros./mne/jha/