• Positive results despite difficult underlying conditions in European construction sector: output volume (-3 %) and order backlog (+2 %) remain at high level in 2013
  • STRABAG expects steady output volume of € 13.6 billion and stable EBIT of again at least € 260 million in 2014

Vienna, 17 February 2014----The publicly listed European construction company STRABAG SE today announced its first figures for the 2013 financial year. "Against the backdrop of the difficult underlying conditions in the European construction sector, we are satisfied with the output volume of € 13.6 billion in 2013. At the end of April, when we announce the results for the 2013 financial year, we still want to report an EBIT of at least € 260 million, which would give us a plus of at least 25 % over the previous year. The order backlog of € 13.5 billion as at year's end covers nearly the output volume of one year. We started the current year on a solid foundation with a great number of new building construction projects in Germany, and as a result we expect the values for the output volume and earnings in 2014 to be comparable to those from 2013," says Thomas Birtel, CEO of STRABAG SE.

Output volume
STRABAG SE generated an output volume of € 13.6 billion in the 2013 financial year. The relatively low decline by 3 % over the previous year can be explained by weather-related effects at the start of the year. The group's core markets revealed quite different developments: as STRABAG is a broadly diversified group, the expected market-related decline in Poland following the end of the construction boom there and project-related reductions in Canada, Benelux and Romania were nearly balanced out by increases in e.g. Hungary, Austria and Africa.

Order backlog
The order backlog grew slightly by 2 % to € 13.5 billion and covers around one year's worth of output volume. The geographic focus was shifted somewhat here: large projects such as the Olympic Village in Russia and orders in Benelux had been completed in 2013. In exchange, a large number of new building construction orders in Germany bolstered the order backlog by more than € 500 million.

Employees
With -1 %, the number of employees was down only slightly. Large changes in several units almost completely balanced each other out in 2013: on the one hand, the workforce was reduced for market reasons in Poland; on the other hand, new large-scale projects in non-European markets and in Germany resulted in a plus of nearly 1,600 jobs. Of the 73,100 employees working for the group around the world, more than 27,000 are in Germany and nearly 10,000 in Austria.

Outlook 2014
The management board expects the output volume to remain more or less unchanged versus 2013 at € 13.6 billion. This will likely be composed of € 6.0 billion from the segment North + West, € 4.7 billion from the segment South + East and € 2.8 billion from the segment International + Special Divisions. The rest can be allotted to "Other". The segment composition thus remains largely unchanged in comparison to 2013.

The STRABAG SE management board expects earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of at least € 260 million for the current financial, which corresponds to the forecast value of 2013. Although the realisation of the measures proposed by the internal STRABAG 2013ff task force is beginning to show first successes, STRABAG faces a challenging environment in 2014 with higher price pressure in the European infrastructure construction sector. On the other hand, the company is registering continued solid conditions in building construction for the private sector.

While the price pressure continues in transportation infrastructures in Germany, affordable financing conditions present STRABAG with solid demand in building construction in this country. The picture is similar in Austria - in both of these home markets, therefore, the company expects a stable yet highly competitive situation. Poland, the third largest country for STRABAG in terms of output volume, was, as expected, affected by the end of the construction boom, but first impulses in infrastructure construction should be seen at the end of 2014 thanks to the new EU budgets. A lack of financing in the Czech Republic, Romania and the Adriatic region means that very few large public-sector projects are being awarded at this time - with a resulting tougher competition on the price. A more positive outlook, on the other hand, is offered by transportation infrastructures in Slovakia, where several large motorway and expressway projects are currently being tendered, as well as in the area of building construction in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

STRABAG SE will publish its detailed financial figures for 2013 on 30 April 2014 at 7:30 a.m. (CEST) by e-mail and on the corporate website at www.strabag.com.

The corporate group ofSTRABAG SEis one of the leading European construction groups. Specialised group companies, operating under a number of different brands such as STRABAG and Züblin, provide their services in all fields of the construction industry covering the entire construction value chain. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of its approximately 73,000 employees, STRABAG SE generates an output volume of about € 14 billion. At the same time, a dense network of numerous subsidiaries in Eastern and South-East Europe, in selected markets of Western Europe and, increasingly, on other continents is helping to expand the area of operation of STRABAG SE far beyond the borders of Austria and Germany. The group's proprietary raw materials basis and steady knowledge transfer ensure the highest quality construction at the best price - all around the world. More information is available at www.strabag.com.

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